# American Chopper-So Long Vinnie



## chris0

It's great to finally have American Chopper in HD on TLC (instead of having to wait for weeks and weeks to get it on HDT) but does it really have to be when Vin leaves the shop? I am really sad to see Vinnie leaving the family. I've been watching this show for years, back when they were in that tiny little shop and Sr. put Vin in charge of cleaning up after Mikey and Pauly Jr.

I guess I can understand why he's leaving, what with Jr. giving orders and then disappearing for the whole day, but it's still sad to see him go. Nowadays it seems it was mostly Vinnie, Rick, and Poole designing and building the bikes.

I hope he does well in whatever he does.


----------



## Michael D'Angelo

This does suck. I did not hear anything about this until now.

I don't blame him though. Everything he has to put up with because of Paul Jr.

But I think this is really going to hurt them a lot.


----------



## Sharkie_Fan

I hadn't heard this until I saw this thread this morning... Did some quick searching, and it seems that Vinnie is opening his own shop, just down the street from OCC. Cody has also left OCC and is going to work for Vinnie.

Rumor has it that Vin will be doing all manner of customs, not just bikes (cars are, after all, his first love)

Nothing has been said of it, but part of me wonders if perhaps this might be another discovery spin off (like Kat Von D and LA Ink). ... It would be cool to watch Vin make bikes without all the drama that comes along with the Jr/Sr dynamic!

The best part of watching American Chopper for me was watching Vinnie and Rick actually manufacture the stuff... I could do without all the drama, so a spinoff would be good in my book.. 

Either way, Vinnie was quoted in a newspaper article as saying he'd been unhappy at OCC for quite some time, but that he is VERY HAPPY in his current situation, as is the rest of his family.


----------



## tawilson

I don't know but I figured most of what went on was a show for the show. Vinnie's brother made some posts in another forum I go to and he alluded to that. I'll bet there's a spinoff in the works. Why would they leave a popular tv show otherwise?


----------



## mridan

What channel plays new episodes of american chopper,also time and day...thanks


----------



## Michael D'Angelo

mridan said:


> What channel plays new episodes of american chopper,also time and day...thanks


TLC Thursday 9:00 p.m. ET


----------



## RASCAL01

American Chopper is on TLC thursdays at 9, I think.


----------



## mridan

BMoreRavens said:


> TLC Thursday 9:00 p.m. ET


Thank you


----------



## Michael D'Angelo

mridan said:


> Thank you


BTW it is in HD.


----------



## Earl Bonovich

Sniff...

That actually kind a sucks....

But given what those guys must have financially.... not surprising...
And wouldn't be surprised if it is a spin-off and can inturn do cross promotion and stuff like that...

Cody leaving as well is a surprise to me at least... 

Time will tell with what happens.

Vinny may be leaving the show... but he is still part of their "family" as we all know from the 5 years we have seen them, and the story about him and JR being friends for a long time before hand.

We only get to see clips of what happens with what makes the final edit.


----------



## chris0

Sharkie_Fan said:


> Cody has also left OCC and is going to work for Vinnie.


That Cody is going to work for Vin, or rather that Vin would hire Cody, is almost as surprising as Vin leaving OCC. It always seemed like he use to hate being in charge of that kid.

Makes me believe a bit more that it's going to be a spin-off show.


----------



## tko

chris0 said:


> That Cody is going to work for Vin, or rather that Vin would hire Cody, is almost as surprising as Vin leaving OCC. It always seemed like he use to hate being in charge of that kid.


Cody's mom posts in other forums and said Vin and Cody actually get along and are good friends. Vin's reactions towards Cody was part of the 'show'.


----------



## Sharkie_Fan

chris0 said:


> That Cody is going to work for Vin, or rather that Vin would hire Cody, is almost as surprising as Vin leaving OCC. It always seemed like he use to hate being in charge of that kid.
> 
> Makes me believe a bit more that it's going to be a spin-off show.


