Epilog on American Chopper Episode

[Scott Shepherd]

I was channel surfing last night.....okay, you caught me, I was actually watching American Chopper on TLC last night and Mikie said he was going to a company to pick up the primary covers. It was for some golf tournament that helped kids.

He came walking down some steps of what appeared to be someone's home based office in a basement. The guy put the wood oval in and it showed it burning the image and words into the cover. They showed the front of the machine as they walked to it, and then showed it a couple more times.

Just wondering if it was any one of you folks, or if anyone saw it, or knew who it was. I'd guess it's somewhere new Orange County in New York.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Saw it... dunno. If it were a Creeker, we'd have been told to keep a lookout for it.

[Chris Kalkowski]

I haven't watched that show in a few years. They only make bikes now for the rich and famous.

They are starting to forget who they once were sometimes so they lost a viewer.

[Patrick Grady]

I have seen a few episodes of the Chopper and thought most viewers just goofed on it. I always focus on the expensive machinery and CAD stuff on the shop set (though one gets impression the central characters are best suited to create drama in opening boxes of components fabricated in 'real' bike shops). On subject of reality business tv, I liked the series on the funeral home. Maybe the next hit will be a shop of coffin-makers creating everlasting boxes for our adorable but departed celebrities -pleanty of product placement opportunities for lasers where the word 'engrave' might function as literal passage to the smokey beyond. Lastly, one of the baseball telecasts, either ESPN or Fox, dresses their introductions with laser wood plaques of the team logo's. It is suprising that they don't 'action up' the frame using the ready made animation of the laser doing an actual cutting.

[Scott Shepherd]

For what it's worth, I haven't watched it in a long time either, but it's that sad time of the year when there is NOTHING on tv most nights. After getting thumb fatigue from going through the channels so many times in a row, I had to stop on something.

As a machinist, I always watched the series in disbelief on how people with so little skill and concern for safety could make so much money. I cringe when I watch them use power tools and machinery, and my skin crawls when I watch them beat things together or glue something on. Glue? On a $100,000 bike?

Makes me crazy.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Scott, I agree. I've watched this show and I'm amazed at the level of "good enough for now" that goes into the end product. I've seen the Lincoln bike (NY Auto Show) and was not impressed.

Cool to look at without a doubt, but my son's 10 speed is better built - no kidding. Sloppy welds, lack of grommets at every wire exit point, mis-matched screws and bolts....

I give the paint an A+. I wouldn't want to hit a NY city pothole on any of their bikes.

[Frank Corker]

I used to enjoy the show, I was totally amazed at the prices they were charging. Still some people have money to burn. I always used to say, if the person who bought the bike ever needed something fixing or replacing on it they would have to go to an expensive process to get it sorted. They do look cool, but that's about it for me.

[Mike Null]

More than 40 years ago in one of my marketing classes it was said "you can never under-estimate the taste of the American people." This show is proof.