After five years off the air, Discovery Channel is reviving the iconic motorcycle-construction reality series American Chopper. The famously feuding father-son team of Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr. are back on board as the show’s bike-building craftsmen. In the new show, the duo “set out reclaim their preeminent bike brands and – hopefully, rebuild some sort of relationship … with A-list celebrities, world famous athletes and Forbes 100 businesses as clients, millions of dollars and their brands’ reputations are on the line with every signature build.” [More]

Sam Hendren, WOSU Reporter (2011-02-15) COLUMBUS, OH (wosu) - A group of Ohio State University engineering students is scrounging every penny to complete a project that has world-class implications. The Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team is building a high performance, battery powered motorcycle.     Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team Co-Founder Sean Ewing (l) and Team Member Jay McCoy A group of students is working in a large laboratory at Ohio State University's Center for Automotive Research. The lab is essentially a large, high tech garage which houses among other things, the Buckeye Bullet the world's fastest electric vehicle. But these students are working on something a bit different; they're building a high performance electric motorcycle. Mechanical engineering graduate students Sage Wolfe and Angelica Liu are studying highly-detailed computer images of the bike-to-be "We've been designing a mount to hold the motor on the frame," says Wolfe. "So we're trying to get the bolt pattern in order to have an accurate motor mount," Liu says. "So we took pictures and we can actually import them into the software and then trace over where those bolts are actually located." Wolfe and Liu are among dozens of students working on the BEMRT - the Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team. The co-founder of the project is Sean Ewing, a graduate computer engineering major with a passion for high speed motorcycles. Once the "race vehicle," as Ewing calls it, is finished, the team will hit the electric motorcycle racing circuit: known as the TTX GP. Ewing wants to win. "This year our race vehicle will be racing against other electric motorcycles. That's fine, that's dandy," says Ewing. "The way we're really going to be proving this technology is going against gas bikes; and we will have several races against gas bikes. This is the new generation of American muscle and this is absolutely positively the forefront of it." With electric vehicle technology in its infancy, it's hard to believe that a battery powered motorcycle could match the performance of a fuel injected sport bike. But Ewing has experience behind him. Last year he personally financed, built and raced his own electric motorcycle. "Here's what the bike sounds like," says Ewing, as he twists the motorcycle's throttle. "Electric motorcycles are definitely not for Harley riders. But I love the sound. I think it's sexy and it's got gobs of power," Ewing says. Ewing won't provide many details about the new bike being built, not even its name. "Right now that's actually classified," says Ewing. "It's a play on words and our expected top speed for the vehicle so when we hit that top speed you'll know." But he does say this: "It's very, very powerful; around 160 horsepower; 12 kilowatt hours of capacity. Quite simply a little monster. It's going to be great," Ewing says. Marcello Canova is an engineering professor at Ohio State and the faculty advisor to the motorcycle race team. He says he sees the motorcycle's development as the natural next step. "The Buckeye Bullet today is rated as the world's fastest electric vehicle. We have a lot of experience with four-wheelers, so I think the battery motorcycle team is definitely the natural evolution of this tradition that we have at Ohio State," says Canova. But why build a high speed motorcycle designed to compete on the race track? Canova says that valuable information is gained during the process. "Testing electric motors and testing new battery technologies in a racing environment will help resolving several engineering issues that today are making large scale implementation of battery technology in electric vehicles difficult for the market," Canova says. Canova says the project is an excellent way for engineering students to apply what they study in the classroom. "They learn how to apply their engineering skill in solving practical problems. They learn the importance of solving engineering problems for the society, in this case for clean transportation, for sustainable mobility and also they deal with real world project management, building and prototyping products with budget constraints and with timing constraints," Canova says. The team is painfully aware of budget constraints. Ewing says they're scraping by, allocating every penny toward the best technology. The team must also come up with funding for travel expenses to various racing competitions. But it's about more than winning, Ewing says, it's about advancing electric transportation technology for future generations. "If we can slam as much power into this little vehicle as possible - have the most powerful motor in this little tiny vehicle - I believe it's going to be great for the young adults on the team to learn about this technology and hopefully they'll take it to the mainstream and make an electric future," Ewing says. The team's first competition is in California in late spring. Read Article Here © Copyright 2011, wosu

