I’ve seen the bike a few times at Universal Property events, and I catch myself looking intently at the bike. It’s one of the cleanest bikes we’ve ever built. There was a clear theme to the bike, but it still had a super clean quality.
We actually built two bikes for Universal Property. Sean wanted this bike as a show bike for the company and a second, similar bike to be given away to an employee.
Sean came to us at an awkward time, with Senior vs. Junior in its first season. My father and I ran the only two companies that built bikes like these, and we were on the same television show—so quite often we vied for the same clients.
This project was the start of a long relationship between Sean and me. He is loyal, and I appreciate that trait in someone. Sean has brought several projects to us. In addition to more bikes, I made a Black Widow car for him, and we’ve completed other projects for him through our studio.
We established Paul Jr. Designs to be about relationships. Some of our projects turn out to be one-offs, but we always treat projects as though they will lead to long-term relationships. Sean Downes and Universal Property are the type of people and companies we like to work with.
The only problem with choosing an airplane as the model for the first live build-off bike was that we needed an actual airplane. Problem solved: we had a P-51 Mustang fighter land on the road near our shop, and then we removed the wings and rolled the plane into the shop. However, building the bike proved more difficult than bringing in the plane!
The oversized thirty-inch wheels tend to first draw people’s attention when they see the bike. We took advantage of that by incorporating exotic wood spokes to play the role of propellers for the wheels. With the help of Vince Costa from American Suspension, we made the swing arm—the joint that connects the rear wheel assembly to the frame—one sided. Normally, we would tie in to each side of the rear wheel, but we opted for single-sided on this bike so the propeller theme was quite visible in the rear. The front was also single-sided to make the propeller stand out. Going single-sided gave the wheels an open feel so that if someone was looking at either wheel from the side, it was like looking straight into the nose of the plane.
Although the bike was inspired by a World War II fighter jet, the aluminum skin with all the plating and riveting gave the bike a knightish quality as well. The trim was made of copper to contrast with the aluminum and give the bike a classy look.
One of the numerous innovative parts of the bike was that the exhaust ran out of the gas tank, which, obviously, did not actually hold fuel. The exhaust routed through pipes into the bottom of the tank and then out through pipes on either side. We placed a one-gallon fuel tank at the bottom of the bike—where it would not be exposed to the heat of the exhaust—and connected it to the fuel pump. The fuel ran through copper lines.
The riveted seat was copper plated, and beneath that we placed a big mono shock to go with the overall theme. The frame was the only part of the bike that was steel, and we nickel-plated the frame, again, to be consistent with the theme.
We incorporated the military star and stripes next to the engine on one side. On the other side, we tacked on old-school fighter jet instrument gauges, with a small propeller for the hands.
We fitted the bike with a container for smoke screen oil that’s used in skywriting.
The idea was aircraft, but the end result took on a life of its own.
I owe a special thanks to Brendon, Vinnie, Cody, Peter, and all our great vendors for pulling off a great victory in the build-off.
Although even Rachael had told me “never again” after the stress of Build-Off 1, here we were back trying to win Build-Off 2 a year later. And this time another competitor had been added: Richard Rawlings and his team from the Discovery show Fast N’ Loud.
The build-off bikes were unique compared to most of our other projects because the theme was not determined by a charity or corporate client. I literally could start with a clean canvas, or in this case, clean sheets of metal.
I really liked the build-offs because the creativity could head in any direction. But with Build-Off 2, I felt added pressure because our team was the defending champion and we didn’t want to lose our title.
I really mean it when I say team, because our builds involved every person working together nonstop. I never have worked from any kind of detailed specs and drawings, so except for an occasional sketch scrawled on a napkin or paper scrap, I’ve communicated my vision and ideas by talking directly to guys like Brendon, Vinnie, and Cody. And our build schedules were usually so tight that we had to get things right the first time—no do overs.
In other parts of this book, I’ve described how I landed on the idea of a bike that resembled a car; with this build, the distinctive feature is the grill of a ’39 Chevy. Once we bolted that grill onto the bike frame and added the rough shape of the gas tank, I knew we were on our way to a strong design, even though my team members were not so sure. They may have been thinking, Is this the time Paul misses and we end up with a dud? But gradually they came around and agreed that the bike was working. Of course we didn’t know if it was a winner.
I learned over the years that as a leader in my shop, I had to clearly articulate my ideas but then give the guys the freedom to support and improve the vision using their own skills and creativity. Usually an original idea veers in a different direction toward an even better idea. This certainly was true with the Build-Off 2 bike.
I was so pleased it turned out the way it did because that bike was the end—the last build done for television.
My life long before American Chopper: baby exuberance, the Teutul family (I’m the tall one standing in back), and carrying the rock for my high school team
A great day in my life
My brothers, Danny and Mikey, Mom, and my sister, Cristin
Building a turkey
Hudson joins the family
Building a clean diaper
Three generations
The boy’s first fish
Love our family
PHOTO INSERT CREDITS
All photographs in the four-color insert, unless otherwise indicated, are courtesy of Dino Petrocelli of Dino Petrocelli Photography, Albany, New York. The author and publisher extend special gratitude to Dino Petrocelli for his outstanding contributions to this project.
Retail interior: courtesy of Chuck Eggen
Spider-Man Bike: courtesy of American Iron Magazine
9/11 Memorial Bike: courtesy of Julia A. Wallace
Jet Bike: courtesy of the Lincoln Electric Company, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Wedding images: courtesy of the Studio Photographers, Freehold, New Jersey
New York Giants Bike and family images: courtesy of the Paul Teutul Jr. archives
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