December 5, 2011
December 6, 2011
THE BUILD-OFF
Dec. 5, 2011
In this two-hour special, Senior, Junior and Jesse James compete in a no-holds-barred three-way build-off to determine whose bike reigns supreme. The winner — determined by viewers, in a vote immediately following the show — earns bragging rights as the best bike builder in the world.
CHOPPER LIVE
Dec. 6, 2011
We reveal — live from Las Vegas — who YOU chose as the winner of the three-way build-off.
Wow, it sounds like Discovery got it right this time.
I plan to do both parts in one post, so after Tuesday’s part I will simply update this entry to include both shows, so check back here tomorrow for part two.
PREDICTION: Paulie wins the vote. I am not saying he will build the better bike, but I think that history shows this is a popularity contest.
(And as I typed those words, Vinnie said “this isn’t a popularity contest, vote for the best bike.”) Senior later, in a clip from the aftershow, even said that he’d get his ass-kicked in a popularity contest. He predicted Jesse James first, Paulie second, OCC third.
Discovery is treating this like a boxing match, a lot of trash talk and video packages. Paulie said that OCC stepped up their game to compete with PJD, and Jason Pohl- who appointed that tool OCC spokesman?- talked some nonsense and total idiocy about an OCC flamethrower. I say let him design the bike, OCC will lose for sure. (“An OCC flamethrower would have at least 10 to 15 foot flames.” Just shut up.)
Jason then said that he was disappointed with Paulie’s bikes, that all look the same and are too dependent on the paint scheme. OK, he has to be trolling the net, that is what everyone says about his bikes. That’s what I say about his bikes! I see references here and there to Jason taking acting lessons, to Jason getting involved on message boards. I have no idea if any of that is true, but I am sure he knows that the internet hates him. And he has not done a single thing to make himself more likeable. He gets less likeable every second of his life.
In the second hour, Jason, in a strange and obviously staged segment, said that “someone told him” there were videos about the build off on the “internet” and if you saw it you know I am not lying- he put air quotes around “internet.” Ugh, give it up, Monkey Boy.
Meanwhile, Jesse James sounds more and more like a complete jerk every time he opens his mouth. His short first segment involves him talking about thumbs in his mouth and up his ass. I am having trouble listening to him, and not because they have to bleep every third word he says. Does he think cursing makes him cool? Someone please tell him he isn’t 13 any more. And listen to his slow speech. I don’t know him that well. Does he always sound half-stoned? He grunts, he does strange voices, I have no clue what his story is.
All the teams want to be unique, want to be original, want to win. Paulie has a WWII P-51 Mustang fighter plane brought in, Senior wants to ride in on something no one will recognize, Jesse James want to build something the Teutuls can’t even turn on.
Paulie's inspiration
Early indications are that Jason has not designed a motorcycle. It has tractor treads on each side. Do motorcycles have tractor treads on each side? He’s designed it so the driver lays down on it, like the Bat-cycle from The Dark Knight, and yes, I think he is putting flamethrowers on it. At least Jesse James said one thing I like: “I’m building my bike based on a motorcycle theme.” HA! Take that, Jason. (Seriously, I give that quote of the year because it so perfectly sums up all the problems with OCC.)
He also said that his bikes are built to last and OCC (and PJD too, I guess) build show bikes that are good to look at and start-up on TV but won’t stand real use. He may be right.
PJD’s design, at the 9:30 mark, is too early to tell what it will look like but they are making progress. They are going to be running the exhaust through the gas tank and giving it a single-sided front fork to look like landing gear. As the show goes on and it develops, I am really starting to like it.
At OCC, they are talking about a flame cannon and napalm, and the design looks very much like something that is clearly not close to a motorcycle.
Jesse James takes some time out to shoot an assault rifle. Yeah, he’s cool. Stop trying so hard!
Jason's wet dream
Meanwhile at OCC, Senior- again!- says that Jason’s drawings do not translate well to reality. So I say- again!- why keep letting him design? He doesn’t know motorcycles! Now I am just some guy at home blogging about the show, but I would think that not knowing jack shit about motorcycles would be a problem in Jason’s line of work. Good thing Senior needs his boots licked.
Back at PJD, the Discovery/American Chopper website got its 9,000th plug when Vinnie and Mikey went there to see Jesse James bike pics. They are really trying hard to get viewers to the website and aftershow. And I have to say- not interested.
(It is now 9:50 and I’d usually be wrapping things up but there is still another hour to go.)
Mike gets on the OCC thing for a test ride and while I do think it is going to be cool, I say they should lose automatically because they are not building a motorcycle. (To be fair, I am not sure there are any rules to this, and it is a “build-off,” not a “motorcycle build-off,” but since these guys are all motorcycle builders I thought that was implied.)
The more I watch, the more I am starting to think that I am going to vote for Jesse.
Jesse tries to repair his image by spending some time with his daughter. Nice spot. Did anyone else think it odd that his daughter is so fluent in German? Maybe I am on the wrong track. Is Jesse James German?
But for all I’ve gotten on Jesse James, I say he is right when he says he is building a bike, that you can’t build a bike by computer, that a motorcycle is more than a fancy paint job.
