Ordinarily a custom bike feature begins with a clever hook (we hope) and then introduces the folks involved in crafting the bike into the rolling art that appears within the magazine's pages. Sometimes this format will even extend into explaining to readers what the bike is. For example, a chopper magazine might ignore its core audience and hook the story with an explanation of what a chopper is and why someone would want to ride one. This style of story can tend to be a little insulting to those in the know, but what the heck-beginners have to learn from somewhere.
Thanks to their hit TV show American Chopper on the Discovery Channel, we don't have to introduce the crew from Orange County Choppers. These guys are probably as recognizable to most of the world as President George W. Bush or Shaquille O'Neal.
The OCC bike gracing these pages is known as the "Yankee Bike." It was during the research process of our story that we became aware there was more than one Yankee bike custom built by OCC. The bike in question, also known as "Yankee Bike 1," was commissioned by New York Yankees All-Star catcher Jorge Posada to be auctioned to benefit his nonprofit organization, aptly named the Jorge Posada Foundation. After watching an episode of American Chopper while out on the road, Jorge imagined it would be great to have the OCC boys create one of their unique one-off choppers based on the Yankee theme. When Jorge called the Teutuls and explained he would like to auction the bike off to help support his foundation, the words had hardly left his mouth before the OCC guys were all over it.
In our effort to bring HOT BIKE's valued readers an insider's look at the build, we called ace photographer Dino Petrocelli and asked if he could hook us up with someone who had actually worked on the bike, as opposed to just speaking with a PR person. Dino didn't skip a beat and forked over Rick Petko's cell number. We called Rick on a Saturday afternoon (no, he wasn't in the Bahamas playing a round of miniature golf or bungee jumping at the Grand Canyon as part of an upcoming American Chopper episode), and he had just arrived at home after working his usual weekend half-day gig at OCC's Rock Tavern, NY, shop. Watching the show, one might get the idea that everyone is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from each other. The reality is that Rick commutes 95 miles each way, every day, to hold down his job. He wasn't complaining-he just said he hoped to be able to buy a house closer to work.
Rick said the 6-up, 10-inch-back rigid frame for Yankee Bike 1 was manufactured for OCC by Racing Innovations in Oklahoma City, OK. Straight out of its shipping box, the frame was placed on a lift, and then it was time to rock and roll. He told us, "The deadlines are real, but you get used to it. There are only two weeks for the build and then one week for Nub to paint it.
Immediately after the two-week build (while Mikey was fast asleep on the couch), Vinnie, Paul Jr., and Rick blew the Yankee Bike apart and designated which parts would be shipped where. The bulk of the parts were powdercoated by Sumax in Oriskany, NY. Almost 20 years ago, in 1987, the guys at Sumax were the first powdercoaters to specialize in custom-finishing motorcycles. The folks at Chrome Masters in Nashville, TN, are another trusted source for Orange County Choppers' sublet work. Anyone who's ever built a bike can tell you that chroming can be a major-league pain in the ass if you use the wrong chrome-plater. Thankfully, Paul Sr. is not the kind of the guy who would start screaming and yelling at everyone if something ever did go wrong with the chrome.