Orange County Choppers is going green on us. First there was that electric bike they whipped together for Siemens. Now it's a hybrid. We think this is fantastic, but with another eco-friendly bike rolling out we worry the crew soon will be sporting Birkenstocks, dreadlocks and patchouli oil.
Schneider Electric commissioned the project. We can see why OCC's interested -- the technology is new, it's cool (to us, anyway) and it gives them new things to throw around in fitful tirades. But why would Schneider be interested? Aside from putting itself on the pop-culture radar, Schneider Electric sees a hybrid custom chopper as an opportunity to "support its mission of helping people make the most of their energy," Amelia Huntington, president of Schneider Electric U.S., said in a statement (.pdf).
OCC's own Paul Teutul Sr. says he's stoked. "The ability to help design and build a hybrid motorcycle of this caliber is a unique opportunity and our team is up to the challenge," he said.
Schneider will help out with the electrical work because the last thing anyone wants is Mikey messing around with batteries. Look for the bike by the end of next year with the obligatory build on the TV show. A national tour also is planned. It all sounds a lot like the Siemens electric OCC bike shtick, but Schneider is going one step further to give away eight OCC choppers to electrical contractors to help make the interest and publicity stick.
What are the boys gonna throw at us? A solar chopper? How about a hydrogen fuel-cell chopper? If that’s the case, we hope it won’t have the same throw-back 1980’s “Street Hawk” design cues as the Suzuki Crosscage concept. We'll be waitin'.
There's no photo of the bike yet, so we're giving you another look at the OCC electric motorcycle. Photo: Siemens.