And I have to give Senior a point. The website is taking votes on the best bike when the bikes are not even close to being built. Why? What’s the point of that? Everyone on the show spent a lot of time telling us this is not a popularity contest (meaning they are afraid Paulie will run away with the vote and turn this into as much of a joke as the Cadillac Build-Off) and then they take votes based only on popularity? C’mon Discovery, you can’t have it both ways. NOTE: I just went to www.chopperlive.com and official voting is not going to start until this show ends.
OCC tests the flamethrowers (sigh, really?) and they have the nerve to talk about technology in the same segment. Yes, a lot of tech went into this build, and yes, it is very high-tech under the hood, but I will go out on a limb and say that they will never build a bike with a flamethrower again.
At the 10:35 mark, Jesse James got a delivery from OCC- a bunch of Paul Senior toys, showing that at least someone at OCC (I’d bet it wasn’t Senior) could take a joke.
And after a short two-minute segment they went right back to commercial. Seriously! A commercial break, two minutes of show, a commercial break. What’s the deal with that, Discovery??? In fact, throughout the show, there were more commercials than usual, and shorter segments with longer breaks, and short breaks popped into the show almost at random.
Senior couldn’t even keep a straight face when talking about how they are about to use their Batcycle thing to blow up a car with cut-outs of Jesse and Paulie in it near PJD. Mikey heard the noise and said “I think it’s Santa.” I got a legit laugh at that.
Anyway, OCC tested the thing and it was very cool but I still say they lose because the other teams built motorcycles. (And yeah, Jason screamed like a mental case again for no reason during the test.)
When the PJD bike was complete, I had a hard time deciding if I liked it. The design was obscured by the highly polished finish. I need to see the pictures online.
Jesse’s bike was cool. It was a good-looking bike, but I didn’t see anything special about it. I feel like I could see a bike like that anywhere. On the other hand, that may be the reason it could win. It is a classic bike, unlike the things the Teutuls built.
END OF PART ONE.
LIVE! FROM THE HARD ROCK IN LAS VEGAS!
The live show starts and your host is Mike Catherwood because Baba Booey was busy at a car wash opening. The crowd was really hot, and not from the flames shooting out of Senior’s not-a-motorcycle. when they were introduced, Senior got pretty good applause, Jess James got more, and it seemed like Paulie got the most but it was hard to tell because the crowd was miked pretty poorly.
As you’d expect- and I am not knocking the show- it began with a long package of clips highlighting the rivalry between the trio. Personally- and again, not a knock, every live show like this does it- they are clearly going to pad a 1/2 hour show into an hour and 2 minutes.
Senior on stage said that “Jason designed something over the top and that’s what we went with.” That’s OCC’s trouble right there. When he said “Jason” someone in the audience yelled out something but I couldn’t hear it. Senior got a laugh out of it.
Jesse James on Jr.’s bike: “I remember when I built my first copper bike with rivets.”
Jesse James on Sr.’s bike: “That’s not a motorcycle, but I’d ride it.”
I haven’t timed it but at 9:20 I’d bet the show vs commercial time is close to 50/50. A whole lot of commercials.
While I like that they are giving us the result right away instead of making us wait months, we just saw the show last night so the clips all seem boring and repetitive. But again, every show does that.
Jr. on Jesse’s bike: “When I first saw it I was disappointed.”
Jr. on Sr.’s bike: “Senior’s bike isn’t a bike. It has some innovation but it just isn’t a motorcycle.”
Junior had the class to bring all of PJD on stage with him. Catherwood said to Vinnie “you do a lot of the real work.” Yep!
(And after 7 minutes of show, they plug another show and go to a commercial break, then come back to a song by Bush. Thanks a lot for the 10 minute bathroom break, Discovery.)
At 9:43 Senior and Junior hit the stage and, after a package of greatest hits… commercial.
When the show comes back, the Teutuls watch the clip where Senior and Paulie go nuts and Paulie got fired. Senior is smiling,
Paulie looks uncomfortable. At times, listening to his father, Paulie looked grim. And when Paulie spoke, he spoke about his father, not to his father. He clearly wasn’t comfortable, but both Paulie and his Senior hugged and said they loved each other. It seemed real and Senior seemed a little emotional. I’m sure some of you will call me out on this, but it looked real to me.
And then Jessie James joined them. and he talked as much shit to their faces as he did on TV. Neither Sr. or Jr. looked happy and Paulie and Jessie got into it a little.
And finally, there was a winner.
In third place, as expected, Paul Senior.
In second place, Jessie James
And the winner, Paulie, who again brought all of PJD up on stage with him.
Senior walked across the stage and hugged his son, and that was it. Put it in the books.
Mr. Blog's Tepid Ride 
Well I watches the show twice….and….
Pool is still the Fool. Sr. is still touched in the head, and Jesse is still smoking something, not sure what… I agree that Jesse’s bike is nothing special, couldn’t tell who built it, but considering it was done by a bunch of friends getting together to build something in a garage, it figures. I wouldn’t buy that bike on a bet. If that is what jesse builds then I know why he got out of the motorcycle business for some years now, he has nothing real to offer of anything of consequence. I saw no real creativity, no imagination, and the only thing smoking is him and not his bike.
