American Chopper's Final Show

Luvbelly · February 11, 2010

So I just noticed the ad for tonight's final American chopper episode. Kind of sad to see it go. Always enjoyed the show although the decline in the business and the family life of late was hard to watch sometimes. I am sure this will have a negative impact on the business but getting out of the limelight may help the family. I lean toward the Jr. and Mikey didn't appreciate what Sr. was trying to do for them. Kind of took it for granted and this lack of respect drove Sr. over the edge sometimes. You guys see it different?

jrod332 · February 11, 2010

I think mikey and jr took what they had for granted. But I also think that Jr made that company what it is today. There is no way that orange county choppers would be where it is today without Jr. Its tough to say watching it on tv. you dont get to see everything that goes on. Im sure TLC makes it what they want.

nootron69 · February 11, 2010

So I just noticed the ad for tonight's final American chopper episode. Kind of sad to see it go. Always enjoyed the show although the decline in the business and the family life of late was hard to watch sometimes. I am sure this will have a negative impact on the business but getting out of the limelight may help the family. I lean toward the Jr. and Mikey didn't appreciate what Sr. was trying to do for them. Kind of took it for granted and this lack of respect drove Sr. over the edge sometimes. You guys see it different?

Totally agree! I was on the show (military bike where Jr and Sr were building 2 different bikes to auction off on the USS Intrepid, the one with Steven Tyler of Aerosmith). A lot of the conflict was built up just for the show, but when I was there and Jr was being a smarta$$ trying to steal my military headgear, you could see the embarrassment on Sr's face. Jr's head got way too big way too quick. Mikey is quiet, and prob not as bad as far as being fed with a silver spoon. My hat is off to the oldest son with the steel business that never capitalized on the popularity of the show. I just saw my first episode since I was overseas, and it looked like Sr aged a ton. Prob would be a good thing for the family if the show ended, although, I am sad to see it end.

Luvbelly · February 11, 2010

I think mikey and jr took what they had for granted. But I also think that Jr made that company what it is today. There is no way that orange county choppers would be where it is today without Jr. Its tough to say watching it on tv. you dont get to see everything that goes on. Im sure TLC makes it what they want.

No doubt on TLC making the show what they wanted. There is also no doubt that the conflict between father and sons was a part of that. The thing that got me is how despite being the owner and his claims of being partially retired, Sr. was, if not the first one in to work, usually at least on time. A work ethic that no doubt helped not only his first business succeed but Orange County Choppers as well. It seemed to me he built this business with the idea of his kids taking it over. He wanted to see some of the same work ethic he had displayed by them. Kind of a reassurance the company would succeed long after he was gone.

It couldn't have been easy for him to put that dream asside even if it's not forever.

Prokopchuk_9 · February 12, 2010

So I just noticed the ad for tonight's final American chopper episode. Kind of sad to see it go. Always enjoyed the show although the decline in the business and the family life of late was hard to watch sometimes. I am sure this will have a negative impact on the business but getting out of the limelight may help the family. I lean toward the Jr. and Mikey didn't appreciate what Sr. was trying to do for them. Kind of took it for granted and this lack of respect drove Sr. over the edge sometimes. You guys see it different?

i lost interest in that show as soon as it wasnt about the bikes anymore, the first couple seasons were actually about building bikes, now its just a soap opera. the last few seasons were garbage i thought, wasnt even about motorcycles anymore, was about jr. and sr.'s bull**** every episode. if they the show was still about building nice bikes, i would care. now i dont. just my thoughts

jro909 · February 12, 2010

the tv network focused on the drama because thats what sells, its sad that the whole show took a dark turn...

csheatz · February 12, 2010

I have to say i think the company and the brand name are something that was made what it is by Jr, however his work ethic is not the best. Yes i feel he should have been treated better by Sr for the work he did, but at the same time he was a little lax about work.

I remember when it was just the 2 of them in the old dark small shop, cool to see what they have grown into, but sad to see their relationship fall apart. Its kinda a sign about working with Sr that Danny, Paul, and Mikey all worked with him, and now non of them talk to him! Dan seems to be doing very well with the steel business.