Newburgh — Orange County Choppers announced Oct. 7 that it has broken the previously held quarter-mile record for a battery-powered motorcycle. The historic accomplishment was recorded at Virginia Motorsports Park near Petersburg, Va., Sept. 24. Legendary drag racer Larry "Spiderman" McBride rode the 363-volt, 4,000-amp electric bike to a 7.469-second, 177 miles per hour quarter-mile pass, shattering the existing world record of 7.82 seconds at 168 mph. The Lawless Electric Drag Bike was featured in an episode of "American Chopper" Oct. 7 on TLC. The Lawless Electric Drag bike is sponsored by AEK Packaging and Aaron Equipment Co., both based in Bensenville, Ill. The bike puts out more than 600 horsepower, and contains an electric DC Drive System and a GE 13-inch motor with a double Zilla controller. The team running the electric drag bike at Virginia Motorsports Park got in elapsed times of 8.02, 7.57, 7.50 and 7.46. Speeds at the quarter-mile were 159, 163, 172, 174 and 177 mph. The team says that a speed of 200 mph is quite possible with this bike once they manage to find more horsepower to put to the pavement. Coincidentally, this isn't the first time that OCC broke the record. The first attempt was on Aug. 29 at Quaker City Raceway in Salem, Ohio, where the team registered 7.77 seconds at 165 miles per hour. And this isn't the last record OCC and Lawless Industries are hoping to break. Next up is the current land speed record for an electric motorcycle set at 179 mph in September at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in northwestern Utah. "I'm proud to say that as a company that with the Lawless Electric Drag Bike we were able to break the same world record twice," said Paul Teutul Sr. "And we look forward to what's next with the bike." "The entire experience of this build, from the planning and building with the OCC crew, to breaking the world record at the track, was incredibly positive and rewarding. I look forward to future ventures with this first-class team," said Shawn Lawless, CEO of Ohio-based Lawless Industries.

Orange County Choppers and Lawless Industries Take a Brand New Beast Down the Dragstrip to Clutch the Quarter-Mile World Record The Lawless Electric Drag Bike was Piloted to an ET of 7.469 seconds at 177 Miles Per Hour Breaking the Previously Held Quarter-Mile Record for a Battery-Powered Motorcycle NEWBURGH, NY – October 7, 2010 – (Motor Sports Newswire) – Orange County Choppers, the custom motorcycle shop, announces today that it has broken the previously held quarter-mile record for a battery-powered motorcycle. The historical accomplishment was recorded at Virginia Motorsports Park located near Petersburg, VA on September 24, 2010. Legendary drag racer Larry ‘Spiderman’ McBride rode the 363 volt, 4000 amp electric bike to a 7.469, 177 miles per hour quarter-mile pass shattering the existing world record of 7.82 seconds at 168mph. The Lawless Electric Drag Bike will be featured in an episode of American Chopper tonight, Thursday, October 7 at 9PM ET/PT on TLC.   The Lawless Electric Drag bike is sponsored by AEK Packaging and Aaron Equipment Company, both companies are based in Bensenville, IL. The bike puts out over 600 horsepower, contains an electric DC Drive System, and a GE 13 inch Motor with a double Zilla controller. The team running the electric drag bike at Virginia Motorsports Park got in elapsed times of 8.02, 7.57, 7.50, and 7.46. Speeds at the quarter mile were 159, 163, 172, 174, and 177 mph. The team says that a speed of 200mph is quite possible with this bike once they manage to find more horsepower to put to the pavement. Coincidentally, this isn’t the first time that OCC broke the record. The first attempt was on August 29th at Quaker City Raceway in Salem, Ohio, where the team registered 7.77 seconds at 165 miles per hour. And this isn’t the last record OCC and Lawless Industries are hoping to break. Next up is the current land speed record for an electric motorcycle recently set at 179 miles per hour this past September at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in northwestern Utah. “I’m proud to say that as a company that with the Lawless Electric Drag Bike we were able to break the same world record twice,” said Paul Teutul, Sr, Founder and CEO of Orange County Choppers. “And we look forward to what’s next with the bike.” “The entire experience of this build, from the planning and building with the OCC crew, to breaking the World Record at the track, was incredibly positive and rewarding. I look forward to future ventures with this first class team,” said Shawn Lawless, CEO of Ohio-based Lawless Industries. The Lawless Electric Drag Bike will be featured on American Chopper tonight, Thursday, October 7 at 9pm ET/PT on TLC. For more information and a video of the quarter mile record, please visit www.orangecountychoppers.com. SOURCE: Orange County Choppers   CONTACT Michele Paolella, 845-522-5222 x1006 [email protected]