I like Paulies bike, he is true to himself and what he does, and I think it turned out really different and super nice. And I just saw the description on the TV about what the show is suppose to be abou and I quote, “to see who can build the better bike”. In that case OCC is OCD and OOL (out of luck) cause they are not building a bike by any definition. But Sr. has been off track for so long he doesn’t even know where the track is anymore.
And Discovery must be smoking the same stuff as Jesse is, maybe that is how they got together, met at the same supplier. LOL
The Question was “who do you think will win?” and it has nothing to do with the bikes at this point, BUT I understand that the FAITH most people have is in Jr. not anyone else and that is what the poll shows. And I am not even sure why Jesse is in this contest if it is a contest, he seems or acts like he don’t really care most of the time, and the other part it looks like he isn’t really all there. And it appears that most of his helpers did all the work NOT him. I don’t recall seeing him do anyting.
And as for Jrs. bikes not being road worthy, that is a stupid statement and a lot of wishful thinking on Jesses’s part. It is almost like he admitted he had gotten in over his head and that Jrs bike will be more beautiful than his. What ever….he is a waste (Jesse) of air, time and thought. The first thing he should have built was a brain for he lost his somewhere in the shop or on the road.
I think this will be just another runaway of Jrs, he uses his brain, while Jesses looks for his, and Sr. just uses his Fool the Pool and doesn’t even try to use his brain for if he did the first thing he would do is FIRE THE FOOL.
And that is how I see it so far….
Michael W.
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if you knew anything at all about bikes. I might since I am a certified technician, you would know that his bikes are not roadworthy. They are just decorations and untill you ‘ve built a bike your self and rode it thousands of miles you do not know shit\
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Not sure that’s absolutely true — it is in some cases, I’m sure — but the American Chopper bikes were always intended to be promotional art pieces. Calling the “choppers” is a misnomer, and I’m sure that’s your point, right?
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PJD should win!
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I am 70 years old and have been riding bikes for 58 years. I watch this show to see bikes built! Jesse James is an ass and acts like one. He is a smart man in a lot of ways, however, his stupidity far out weighs his intelligence by a long shot! Paul Sr. has lost his edge and allows a computer designer to do his thinking, bad idea! Paul Jr. uses real inspiration for his designs. The P 51 is an awesome theme and I feel Paul Jr. did a great job translating his thoughts into a motorcycle! J.J. built a very non discript bike that really does not say anything. Paul Sr. did not build a bike.
Paul Jr. gets my vote!
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You gotta give Senior some credit for trying out something other than what they have in their production. That being said a bike build off is not the right place to enter that vehicle. You can see how uncomfortable senior is riding that, he should have ridden that thing in a sitting position, would have looked cool, then again it would look like the gow-3 trike.
Jesse’s so adamant that he doesn’t do “theme” bikes that it came out boring and lacking in the fabrication department. It was funny when they shot him riding it and he always had to look at the side cause hes made the seat so low and his handle bars so high. Some people pointed out that his’ bike was the only ride-able bike among the 3 but seeing as to how he rode it begs me to differ.
PJD is a design company by nature so having no “theme” would be hard for them. So they had to have a it and the aviation theme was used. I think I saw an old episode of occ where they used rivettings on their build so that wasn’t totally original (1st time i saw the pics i went ugh, those again?) I was a bit disappointed at 1st. Then saw it in action, the exhaust on the gas tank and how it smoked like a real plane, the wheels like in the plane, the color combinations (chrome to copper?) it grew in to me. It was the best among the 3 but certainly not PJD’s best.
Overall PJD will win, Senior will whine and Jesse will curse and give us the finger for voting PJD.
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The “Jet Bike” had rivets that were painted on by Justin.
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A few observations…
1) Totally agree about the blond hair, blue eyed daughter learning and showing off her German to her de Fuhrer Dad.
2) My thought is PJD’s chopper ;looks very good, well designed and practical…Jesse’s is an ordinary chopper — if it was bult by anyone else no one would give it a second look…not wasting my breathe on what OCC built…
3) Love how Jesse and Sr “Don’t care” about the vote…well really? If Jesse and Sr both said no to this show concept of a 3-way-buld off than the show would never had happened…
4) Wow, they blew up a car…woah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What? NO way! Incredibly zany!
5) Poor Rick looks so uncomfortable…
6) An the winner is….”Mike and Molly” on CBS because that’s where i went halfwaly thru this awful show.
That’s it..thanks for playing.
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Rick would, I think, just like to build bikes, period. He doesn’t seem to like the rest of the nonsense.
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It’s sad that he seems to have no say in the build when he’s the on who’s got most of the talent. He even asked “is it technically a motorcycle?” Dimwit Jason answers “the theory behind it, is that it would be an occ flamethrower (what? you numbskull)
They messed up the cadillac build, they should have said, hey rick how about this time you design the bike. Since they have nothing to loose, rick is pretty popular, it would have pulled in votes. Bunch of morons.