I used to watch them all the time, the last few years not so much but I have caught a few shows here and there in the last few months. What ever happened to Vinnie? he was just gone one day!

SilveradoWV · February 12, 2010

I havent watched this for a couple years either. I have stopped on it though for a few seconds when flipping channels recently and nothing seems to be even remotely the same, so I usually continue to flip channels. I'll admit it was a good show back in the day, but I'm out of the loop as to what has happened recently...

hockeypro1411 · February 12, 2010

I have to say i think the company and the brand name are something that was made what it is by Jr, however his work ethic is not the best. Yes i feel he should have been treated better by Sr for the work he did, but at the same time he was a little lax about work.

I remember when it was just the 2 of them in the old dark small shop, cool to see what they have grown into, but sad to see their relationship fall apart. Its kinda a sign about working with Sr that Danny, Paul, and Mikey all worked with him, and now non of them talk to him! Dan seems to be doing very well with the steel business.

I used to watch them all the time, the last few years not so much but I have caught a few shows here and there in the last few months. What ever happened to Vinnie? he was just gone one day!

I quit watching when Vinnie left. He was my favorite person on that show. He got tired of the drama, and moved onto bigger and better things. There were rumors that he was going to go into business for himself.

Luvbelly · February 12, 2010

Vinnie and Cody did in fact go it on their own. Here is a link to their new company: http://www.vforcecustoms.com/ If last nights show was in fact the last of the series I expected more. Not even a look back or interviews on where they are today.

csheatz · February 13, 2010

very cool, I also liked Vinnie, good to see he is making it on his own.

GasHog369 · February 13, 2010

For a "last show", it sucked!

There was no closure.... Like said , interviews , reasons, etc....

It just seemed like a regular show..

And what was up with paul sr building the restaurant and having mikey and jrs picture in there????

LawmanSS · February 13, 2010

Yeah, they didn't really give any indication that it was the last show. Makes me wonder if it was a sudden or last-minute decision to cease taping and they never filmed a "series finale."

I can sorta see both sides of the situation...Sr. created Orange County Iron Works from just a welder in the back of a truck. It was this success that enabled him and Jr. to make the transition to custom bikes. However, I think it was Jr.'s design and vision that made the chopper company successful. I think Sr. is a hot-headed hard ass and Jr. is a little full of himself...not a good match. Mikey...well...he's just Mikey!

Chris's 07 · February 13, 2010

I hate to say it but good, they all are jerks, my wifes cousin use to date Cody's sister and use to tell me some story's that made me loose all respect of them,and they bikes are crap always fallen apart.The guy I got my night train from had 3 people that got bikes from them and had to fix them with in a couple weeks of them getting them.Also when my cat dealer opened up we had the cat bike there and had to fix the handle bars cause they where falling off and we could not even run it cause it leaked oil so bad.Plus they where nothing intill that show came out then they where to good for everybody.Sorry for going off but just my .02. Vinnie and Cody left cause they would not get into the drama like the producers and Sr wanted them too.

omegafiler · February 13, 2010

Yeah, the show has been losing interest every season. What little bike building has been going on is all rather boring. Especially since Jr/Mikey were kicked out. It's just like they push a button, load a "themed" bike template, and throw it together.

I like Sr... but he just reminds me way too much of single minded upper management who only know of one way to do things. Which is to micromanage the hell out of your employees when you really have no idea what it is they do or whether it's going to help anything. With the kind of $$$ they were bringing in, who cares if Mikey had a "flexible" work schedule or if Jr acted like a spoiled kid. As long as it meant keeping everybody happy, building bikes, entertaining the audience, and still making a ton of cash... go for it.

But at that point, there were just way too many issues between the 2 of them to work anything out. Sr had clearly been working towards running things on his own anyways. Unfortunately without the TV show (ie. it's corp sponsors & bike builds) and Jr/Mikey, I'm not sure how long his success will last on his own.