They say the threads of motoring culture are infinite, but sometimes these come together to create the kind of machine one may have never expected to see. Case in point with the motorcycle we have here. This offers an eclectic mix involving Orange County Choppers, Trans Am Depot, Hurst, Pontiac, as well as Smokey and the Bandit.
Orange County Choppers, wich is still run by Paul Teutul Sr, albeit having moved from its Discovery channel-covered days in New York to Florida, built this bike in 2011.
Part of a three-chopper project, the motorcycle was used to popularize Florida-based specialist Trans Am Depot in its early days. You know, the company that has been building modern-day iterations of the Trans Am despite GM killing off the Pontiac brand just as the specialist was starting its operations over a decade ago. Hey, the also make the 70/SS Chevy Chevelle revival (based on the Camaro VI) nowadays.
As such, the bike is a sibling to one of Trans Am Depot’s OG builds, namely the Camaro V-based 1977 Trans Am Hurst. You see, back in 2011, Trans Am Depot, OCC and Hurst (yep, the shifter company, whose expertise also involves building cars) engaged in a three-way partnership.
Trans Am Depot got the choppers to match a trio of builds, Paul Teutul Sr. grabbed the 1977-style “7T7” Trans Am project, while Hurst, which had built the roof hatches for the 1976-1978 Pontiac Firebirds (not just Trans Ams) had its name featured on both the four-wheeled and the two-wheeled creations.
What about the Smokey and the Bandit part?
However, there was also a more or less direct homage to Smokey and the Bandit present of the matching car and bike. However, we’ll first remind you that, Back in 1977, a movie called Smokey and the Bandit took the popularity of the Pontiac Trans Am to new heights. Essentially, the muscle car was used to steal the cops’ attention while a truck hauling 400 cases of bootleg Cors beer needed to move from Texas to Atlanta.
Did it help that Burt Reynolds was manhandling the Poncho? You bet! Heck, people are even building Bandit tributes out of trucks these days and they’re worth big money.
Sure, Trans Am Depot didn’t have the rights to use the Smokey and the Bandit name, but the 1977 tribute, along with the golden graphics over black paint (and the wheel design) easily linked their build to the motion picture’s hero car and thus to this 2011 chopper.
As stated, the motorcycle (VIN 1Z9RCV2G7BN170783) is up for grabs at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale—the even has already kicked off, and it won’t end before January 29.
Power is provided by an 106ci S&S engine, which works with a five-speed manual transmission. The mileage? As with many big-screen builds (the trio of bikes was covered on two OCC Discovery episodes), this machine hasn’t seen too much asphalt—11 miles, to be more precise.
From the taillights to the wheels and even the Hurst shifter, the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am references are plenty. And you can check out the chopper, along with the two other bikes OCC built and the trio of Trans Am Depot cars that inspired these, in the video below, which showcases the said 2011 launch.
