Designed by Orange County Chopper, the [a href="http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=73180&x=7"]Cat Chopper[/a] debuted last year.
[img style="width: 528px; height: 396px;" src="http://www.cat.com/cda/files/295090/7/1024x768chopper.jpg"]
Building a Bike Worthy of the Caterpillar Name
Few brands evoke the pride of ownership quite like Caterpillar. The Cat®brand fosters strong emotional appeal and passionate loyalty from boththe employees who design, build, sell and support Cat machines, andthose who own or aspire to own Cat machines. Caterpillar has taken thatlegacy of pride in the build and reliability of its equipment andinstilled it in the Cat Chopper. [/p] To begin the build and design of the bike, the Teutuls traveled toPeoria, Ill., to visit Caterpillar headquarters and proving groundswhere they test drove several pieces of Cat equipment. Of course, itwas all for the sake of research, so that they could create a bike thatwould truly and artistically represent Caterpillar. [/p] The Teutuls brought the inspiration from the plant visit back to their shop in New York and proceeded to make what Paul Jr. calls "the toughest bike built by Orange County Choppers."The bike features many unique characteristics that you can also see onCat machines, including Grade 8 bolts and other hardware, sprockets,bucket teeth, and a Track-Type Tractor exhaust.[!--For an up close view of these characteristics, visit key features (link) and the 360 degree view (link) of the bike.--] [/p] Upon completion of the Cat Chopper, Caterpillar hosted a privateunveiling of the bike for more than 1,000 of its employees in Clayton,N.C. Paul Sr. rode the Cat Chopper through the cheering crowd whileemployees took photographs and later waited for autographs from thefather and son team. [/p] From the initial visit to Peoria to the unveiling in Clayton, twoepisodes of the building of the bike aired on the Discovery Channel'shit show "American ChopperTM." Now the bike takes to theroad as it travels from Cat dealer to Cat dealer for open houses, bikerallies and more. Be sure to find out when the Cat Chopper will be at adealer close to you so you can see the bike that only Caterpillar couldinspire. [/p]
