[bikerjim1]

Whom, in your opinion does better custom chopper work?

[ironhorse]

My theory is occ is a theme bike composed of alot of machined parts and out of house parts and jj is hand built of course when the money gets there hand soon turns to machine also but is still inhouse

[2fastnaz]

OCC just doesn't do it for me at all. I don't know if it's the Men or the Bikes but I don't like em.

I like the minimalistic look of JJ's bikes. OCC just has to many gimics.

[kenfuzed]

My personal opinion of OCC...

OCC is a big joke, and using the word "chopper" in their name is an insult to those who truly build. While they may be very successful at selling their so-called "theme bikes", myself and many others consider them complete sell-outs to the motorcycle industry. I opened a magazine a while back in horror to find a full page ad for OCC cologne. What does biker cologne smell like, beer and grease?

You have to hand it to them, they found themselves a brilliant marketing person who has their name and logo on everything from christmas ornaments to beach towels. I won't fault them for capitalizing on a dumbed down TV market and playing up to the cameras, but don't expect the real biker community to accept them as anything but commercial whores.

A couple years ago these fakes were making appearances at custom motorcycle shows and expecting people to line up to pay for their autographs. Of course there were plenty of fools who bought into this but plenty more who laughed OCC out of town. Now they don't seem to make appearances anymore unless they have their personal security with them. Guess they are affraid of what will happen if some M/C gets ahold of them to see just how tough they are.

In regards to JJ and those he has working for him, WCC has always kept it real for their customers. Sure they did those documentaries but jumped out when things started looking glam. I talked to someone who worked on the Monster Garage project who said Jesse was doing that partly to shift focus away from his own shop, while being able to f*** around with the Discovery Channels money. Last time I ran into him a while back he was scrounging through some greasy boxes of old motorcycle parts at a swapmeet... no cameras, no entourage, no fuss. Just him doing his thing like the rest of us. I didn't get the chance to get up close to him, but I can almost guarantee he wasn't wearing any cologn with his name on it.

To answer the original question of who does better custom work between the two, hands down it would be Jesse. OCC has everything done for them by others and just bolts it together.

[bikerjim1]

Excellent post Ken! WOW, I was kinda in fear it mighta gone the other direction, but glad to see that I'm not the only one feelin' that way! A few months back, OCC was in Austin to do a "promo" build and the wife asked if I wanted to go see them.....ah...ahem.....I can't offer the response I gave her...
I'm gonna ride this post out for it's expiration...very interested in how others feel......funny thing is, I created this poll to draw interest to "The Polling Place" because I hadn't seen one done in a while!

[voodoochild]

Ok, I agree with Ken. Those guys are complete sell-outs. Everything is machine cut on their "flow jet" by some guy typing on the keyboard. What ever happened to "real" workmanship. I like to look at some of their stuff, but would never personally buy their products. Nothing like being an arrogant ****. You do have to hand it to them.....as far as making a fortune on the yuppie crap they sell. (Just my .02) I always liked JJ, as well as some of the other bike builders out there. All work done by hand, custom parts, using off the wall **** for shifter levers, etc. IMHO

[chucktx]

i like occ for the entertainment factor.....not there bike building ability....jessie does pretty good work........now if he would show his ol'lady sandra with a ho tag on her backside, he would win hands down.........so to speak

[SPORSTERBOY]

Like Jim Said! Occ Came To Spokane Last Year, Big Money Flop Here. 30 Bucks A Ticket 10 To Park. Anyone With A Little Bike Know How Can Do A Bolt Together. As Far As All The Theme Crap They Build I'll Pass. They Come Up With Some Cool Stuff But Go A Little Over Board. Not Your Every Day Ride'n Bike. Maybe If Your Lenno And Park It In Your Collection. Don't Forget Jj Has His Own Little Marketing Thing Going On 2. We All Go 2 Wal-mart. But In The Fabrication Area I Think Jj Is At The Top Of His Game. A Little Fame Can Ruin Any One. I Think That There Are Alot Of Bike Builders Out There That Can And Do More Of A Impressive Job Than Either Of Them. So When They Get A Show Or A Documentry Well Reconize Them To.

[SK]

OCC came to Las Vegas last December at The Silverton Hotel & Casino. I didn't go as I've never really cared for them. The older son is the only one with any talent and I can't stand the dad. I know it's an act on tv that he acts like an ass (I've been told he's pretty friendly in person), but I don't care. While I've also not been been a big fan of JJ, I've come to like him after seeing him on The Tonight Show with Leno..plus he stole the heart of one my favorite actresses in Sandra Bullock (guess he can't be all that bad). There's no doubt he's more talented than the OCC guys, but you've got to give the OCC guys credit for marketing.

I ride each June in the Colorado Rockies on an invitational charity ride called the Colorado 500. A guy that rides the ride is the show coordinator and he's said that they should've named the Orange County Choppers show New York City Choppers as many think southern California (like I originally did) when you hear the name Orange County. He thought it would've been a better marketing ploy, but I guess it hasn't really mattered. Funny..the guy rides a BMW R1200GS..far from a chopper or even a cruiser. He's a real cool guy of Japanese decent.

