Fame speeds up the design process as OCC continues to push the envelope

by Amanda McGowan, Associate Editor, PD&D

Jason Pohl, senior designer, Orange County Choppers

For Jason Pohl, it’s all in the custom-wheels. As the senior designer at Orange County Choppers explains, wheels are so prominent on a motorcycle that they define the look of the bike, making them one of the most important parts of to design — and Pohl’s favorite.

Orange County Choppers (OCC), a motorcycle manufacturer in Newburgh, NY, has become increasingly well-known due to the television series, “American Chopper” in 2002. The show, which airs on the Discovery Channel, features the OCC staff under the leadership of father-son team, Paul Teutul, Sr. and Paul Teutul, Jr., producing one-of-a-kind choppers for its oftentimes famous clients — memorable clients for Pohl include Bill Murray, Tony Stewart, Bob Parsons and Muhammad Ali. OCC even designed a chopper for the U.S. Army — a bike designed to look as if it would run through a brick wall.

Thanks to a multitude of technology, however, Pohl is able to crank out one-of-a-kind designs in a day or two, using different software programs allowing him to create 2-D and 3-D models specific to each project.

“The coolest thing is just being able to create and design stuff that hasn’t been done before,” Pohl says. “[A motorcycle] doesn’t have a shelf life … It’s more in-your-face, and it’s going to be around forever. It’s a tangible product and it’s something that has design and performance to it all in one. It actually has to function and look cool.”

With a small team at the shop, OCC produces about 150 bikes per year, Pohl estimated. However, since “American Chopper” launched, his design process has sped-up as a result of being in front of the camera. Pohl and his colleagues now work under tightening deadlines to design and manufacture custom-made motorcycles.

“Just because of [the show] we’re forced to design everything faster. We’re more streamlined and we really move,” he explains. “We’ll ultimately start a project, long hours go into it and everyone is pinned. Everything is full throttle. We just go for it.”

Concept Design
Thanks to a multitude of technology, however, Pohl is able to crank out one-of-a-kind designs in a day or two, using different software programs allowing him to create 2-D and 3-D models specific to each project.

To begin, Pohl simply sits down with a pen and paper. Once he has crafted his concept, he jumps into Adobe Photoshop and creates the 2-D conceptual drawings. Here, he is able to easily generate logos or change colors.

Pohl says he will usually bounce from Photoshop into Alias Studio Tools to design custom wheels, or use his Wacom Tablet, a digital canvas, for drawing. His Hewlett Packard XWH400 Workstation allows him to go from tool to tool, program to program, to craft a unique design for each project.

Pohl then sends his 2-D rendering to the client, and after going back and forth and designing a few renditions, the 2-D design is approved by the client. From there, Pohl takes his 2-D design and transports it into SolidWorks to model the 3-D parts.

On his 3-D Dimension Printer, a rapid prototyping machine, Pohl can print his 3-D model in plastic to create a real-life mold of the part. This capability, Pohl says, “takes it to a whole new level.”

To begin, Pohl simply sits down with a pen and paper. Once he has crafted his concept, he jumps into Adobe Photoshop and creates the 2-D conceptual drawings. Here, he is able to easily generate logos or change colors.

After the 3-D model has been rendered in SolidWorks, Pohl exports the model to the OCC engineering department, headed under Jim Quinn. There, the parts are machined out of P6 6061 aluminum, and then sent off to chrome.

“A lot of times, there’s different software for a different feature,” Pohl explains. “If I’m doing really advanced surfacing, I’m going to use SolidWorks. Or if I want to do some polygon modeling, I’m going to use 3-D Studio Max and I’m going to bring it into SolidWorks.”

“Recently I was doing a Vampire bike,” Pohl continues. “And [the client] wanted a vampire for a headlight. So it started out as a sketch in Alias. Then I brought it into Photoshop and drew a side profile of it. 3-D Studio Max modeled the whole head and then I exported it out into SolidWorks. From there, I was able to get Jim Quinn an IGES file, where he takes it and puts it on the CNC mill and castes to it.”

A few years ago, OCC had a hand in designing wheels and other aspects of a GM Chevy Silverado. They’ve also designed a guitar for PV Electronics, and even developed their own helicopter skin.

Branching Out
With a bachelor’s degree in media arts and animation from the Art Institute of Chicago, Pohl began his design career in video games. He landed at OCC after he was granted the opportunity by Paul Sr. to design the custom choppers. He says the inspiration for his designs comes from everywhere – life experiences, cartoons, cities, the foreign car market, everything. As he designs, he must balance aesthetics with performance.

“It’s an equal battle,” Pohl says. “It has to be safe. It has to perform and it has to look really cool rolling down the road.”

Pohl adds that the company is looking to do additional product design for clients in the future. A few years ago, OCC had a hand in designing wheels and other aspects of a GM Chevy Silverado. They’ve also designed a guitar for PV Electronics, and even developed their own helicopter skin.

“Product design is a route we are going to try to take in the future,” Pohl says. “It doesn’t necessarily have to relate to motorcycles. We’d like to look at ourselves as a more creative design house in the future.
While new markets remain on the horizon, it’s clear that custom bike designs will remain at the top of the food chain. “Our number one goal,” Pohl says, “is always going to be to make motorcycles or choppers better – stronger, faster and cooler looking.”