We do have to realize that we only see what they want us to see... Were his irritations few and far between in reality - though they seem to be "everyday" when you watch the show? Or was he irritated the same way you get irritated when your kid is trying to push your buttons? You love 'em all the same even if your immediate inclination is to wring their neck... 

Besides... as an employer, I don't necessarily care if I get along with my employees... if I can trust them and they work hard, then we can agree to disagree and put any personality differences aside... If Vinnie feels that Cody has skills and he can trust him as an employee.... that's something that's hard to come by, so you grab on to those employees when you have the chance.


----------



## He Save Dave

I was bummed that Vin left. He was me and the wife's favorite guy on there. I hope he does well with whatever he does now.


----------



## smiddy

I wonder if this had been planned for a while. It makes for perfect dramatic transition into another show. What would be even more interesting is if he got Rick to come work for him too. I can't wait to see how this all unfolds.


----------



## He Save Dave

I was thinking the same thing about Rick. That would be awesome!


----------



## 69 Z-28

Just curious, has the episode with Vinnie leaving already aired or is it a future episode. Latest new one I've seen is the one with the helicopter bike, which was on Discovery HD Theater. If it was on TLC-HD, I missed it. Thanks.


----------



## Michael D'Angelo

69 Z-28 said:


> Just curious, has the episode with Vinnie leaving already aired or is it a future episode. Latest new one I've seen is the one with the helicopter bike, which was on Discovery HD Theater. If it was on TLC-HD, I missed it. Thanks.


Yes it was in the episode last week.


----------



## 69 Z-28

BMoreRavens said:


> Yes it was in the episode last week.


Thanks, I'll have to watch out for it. Maybe Discovery HD Theater will show it soon.


----------



## chris0

69 Z-28 said:


> Thanks, I'll have to watch out for it. Maybe Discovery HD Theater will show it soon.


They usually seem to be months behind, even when it was on the Discovery Channel. TLC will probably replay it first.


----------



## TrixStar

Thought I'd bump this since the new season starts tomorrow night. I'm still a fan of the show, anyone else still watch?


----------



## spartanstew

I watch and I'm glad you bumped this thread. I only started watching this show about 1 year ago and have watched mostly reruns. I've been wondering for awhile now, what happened to Vinnie. He was on most of the shows when I started watching, but noticed he just disappeared. This thread explains it. I guess those that thought there'd be a spin-off weren't correct, however. Too bad. Wonder how Vinnie's doing now.


----------



## Talos4

Vinnie's new shop (V-Force custom Bikes) is located about 10 miles away from OCC.

Apparently he's doing pretty well. He has own custom bike line V-force-1 and soon will be rolling out the V-Force Deuce.

And there's talk that there may be a TV show in the fall. That was mentioned by Vinnie in a Bike Week interview on Motorcycle USA.com.

*Motorcycle USA:* What are you working on now?

*Vinnie:* We're working on two bikes, actually. The V Force Deuce, which is our own bike that we are going to use as a marketing tool to show what we can do. It's about 70% complete but gets put on the back burner if another project comes up. The other is a custom build for Geese Chasers, a company who breeds dogs that professionally chase off geese. It's a pro-street bike. 
*
Motorcycle USA:* I know because of the economy, high-end motorcycles aren't in great demand right now. How have you guys been getting by?

*Vinnie:* From what we've seen, production bikes aren't in high demand, but we're still getting orders for customs. We also have a full machine shop and do production parts.

*Motorcycle USA:* What's in the near future for V Force?

*Vinnie: *To keep doing what we're doing. That includes a TV show that will hopefully air around mid-summer, as well as doing an instructional 'How-To' DVD set.


----------



## fluffybear

Michael D'Angelo;1226936 said:


> TLC Thursday 9:00 p.m. ET


I wasn't aware they were still making new episodes..


----------



## TrixStar

Ya this is on tonight, apparently Jr and Sr get in a huge fight (normal right) lol. This one though is apparently bigger than ever, in fact Sr has been touring with Rick to bike weeks and what not instead of Jr.


----------

