Orange County Choppers builds electric motorcycle, breaks the law
It looks like Siemens paid the Teutuls to build an electric chopper in order to promote the company's Smart Grid charging technology. Flagrantly violating New York's laws by failing to wear a helmet during his demo ride in an open-to-traffic Columbus Circle this morning, Paul Teutul Sr. described the experience as, "Awesome." In an apparently unnoticed ironic twist, it appears that the nearly-silent chopper isn't just quieter than a typical Orange County Chopper, it's also faster. The official top speed is listed as 100mph. "We wanted to build this unique chopper to raise environmental awareness and reflect what the 69,000 employees of Siemens USA are doing to help America stay on the cutting edge of tomorrow's green economy," said Daryl Dulaney, President & CEO of Siemens Building Technologies. The Siemens Smart Grid Charger is able to communicate with the electrical grid, then charge batteries when demand for electricity is low and therefore cheap.
In keeping with the Eco-friendly theme, the knuckle draggers at OCC used water based paint and an unspecified amount of "recycled materials" in the bike's construction.
"Building an electric bike from recycled materials was something new for us, but we definitely enjoyed the challenge and think that the end product makes a great addition to our wide range of unique motorcycles," a PR flack wrote for Teutul Sr, going on to pretend that he said, "While electric bikes probably won't surpass traditional ones for the foreseeable future, we also think that energy efficient technologies are increasingly important for both manufacturers and consumers."
The chopper will appear an in episode of the inexplicably popular American Chopper on TLC before being auctioned off to benefit charity. Check out our Electric Motorcycles tag page for plenty of stories on much cooler green technology.
via Christian Science Monitor
Wes Siler. August 12, 2009 — Permalink
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Siemens? Semen
O.K., I really do understand your OCC bashing, but come on.....that really is one good looking electric vehicle. Just one issue though. One would need plenty of green to purchase that 'green' beauty.
This guy breaks the laws of good taste constantly. One helmet law is a piss in the ocean by comparison.
I like the "inexplicably popular" bit too.
think of the OCC tv audience...if that crowd can begin to think about alt energy, we are getting somewhere.
electric + crap = electric crap
Let's hope these clowns get back to doing what they're good at: shouting at one another and building crap bikes.
That moustache should be all the protection anyone needs!
That may be the best looking electric bike we've ever seen.
I work for Siemens and there were talking about this a while back. Thought it was a little strange but it looks like the bike turned out really well.
"Flack." I had to look it up. I bow to your precise and elegant use of the English language.
When will it end??? And no, that is not the best looking electric bike, its a piece of gobbily goop. You want to see a good looking electric bike, check out the Mission.
wow. insanely ugly machine.
Paul Teutul Sr. described the experience as, "Awesome."
Yes, not being bounced around like a paint can in a shaker CAN be quite awesome.
Hehe, I bet the Teutuls were befuddled by the lack of an exhaust.
Isn't "PR flack" redundant?
Your right the Mission is a good looking machine.
Christian Science Monitor?
Yes, Siemens will have leveraged its ad spend there to guarantee coverage of publicity stunts like this.
Too bad nothing in this article quite compares to the phrase, "...OCC, better known for its unique brand of father/son homoeroticism and lame choppers..." used in the OCC Ducati article. You did set a high bar with that one.
I thought American Chopper was dead and buried already with Paulie running off to run his girlfriend's boutique...whipped.
Anyho ,those a*sclowns break numerous laws whenever they take their latest billet barge / parade float out for its obligatory test ride after they have cobbled it together.
Wes -
"inexplicably popular"
Watching those guys "build" a bike is like watching a monkey "make love" to a football.
Your just can't pull your eyes away from it.
halo halo halo halo halo..............
If I own a Harley Davidson, watch OCC on TV and race a Buell I would be quite popular with the Hell-for-Leather crowd. F all of you.
So you're gullible, simple-minded a cheater and rude?
Dude, it's a blog. Blogs are, by nature editorial. If you don't agree with the editorial opinion of an online publication, you've got two good options. One: don't read it. Two: stick around, voice the contrary opinion, and perhaps change some minds while having a reasoned debate.
Personally, I stopped watching American Chopper after I noticed that it's just a bunch of dudes shouting at each other between ordering bike parts out of catalogs and bolting 'em together.
I'm not a big fan of new-bike-Harley culture because I can't justify spending 20k+ on butt jewelry. I have way more respect for the guys that grab an Ironhead and tranny off of craigslist and cobble together something that's affordable and that they can be proud of.
I think Buells are neat, and I was very confused by the hullabaloo of discontinuing the Blast.
Frankly, I think it is a little too "intelligent" looking to have been built by OCC. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a PR sham.
it serves it's purpose as a publicity stunt
i watched the show a couple of times,they have good craftsmen working there(that quiet guy,the redhead dude,and the one with a lot of body hair)but the products are..well they build theme bikes not road bikes..these are made to sit all shiny behind a glass case at some corporation HQ
i don't think i've ever seen them ride bikes other than to do a publicity stunt or for a test ride..although i did see them ride scooters a couple of times..that shows how much they like the bikes they make
I looked at the OCC site. Don't like choppers, do not care for the OCC theme bikes but their SR Cruiser is a beautiful bike. Wow, I would even consider that - but it is probably way too much $. Harley should do a bike like that.
Mr. Siler, you have made an accurate assessment of my personality. I was having a bad day yesterday. I'm having a helluva time installing a chrome velocity stack on my CVO Fat Bob.
Loving the comments. Speaking of which, is there any way you can implement a "subscribe to the comments" RSS feed for Hell for Leather? What? You expect me to remember to come back and view the comments? I'm supposed to be working.
Whining about helmet use again, I see. It's so old. Find something else to bitch about besides helmets and Harleys. This website is lame.
See my comment above about conflicting with editorial opinions.
Personally, I'd recommend just taking a shotgun to your forehead and ending your own life that way instead of having your brains dashed out on the pavement and giving the rest of us a bad name because you're too cool to wear a ball of styrofoam and plastic on your head.
No, I don't want you to die, I don't want you kill yourself, I don't want you to suffer permanent, debilitating brain damage and become a emotional and financial drag on those that now love you. I don't want you to send a package of 00-shot through your head.
I do want to know what reason you have for riding helmetless, and how it differs from my reasoning behind wearing a full-face helmet every time I ride.
...or maybe I've been trolled.
What a FAT waste of american but the bike is cool !!!
Is there anyone actually insane enough to test the 100mph top speed on a bike with a rigid rear suspension?
yes, just walk through the pits at the BUB meet at Bonneville or at Maxton and you will see plenty of rigid bikes. Hell, give it to me and I'll test it - beats the hell out of my rigid turbo cb450 Land speed bike (that is currently in a million pieces).
halo halo halo.................
perfect article , thanks
This is insane.
yes it is