[ironhorse]

I agree a little fame can hurt, so In my opinon A man needs to OOPS or a woman needs to look at other fabricator beyond tv builders with the exception of showing off sandra.

[voodoo1]

JJ is just as musch a smuck as the others.... if ya all remember it was just last year on 60 minutes or datline he called and I "quote" People that ride Harleys are dorks..that simple...so before you all run out and buy a bike by someone that has built for KID ROCK and Shaqulle O'neal.... remeber this money talkss to all of them....plus he also got beat up by his last wife before marrying Sandra Bullock.... Plus alot of stuff both shops do goes out...
ya just don't see it. Yeah they bang a tank here ..but will it hold up? I ve seen at least two meltdowns on him just on TV. OCC is now building a production line of bikes and remember this the ol' man Paul made his money in Steel long before he built a bike 10 years ago he had cash from creating and growing a Steel Business(orange county) just like the bike business it is all money.... either way I ain't never seen anyone build a bike from junk(on TV) other than Billy Lane..HHHmmmmm But you all are forget Ron Perch and The guru himself out that West-way (you know him )he even had a show anbd his son........ and he as his own club.....so my choice is neither are sellouts and all are just copies of the original Chopper/Bob kings!!!!!
making money!!!!! So hats off to the business men they are and thanks to the originals that started alot of it for us!!!

[chucktx]

i agree with most of what you say 1, but instead of billy lane, i would have put the king of builders INDIAN LARRY's name instead.......just my opinion....the rest are wanna be's.......

[voodoochild]

Chuck, Absolutely!! Indian Larry drops them all! With hand twisted drop tubes, and a style that never really wavered......he was definately one of the best! RIP Larry!

[kenfuzed]

Agree, of those builders who are publicly known (on TV), Larry wins hands down when he was still with us. Not sure if we'll ever see another like him.

I've actually run across many other builders who blow all these TV builders away, but they remain relatively unknown... and like it that way. Another builder worth mentioning (in my book anyway) is Russell Mitchell of Exile Cycle. Truly a "less-is-more" motorcycle builder.

[voodoo1]

he was on the TV.
Indian is one of the pioneers for sure.It was good to see him at shows and get some notoriety...I do remember he said he like and would only do his own spokes and the solid rims had not life in them and did not like them. Then when he did the buildoff against Billy he used a solid rim from"........." if ya go on, ya have Arlen Ness as well... can't forget him. Bottom line money talks and creativity is unlimited if the money is too. I still do not like fuel injection systems on bikes but hey it is the next generation..I won't have one anytime time soon though. I stil think that is seliing out...some call it technology but so is flowjetting and other and computers.(LOL)
Hmmmm. maybe we are all sell outs?

[voodoochild]

Ok, here's one for ya' So, I'm up on a ladder today spackling around some windows I put in for a customer....and it's friggin cold out today, maybe 20 degrees, and I hear this thunder, so I thought. I look out the window and it's this dude on a bitchin trike sittin on the side of the road outside the house. So, I go outside to see if he's broke down figgerin he's freezin his nuts off and needs some help. Well, it turns out he's waitin on a friend to pick up his trike to take it to the Javits center for the bike show this weekend. His trailer won't fit up the guys driveway, so he rides it down the street to the intersection in front of the house. We get to talking and he tells me that this trike was featured on the cover of Decembers Hot Bike magazine. Turns out his friend is Doug Keim.....pretty famous bike builder in Wall NJ, and builder of the guys trike, and also one hell of a nice guy. The owner of the trike introduces me to him, we shake hands and I watch him load this thing into his trailer. He's done loading up and comes back to me, shakes my hand, tells me it was nice to meet me, and that I should stop by the Javits center to say Hi. Off he rides with the owner of the bike, and I stand there in amazement like a dufuss. I gotta say, the trike was sweet, very nicely done, awesome craftsmanship, and mostly hand made. I was impressed. Oh well, end of story....brought a tear to your eye didn't it.
Ps. The guy that owns the trike also has owns 1 or 2 other bikes from Doug as well. (He also mentioned that he bought his wife a Cartier bracelet for x-mas.....damn rich yuppies!) LOL

[SK]

Originally Posted by voodoo1

I still do not like fuel injection systems on bikes but hey it is the next generation..I won't have one anytime time soon though. I stil think that is seliing out...some call it technology but so is flowjetting and other and computers.(LOL)

I don't know..I got awefully tired of riding into the mountains and having the carbs bog at altitude. You can't tune the carbs to run at altitude without running too lean at lower altitudes. Last thing I want to do is run too lean. Now I don't notice any bogging and blackening of my plugs in the mountains.

[Sleepy]

not really into choppers..they're nice alright, but not my cuppa tea. as far as doing the better work between the two mentioned builders I'd offer that JJ seems to fab more. I wouldn't want a bike from either one of them. I liked Donny Smith and Dave Perowicz's take on an FXR years back..still do. Ness built some neat bikes. My gal gave me a Robb Report magazine on bikes for Christmas..with a tricked out Monster S4R on the cover....I'm starting to see some cool Ducatis out there....sweet stuff.....and ridable

[FlynDutchman]

[quote=kenfuzed;16539] What does biker cologne smell like, beer and grease? QUOTE]

mmmmm.....nice. maybe with just a hint of stale cigarette smoke ?