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This is just me, but when Rick talks about bikes at OCC and we see him fabricating I take OCC seriously because he has credibility. Jason? Um, not so much.
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Agree, but Rick looks miserable…My gut tells me that in the end, neither Jr or Sr get Rick…Rick will bike his way back to PA at the end or near the end of this season.
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No one under 6ft. Could ride Jesse’s bike, ride that way for ten miles and you’d sell or trade it
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Yeah, I was totally puzzled by that design. Does anyone else design bikes like that? The gas tank is at chin level, the handlebars are almost above his head, which would not only get uncomfortable quickly, but seems like it would make it really hard to steer, and you have to constantly crane your neck to see the road. It just seems impractical and unsafe.
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I’ve seen apehangers like that before but this bike looked like it would be hard to see the road.
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Never owned a chopper, just motorcycles. So, a question: could a cop cite you for having the limited visibility that Jessie James’ bike offers? Would it be deemed unsafe?
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agreed also need to point out that it would be Illegal to ride in most states. I know IL your hands CANNOT be higher than your shoulders when you sit up straight. State cops LOVE to write bikers tickets
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Ellis, as soon as I saw Jesse riding his bike, I thought the same thing. That thing would be a back killer in the first mile!
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Hands down, PJD…!!!!!!! That no good Jesse James just wants extreme attention….
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Fun reading your blog…
Havent seen the show jet, waiting on the tube, live in Norway and its aired next year. Have seen the last episodes on the tube, and I must say, this JJ is something…?? else??
Strange if someone have him as an ideal if you think of his flirt with nazi…
But….about the daughter. Sandras mother was an german opera singer, so maybe its not so odd. Some speculations sould u keep to yourself… or?
Seeing the pics of the bikes… sorry 2 bikes and that “thing”, the detalj in PJ’s is amazing!!!
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Thanks for the comment.
Yeah, about the German thing. It just seemed so odd but I really didn’t want to go there so I just let it hang.
“Did anyone else think it odd that his daughter is so fluent in German? Maybe I am on the wrong track. Is Jesse James German?”
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What’s up guys. I’ve been reading this blog for a little while now, but finally decided to comment – especially with this build-off. I’ve always loved this show and have never missed an episode.
Jesse James – This guy… geez. I can’t believe he lives in the same city as I do. (I was even offended that he was wearing an NPR shirt. Dude couldnt spell NPR if you asked him). It was lame watching him try to be a bad-ass by throwing SB under the bus, sending the cakes, shooting guns… enough dude.
The only points he earned in the build-off is that he is the only one who built his from the ground up. I even liked that he said his theme was “bike.” In fact, when he was big and OCC was on the rise, I thought he had the better bikes. But, since then, he has fallen off the map and has been passed up by Jr. This is what happens when you step away from the game – you get left behind. Plain and simple: his design fell short and doesn’t look unique in any way.
PJD – Each week, Jr. and Vinnie out-do themselves. I have to give Vinnie equal love to Jr. One designs, the other builds. They make a great team.
I totally dig the “Mustang” bike. The only problem I see with this bike is that the frame should have been darker so as to highlight the tank and fenders. A few other parts could’ve been darkened as well. I really wish they would’ve had Nub paint at least a little piece because he is a part of the team, but that’s really small nit-picking. The bike is gorgeous! Love the tank and the wheels. Anybody pick up on big wheels becoming a trademark of PJD styling, lately? I like them.
OCC – Cool, but not even a bike. I didn’t see any type of fabrication from the OCC team on this build. The frame was ordered and that other company built the electronic engine. I guess you could say the flame throwers, but I didnt even see them build those… the just showed up.
Winner: PJD – solid all around build – even if it’s made more for show than to ride.
Second: Jesse James – built from the ground up. But considering who built it, it looks like something that was built in some guy’s garage. Wait a minute…
Loser: OCC – they didn’t build it. it was outsourced. And i, too, thought it was implied that this competition was based on bikes.
Leave JJ behind. Stop filming the train wreck that is OCC. Just name the show American Chopper: the Adventures of PJD!
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Eric,
Jesse’s problem is that HE thinks he is funny. The man is a train wreck!
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I posted a comment during last night’s build-off show that hasn’t shown up here yet.
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I’m sorry Russell but I have no pending comments and I didn’t trash a single comment. Would you like to comment again?
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My take on this is pretty much in line with everyone else’s– PJD wins because his machine is classic and great looking; James finishes second because he’s built a classic (albeit uncomfortable to ride, apparently) motorcycle; OCC is essentially DQ’d because it isn’t a motorcycle and you can’t ride it anywhere.
It’s too bad that the voting can’t take place without the voters knowing who built what. Junior will win, and after the vote is taken, Senior will say it’s a popularity contest and that his entry was ahead of it’s time, and Jessie James will say he doesn’t give a bleep what people think because he’s a badass biker and the voters don’t ride choppers.
