Discovery Channel is having its second bike build off in as many years. This year's 4-way competition features Orange County Choppers (Paul Sr.), Paul Jr Designs (PJD), Jesse James, and Gas Monkey Garage. Last year was kind of a joke because OCC made this weird tank-trike that had flamethrowers. The competition came down between PJD's aviation theme bike and James' chopper. PJD won, though my vote was for Jesse James. I like the classic chopper look, what can I say?
So this year they decided to have a 4-way buildoff between last year's three shops, and the guys from Gas Monkey Garage, from Discovery's new show "Fast and Loud". Of the builds last night, here's what you've got to choose from:
OCC:
My take: Cool-looking bike, but shows me more about how good OCC is at using a CNC than how good they are at really building bikes. Actually, I think this bike would look killer in a Steam Punk movie.
PJD:
My take: same old PJD concept bike. I dig the classic car concept, but feel like most of PJD's bikes have the same lines. If you're going for real concept bikes, shouldn't there be some variation to the frame, stance, and look itself beyond whatever you tig weld to the frame?
Jesse James:
My take: This is the last bike I expected Jesse to build. Jesse's got serious trade skills in fabricating bikes, though this one isn't that appealing to me. His attitude during the show is so off-putting though. They had to postpone the build-off for a few weeks so Jesse could finish the bike. His response was essentially, "I'm a rule breaker. I'm not going to rush this bike and to hell with some arbitrary date." Ok cool guy, the rules don't apply to you. But, the fact is that everyone else factored in what they could do in six weeks, and Jesse factored a longer, more complex build, betting that Discovery would capitulate because they want ratings and advertising more than anything else. Want of money and drama won out over a level playing field. Good on Jesse, shame on Discovery.
Gas Monkey Garage:
My take: classic chopper, and that's what I like. It's got a Harley title, clean lines, and you can actually ride this thing for a few thousand miles (Aaron Kaufman rode it from Dallas to Vegas for the unveil). Practical, American, classic, and clean.
Which bike do you like best?
So this year they decided to have a 4-way buildoff between last year's three shops, and the guys from Gas Monkey Garage, from Discovery's new show "Fast and Loud". Of the builds last night, here's what you've got to choose from:
OCC:
My take: Cool-looking bike, but shows me more about how good OCC is at using a CNC than how good they are at really building bikes. Actually, I think this bike would look killer in a Steam Punk movie.
PJD:
My take: same old PJD concept bike. I dig the classic car concept, but feel like most of PJD's bikes have the same lines. If you're going for real concept bikes, shouldn't there be some variation to the frame, stance, and look itself beyond whatever you tig weld to the frame?
Jesse James:
My take: This is the last bike I expected Jesse to build. Jesse's got serious trade skills in fabricating bikes, though this one isn't that appealing to me. His attitude during the show is so off-putting though. They had to postpone the build-off for a few weeks so Jesse could finish the bike. His response was essentially, "I'm a rule breaker. I'm not going to rush this bike and to hell with some arbitrary date." Ok cool guy, the rules don't apply to you. But, the fact is that everyone else factored in what they could do in six weeks, and Jesse factored a longer, more complex build, betting that Discovery would capitulate because they want ratings and advertising more than anything else. Want of money and drama won out over a level playing field. Good on Jesse, shame on Discovery.
Gas Monkey Garage:
My take: classic chopper, and that's what I like. It's got a Harley title, clean lines, and you can actually ride this thing for a few thousand miles (Aaron Kaufman rode it from Dallas to Vegas for the unveil). Practical, American, classic, and clean.
Which bike do you like best?