Electric Speed Bike Breaks Land Speed Record Bensenville, IL – September, 2010 – The Orange County Chopper’s team has done it again. They have designed and built a bike that has broken the record for the fastest electric-powered drag bike in the world. Yes, we said “electric-powered” motorcycle. The historical accomplishment was recorded at Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, VA on September 24, 2010.   The “Lawless Electric Drag Bike” was sponsored by Aaron Equipment Company and AEK Packaging. Larry “Spiderman” McBride piloted the 363 volt, 4000 amp electric bike to a 7.469 second ET, 177 MPH quarter mile pass breaking the 176 mph land speed record for a battery-powered motorcycle. The bike, which is owned by Shawn Lawless (owner of Lawless Industries) puts out over 600 horsepower, contains an electric DC drive system, a GE 13-inch Motor and 1,980 A123 battery cells.     The drag bike itself is unique in two ways: 1) its record-breaking speed; and 2) the eco-friendliness of the battery-operated power that generates that speed. Indeed, its series of rechargeable batteries creates in excess of 600 horsepower. As result, the Lawless Electric Drag Bike is transforming the typical weak and slow view of battery-operated power into one of strength and lightning quickness. It’s fitting then that Aaron Equipment Company and AEK Packaging have been personally asked by Orange County Choppers to serve as two of the bike’s main sponsors. That invitation came partly as a result of the companies’ past relationship with the custom motorcycle manufacturer who unveiled the “Aaron Bike” in 2008. More importantly, however, it arose from what the bike represents. The two companies, which are industry leaders in providing new and used packaging and process equipment, are effecting a transformation of their own. Like the motorbike they’re sponsoring, they’re changing the way individuals think and feel about used equipment – as a viable alternative with a new standard of quality that’s both “greener” and more economical than new.     “The reason we sponsored the bike is that it reflects what we are about as a company,” explains KC Christensen of AEK Packaging. “We’re all about quality, speed and ‘going green’. We provide the highest quality used equipment in the industry because we have the same buying criteria as our customers do. At the same time, we offer the ‘fastest’ solution for our customer’s production needs and shortest time-to-market because all of our inventory is immediately available for shipment and doesn’t need to be rebuilt. Most new equipment takes 16 to 20 weeks for delivery and still has not been tested in a production environment. Because packaging changes so rapidly, we’ll even rent our equipment to companies only for the time they need it, and you can’t get any greener or economical than that. If you think about it…every plant in the world runs on used equipment!” Businesses owners who would like to learn more about the philosophy and approach that earned Aaron Equipment Company and AEK Packaging of the Lawless Electric Drag Bike can do so online at http://www.aekpack.com and http://www.aaronequipment.com respectively. Interested media may arrange a company interview by calling (630) 238-2660.

  Lawless Electric Drag Bike   Susan, Michael and Emily Cohen with Paul Teutul Sr. Orange County Choppers, Lawless Industries, Aaron Equipment and AEK Packaging Equipment recently unveiled the Lawless Electric Drag Bike on Thursday, August 12 at 10:30am at the Sturgis Drag way in South Dakota. The Lawless, AEK Packaging Equipment & Aaron Equipment Electric Drag bike was built with the intention to break the ¼ mile speed record by an electric powered motorcycle, attempting to reach a speed of 200mph.     The Lawless Industries, Aaron Equipment and AEK Packaging , two part “American Chopper” Episode, “Debut of the Lawless Electric Drag Bike” will be airing on September 23rd and 30th on TLC.     *The bike is co-sponsored by Aaron Equipment Company, Inc. and AEK Packaging Equipment, both of Bensenville, IL. Photos from Sturgis Bike Week:         The Sturgis Rally Week is held annually, usually in the first full week of August and generally gathers over 400,000 attendees to bike week. Sturgis Rally Week's 70th Anniversary ended in a successful manner with record breaking crowds of visitors, entertainment, vendors, food and amenities. The Legendary Buffalo Chip is already counting Sturgis Rally Week 2010 as one of its most successful rally gatherings ever. Featured Article in the Rapid City Journal, Sturgis Rally Daily See a Preview of the Lawless Electric Drag Bike on YouTube     Skateboarder and Sculptor Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 Tyler Jerke Vaughn Shafer is set up at the Buffalo Chip working on his 2010 sculpture. Shafer has brought a piece of his work to the rally for the last seven years and has included Sturgis motorcycle rally goers in the work. Two months ago Schafer had a vision to create a large, bronze, statue honoring those that have been killed in action. What he has brought to the rally this year is a large battlefield cross, a makeshift cross using soldier’s boots, rifle and helmet. Shafer said he wanted to create a tribute to those that have served in the Armed Forces. “All this goes to those that gave their lives,” he said softly while crying. “There is a lot of heart going into it.” While at the Buffalo Chip Shafer is giving everyone the opportunity to allow him to engrave their initials into the bronze base of the piece. “Anyone wanting to show their respect can have their initials engraved and a patch for their jacket,” he said. After the rally, Shafer said it will be displayed in Washington, D.C. and he hopes to find a good home for it after that. A kid at heart, Shafer will also attempt to break the world record motorized skateboard record on Thursday, a record he previously held in the 90’s by going 70.55 mph. Shafer is a former Hollywood stuntman. View this article at Sturgis Street Blog at the Rapid City Journal In other battery powered vehicle news: Ohio State University Students Break the Battery Powered Land Speed Record     If you think of electric cars as kind of pumped-up golf carts useful for getting around town but not much else, then you probably haven't encountered the 307-mph Buckeye Bullet 2.5 Built by a group of students at Ohio State University, yesterday the electric car broke their own world land speed record for battery powered vehicles, by averaging 307.66-mph over two runs in opposite directions at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Pretty quick for a glorified golf cart, and I expect it will take some heat off the Tesla people in defending bragging rights for electric vehicles. Unfortunately, I don't think you'll see the Buckeye Bullet in showrooms anytime soon. Click Here To View The Buckeye Bullet 2.5