The decision to build the tracked recumbent machine just underscores how far afield Paul Senior and his draw-yer, Jason, have wandered. Are they wholly detached from the market? (Well, actually Jason was never connected to the market.) What a mess. BUT, what they designed and built is extremely cool and probably a ton of fun; it just missed the mark completely. That whatever-it-is snowmobile with flamethrowers will make a wonderful trailer queen. It will be driven 25 miles, then put in the OCC showroom.
My comment about Jessie James is the same as it was years ago when he did the Monster Garage show and, before that, West Coast Choppers. He’s obviously a talented builder, but he’s also makes a full time occupation of doing everything he can to not fit in with anyone around him. He’s so busy telling us he’s badass that anything else he has to say gets lost. Paraphrasing Shakespeare, ‘Methinks he doth protest too much…’ OK, we get it that James doesn’t like theme bikes, but how many times to you have to say it? Building tricky, gadgety machines is what the American Choppers Show is about, and HE is joining THEM. You get the feeling that the train left the station years ago for James — and Paul Senior, come to think of it — and they’re sitting on the loading dock still thinking it hasn’t arrived yet.
Paulie made some very good decisions during this build. That bike really does have a wonderful 1940’s aeronautical feel to it, and I could imagine it a P-51 fighter pilot sitting on it. And let’s make no mistake here: this machine could easily have come off campy and over done. I hope he has the good sense to wear a weathered leather flight jacket when he takes i on stage.
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My only problem with Paulie’s bike, which the more I see it the more I like it- is that the brightness of the polished metal makes it hard to see the details. It needs some matte on it.
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Not sure I agree. First, I bet it looks remarkably different in person, and second, that’s the way it would have looked had it been built by North American Aviation in 1944.
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It probably would have rolled of fthe assembly line like that, but most of us only know those planes with the paint jobs and battle scars. But at any rate, still a nice bike.
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Actually, the P-51 almost never was painted. Near the end of the war, the US Army discovered that they could increase the range of planes by quite a bit by eliminating the paint, making it lighter.
After reading your comment, I went back and took another look at the stills of all three machines. You’re right that the Mustang bike lacks color, but perhaps Paulie erred on the side of caution. Like I wrote earlier, this was a risky bike to build. It easily could have turned out looking like a toy. I wonder: could he have added a little color to the US Star-and-Bars insignia on the air filter? Truth is, this was HIS design, so he has the final say.
One other thing I noticed about the OCC Whatchamacallitmobile– Senior is shown driving it slowly in a parking garage and the flamethrowers look like they’re almost frying his trademark fumanchu even at 5 miles per hour. If he drives it any faster, he’s in trouble.
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Interesting facts about the P-51. Thanks.
And now I have to go back and see Sr nearly fry his stache.
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R.N.,
I think Nub should have been involved to make the bike have a weathered look. I thought the bike was the winner, however, the copper contrast was a bit much.
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They just showed a highlight of when the frame came back from the chrome shop, and explained that it was nickle-plated and had a brush finish, so yes it was a matte surface.
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Paul Jr had someone nickle-plate his frame to simulate a stainless steel finish. Jesse wanted the stainless look too so he hand-built his frame from stainless steel because it is extremely hard to weld and he wanted to improve his stainless welding skill! Not to mention the difficulty in HAND MAKING A FRAME! Pauly improved his telephone ordering skill in calling someone to come get his catalogue ordered frame and take it to someone elses shop to have the plating done. But yes, Paulie is the greatest bike builder… NOT!
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Again– if this had been a contest of blacksmithing or, even, frame building skills, James would probably have won. It wasn’t, and he didn’t.
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Seriously!! Just what part of PJD’s “airplane” is classic? Is it because it looks like a classic airplane? Have any of you armchair Hells Angels ever rode a bike, maybe even ever owned a Yamaha? Wont even ask about a Harley… If anyone thought Jesse or Sr had a chance to win this rigged and probably very expensive 3 hour Discovery – American Chopper commercial, I have a plot of swampland for sale in Fla.
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Angry, huh? Funny thing about your comment is I DO ride motorcycles (no, not Harleys) and have since I was 18. Ironically, your pissy comment is much like Jesse James’ entry in that it fundamentally misses the discussion at hand, and that’s to build theme bikes.
James was not brought on to the show to build a “better custom motorcycle;” his role is to bring strife back to the storyline. You’re here with the same objective, I’m thinking.
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Congratulations Junior!!!!
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Did anyone else notice that in Jason Puhl’s original concept drawing it had THREE tracks, and there wasn’t any room for the motor? And if there are three tracks, the tank like steering won’t work.
He’s so incredibly insecure and in over his head already, and when he takes this beatdown, he’s going to go out into the yard with a shovel, looking for worms to eat.
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When Junior was there(occ) they would always collaborate and come up with a great design. Now he’s flying solo he’s like a butterfly with one wing ripped off.
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Boner,
I disagree.
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R.N.,
When the design was on the “drawing board” I knew it would not skid steer without a caster wheel in the back.
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Boy, the Build-Off Show was awkward and poorly done. Could the host have been more obnoxious?
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R.N.
Build-Off Show was awkward and poorly done.
The “host” could have been more obnoxious if he were Jesse James, otherwise, you are correct sir!
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PAULIE DID NOT HAVE A P-51 FLOWN IN.
No P-51 ever built had round-head rivets like the kit plane (a Titan T-51 with a Rotax engine) that was flown in.
In the show and in this article, the tiny kit plane is referred to as a P-51″.
Have you ever been to an air show with real Mustangs?
They were used as fighter-bombers, so common sense would tell you that toy plane is too small.
The rivets were flush.
It had one of the first thin laminar flow wings.
The primitive rivets on Jr’s bike copied a kit plane.
What US WWII plane had a wooden propeller ?
Discovery was too cheap to pay for a real Mustang to visit, and Paulie Jr didn’t know the difference.
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Anyone who knows anything about planes knows it wasn’t a P51, doesn’t change the fact that the PJD bike was easily the best.
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Frankly, it struck me as odd that it was so small, but I was a bit hazy and didn’t question it. You’re right, it was a kit plane.
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Looking back, I should have noticed it too.
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Viewers were ripped off, and the majority don’t know it.
The sound of a Merline-engined P-51 was one of the inspirations of post WWII bikers.
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PJD deserved the win, easily. The quality, the finish and the design elevated them way above the competition. And to honest I don’t like the bike, but class wins.
Jesse, while being a talented fabricator just doesn’t have a clue. A few of the minority may want a bike that is awfully uncomfortable and looks like any other hardcore chopper but they are few and far between.
OCC without Paulie are clueless, Jason just has no idea at all. His skills on the computer are excellent but his designs just don’t translate to the real world. It isn’t even a bike but it’s competing in a bike build-off ??????
Well done PJD
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Garry,
Yep, I have to agree with all of your comments.
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The show is called American Chopper people! Not American Tank or American Airplane! So who built a chopper? Jesse built a bike that looks like a chopper. He could care less about the Teutles. But we have to hate him because we always hate people who screw around on their wives! Ya right… Sr built a tank because he knew he wasnt going to win. He was laughing constantly! He did not take this seriously. It was a chance to force a meet with his spinless kid and prove he was the best man on the stage with the most class! The only one that took this seriously was Jr. because his ego told him to take it seriously. His temper was ready to go off before the commercial came. Just like the good ol days. When is his 5 minutes up???
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Loving the comments…my last two cents on this build off…
1) Jesse likes to tell us how the Teutel’s only build bikes for TV…um, okay, do I need to explain how Jesse needs to look in the mirror…the guy is all about me, me, me, TV, TV, TV. What an ass…
2) Jesse is the one beating ex porn stars, publicly seen with Sandra Bulllock, and makes sure he sleeps with another woman, who hapens to have a TV show…hmmm. Using Jesse’s vocabulary, who’s the bigger *&%^ #&@*#(@ @&#^%@@( hypocrite now!?
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Poor Sandy! She knew what she was getting.
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Go back and watch the OCC build, Senior was not around for most of it. He showed back up for the 2nd test drive seemingly half awake, with his coffee cup, and bloodshot eyes. In the interviews with him that follow this moment he just looks awful.
Jesse gave absolutely no credit to the team that saved him, he even still said on stage that he did it all himself.
I actually like Jason somewhat, but I agree he’s not a strong bike designer who understands the mechanics and fabrication involved. On the shows where they have taken field trips (Alaska fishing), he was able to represent in various situations with a great attitude. He’s just out of his element on the job, but probably makes good money between the job and the show, making it hard to leave.
Rick seems like a good guy, but his speech, too-short boxy shirts, and greasy hair drive me crazy. I suspect he has a non-compete clause that’s at least a year, maybe two. So, Jr will either need to buy out that non-compete, or wait for an off season to eat up some of the time, or if Sr’s part of the show gets axed, then the non-compete might be void. There was a period of time that passed between Jr getting fired and when PJD started up, to get past the non-compete time. (This is all pure speculation on my part.)
OH! And the best part was when Sr was reading the question card for one of the videos… does he even know how to read? It seemed like he was sounding out the words like my 5 year old. Kind of makes sense with his backgound.
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Rebecca,
Free Rick!
I still believe Paul Sr’s problems all go back to too many drugs, booze and steroids.
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We must of watched two different shows because the one I watched Jesse thanked his team and apologized to them for trying to do it on his own and not realizing the skills he had at his disposal.
When people hate someone they are very selective about what they say or hear!
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Again– if this had been a contest of blacksmithing or, even, frame building skills, James would probably have won. It wasn’t, and he didn’t.
I guess we did watch different shows, because on the show I watched James said “I built every single piece of this bike.” (Underscored, first person singular and the word, “every.”) In the real world, that’s called horseshit.
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I wish they would try to do a build off with Billy Lane and/or Matt Hotch. Not with a washed up hall of famer like jesse. The dude forgot to be innovative and got stuck in the 60’s or 70’s.
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Billy Lane I was told is in prison doing time for murder right now.
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Vehicular manslaughter, actually. He drove over the center line on a Florida highway in his Dodge truck and ran over a park ranger coming the other direction on a motorcycle. He appeared to be pretty broken up about it during sentencing. He got six years.
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I dont think he forgot.
He builds a motorcycle, not an airplane.
What are you riding anyway?
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jesse james should have concentrated on bike more rather than his dumb comments and trash talking , the bike was plain , you couldnt ride it or see over handle bars . when he was riding the bike , he was looking on the side and under handle bars , its like driving a car and making a whole at the bottom and sticking your head out fromn underneath , poorly built bike and claims it can go all the way to sturgis and back , well i dont think u would get out of austin before getting in a wreck . as for S.R , well it was not even a bike but looked like a fun toy . paul jr ? you out did your self again my man , loved the bike , love the show , and he always has sweet ideas for bikes , maybe he can give some to jesse james , and one last thing jesse , like quit talking like this cause like i dont even know where it comes from cause like whatever like its my bike like it cool like i would ride it like like like , you sound like a 14 year dorky kid thats stoned off his a#@ , get your head back in the bike and leave trash talking at home
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Like he is copying like the surfer dudes like from California.
I also got sick of that, like very quickly!
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Anyone else notice that Sr’s-number-one-ass-kisser, Stevie hasn’t been around? Thoughts?
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All of the OCC personnel were ashamed to be there that night. They knew they’d lose. Not because they build the worst bike but by being total morons and building a toy than a bike. If Senior wasn’t the owner he’d be at home hiding under the bed. I bet he kept on thinking.. “WTF was I drinking when I actually agreed with Jason Fool.”
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All good comments. Jessie should have built a rideable chopper, aka old school. He is talented, no doubt, but mouth overrides his talent. He used to have people waiting in line for his bikes, now he is waiting for customers. Sr’s bikes are just as bad as Jessie’s Hi boy style. If you cant see the road, you cant ride it period! Sr’s tomka toy was a total embarrasment to the himself, and the show. Jr is an alright guy, and he built the better creation, period. He farms everything out though, frame, front end, rear suspension, wheels, ect, but he designed it, and assembled it I guess. Would sure get looks when driven to your local watering hole! He remained civil thru it all, to his credit. He took it wrong when he heard his dad say he would be second. I think senior meant, Sr would be 1st, Jr second, Jessie 3rd. The show was done poorly, horrible sound, like it was taped in a huge tin can, very annoying, but the show was entertaining for me, couldnt turn it off. Wish Sr would have tried with a 2 wheel bike, instead of conceding to loss with that piece of crap transformer toy….
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Senior knew he was not going to win, it was an opportunity to face his brat who refuses to do so.
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As everyone is saying Jr Is number 1,Sr need 2 put jason in his place,Rick has some great ideas if Sr. would open his ears up,And to put it mild,Jason N bauld head Mike is Sr 2 kiss asses,And im sure im not the only person who feel like this,Get togeather Sr.,B 4 you go under!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I’m surprised no one mentioned that to ride the OCC…thingamajig…you have to assume a position that looks disturbingly like being on the receiving end of some doggy-style. Just a weird concept all around.
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Take off the flamethrowers. Is there anything cool about that thing? It is just a weird ride.
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But is it a ride?
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jesse james and occ embarassed themselves , thats what trash talking gets you , put the trash talking effort into your building and you may of won with that much crap talking , as for the bike it would be perfect if you were 7 feet tall and a neck like a giraffe , there was no way you could ride that thing , i saw him trying to look out the sides and under handlebars , i think mickey could have built a better bike than both these clowns , i think jesse is still hurt from sandra paying too much attention to the fat boy on the blind side .
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Got a good laugh from that last part!
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I don’t mind if these bikes are impractical show machines — neither the PJD nor the OCC versions were — but Jesse James is being a hypocrite if he says his is a driver and theirs aren’t.
OK, I think I’m done with this and exhausted from all the turmoil. I guess I might tune in if the promos say there’s an interesting build coming up — I MIGHT — but I personally think that the American Chopper phenomenon has run it’s course. I certainly won’t tune in to see more of Paul Tuetel’s abusive, narcissistic ranting, nor will I even look up from the sports page to see anything that Jesse James does.
Out!
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Sitting behind the anonymity of a computer and calling other posters “idiots” and “moron” isn’t THAT FAR removed from what Paul Teutel Senior does to his sons. I guess it could be called a “Walter Mitty Syndrome” where insignificant individuals feel bigger and braver because they really don’t have to pay any consequences for what they say and do. I probably won’t engage any of you who do that. I encourage all of you to think before you post.
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Yes and sorry, I’ve been a little lazy about moderating stuff like that. I usually let the Chopper comments get a little rougher than the other posts.
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No, please don’t. Allow people to be overly aggressive and abusive and post their demeaning words, then wonder why their comment isn’t getting attention except from other hotheads.
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This is my last post about Jesse James.
This is another train wreck qoute from a train wrecked idiot!
“I just became like a big shot and like married some Hollywood actress and didn’t talk to anybody anymore, so I feel bad,” he said on the show. “And I feel obligated to reconnect with all these people and show them that I’m still the same fabricator motorcycle guy. I’m not what I became.”
One would need professional help, just to help sort out his thinking.
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Has it occurred to anyone that Discovery added Jesse James to the mix because they needed to re-establish the face-to-face conflicts back into the American Chopper series, and they lost that with the split? So on this Build-Off show, the host was deliberately trying to provoke animosity between the three?
I lost a lot of respect for James this week, both as a person and a bike builder. With all his chest-thumping and claims of “just telling it like it is” it turns out he says one thing (“I made every piece of this bike”) and does another (call in a crew to complete the job). And the revelation that he is likely to have Nazi/Aryan ties is disturbing.
I’ve come to refer to Senior’s build and The Lobster and James’ machine as the Red Blindspot.
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An additional thought: I’m thinking that Jesse inched along with his build, going it alone, saying “I don’t give a sh’t if I don’t meet your deadline; I’m gonna build my bike my way no matter how long it takes, f’ck the deadline,” and when the producers came to him and told him he’d be disqualified, he grudgingly brought in Austin Speed Shop to bail him out. Jesse has spent his entire life deliberately breaking the rules and flipping people off.
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I certainly feel the same you do for adding Jesse James. Once the lawsuit was settled there was no more comflict.
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I bet sales of replica P-51 Mustangs have gone through the roof this week.
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No matter what Discovery has done to increase the ratings, as we all watched the show, the real character of a person did show thru. We have our favorites, some we say, what a jerk, others we love.
I hope that Jr gets another show of somekind, I want to follow the guys. I want to see Cody get his bike, show updates of Vinnies family, I understand he has a son we never saw about, I am sure all of us want it to keep going for us. US For years I have watched and it would be sad to have it end like this.
Is anyone as attached to these people as I am?
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Claudia, I totally agree. I’m very attached to everybody who’s with PJD. I think that’s where the show is at it’s best – with PJD. They have everybody that made the show (only missing Rick). I wouldn’t be surprised that if Jr ever gets Rick to join his crew Discovery would dump the OCC part of the show. It would be a shame because that name was made due to the show, but Sr. is the cause of its collapse.
But, again, I want to hear more about Vinnie and Cody on the show, too. What happened to V-Force (the company they created together). Anyway, I don’t think the American Chopper is going away anytime soon. Without Deadliest Catch, this is Discovery’s best reality show, or docu-drama as I’ve heard called.
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Thanks for the recap, man! I missed the live segment so this was a Godsend!
Jesse James is pretty much full of shit, if I may say so. He runs his mouth harder than his bikes!
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I was just flat out disappointed in the build off. I expected an old school Discovery Channel Biker Build off, where they rode the bikes for 400 miles to a bike show and had them voted on by those in attendance, apparently I was mistaken. They couldn’t find anyone better to host the live show then a co host of Love Line? He seemed like he was there just to try to stir the pot, the harder he tried the more of a fool he made out of himself. Of course if it was a traditional biker build off like I thought it would be, we would have seen better offerings.
What was that thing from OCC? Did someone forget to tell Senior that this was a bike build off? Or was it more he didn’t want to “compete” with his son anymore. He stated several times that he knew he wouldn’t win, piss poor attitude to go into a build off with. And his offering although it was definitely different, was a waste of time on the show.
Jesse was his own worst enemy, or more to the point his mouth was. He talked so much smack about everybody, that I think it impacted his design because he was so sure that he just could build any bike and win. He did build a bike for himself, plain Frisco style bike. I think I saw him that same bike before. He had a good chance to make a great motorcycle for this build off, but it looks like he figured that talking smack and building most of it in shop would win.
Junior’s bike I thought nice, for a theme bike. It wasn’t a build off bike, not the build off shows I remember. He put a lot into that bike, and he nailed him theme, had this been a regular episode of American Chopper it would have fit right in. I think he could have done more of a rider then a theme bike, but we don’t always get what we want.
I am just glad it is over actually, it seems like 3 hours of my life I will never get back. I might have had higher hopes for the show thinking that someone would actually care about building bikes that people would ride like Arlen Ness or Indian Larry would have made. I was watching the build off and the live show waiting for my bus after I got off work at DISH, I am just lucky I have sprint for my phone or I would have screamed for wasting the bandwidth to stream the show to my android. I hope Discovery goes back to the roots and has an actual Biker Build off, not a fluff build off.
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I pretty much agree, Shaun. I think it would’ve made for better tv if they went with the old BIker Build-off rules and told everybody to build BIKES (You hear me, Senior?)! But with only the assumption that it was supposed to be a bike (Are you sure you can can hear me, Sr.?), Jr. stuck to his guns and built what made him – a theme bike.
I’m sure if Jr was supposed to build an everyday rider he still would’ve built something great. Would it win? who knows, but I’m sure it would’ve given Jesse a run for his money. I’d like to see him challenged against some of the other builders out there.
Seriously, guys, how bad do you think Sr. is regretting building that thing after seeing the minimal effort put in by Jesse? Sr. could’ve shown up with the Sunshine bike and have a better chance than he did with this flame thing.
I hope they come back with another season. I’m really enjoying participating in this blog!
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Neither Arlen Ness or Indian Larry would EVER build a bike like Junior! They actually have/had skills other then looking at the bike and seeing it in their mind…
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