thebighop
01-30-2007, 01:39 PM
Jesse James clears the air
You might've noticed, if you read the newspapers, watched the local news programs, that local business hero Jesse James was socked with a $271,250 settlement by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) after his Long Beach-based West Coast Choppers had turned out 50 custom-built bikes between 1998 and 2005 that were found to have been in violation of the state's emissions standards. Most of the stories went on to say James could not be reached for comment.
We found James to be very reachable, but not, initially, very quotable, when we asked what he thought about CARB's actions:
His first reaction was an unprintable adjective modifying an unprintable noun.
"I've always been in compliance with CARB," he told us, settling down. "Back before '98, they used to go after the bigger manufacturers, companies that built more than 50 bikes a year. We've always made 20 or fewer. In '98, apparently, there was a change in the bureaucracy, but I never received any notification of the change. "Then, in July 2005, right after I got married (to Sandra Bullock; you might've read about that, too), a CARB official came into the shop and revoked the registration of all the bikes I'd sold in that period, saying they either had to be removed from the road or removed from the state." If you know Jesse James, you know he's a reasonable guy. He offered to take back all the non-OK-with-CARB bikes and fix them up so they'd be air-friendly. He said all they needed for compliance was a charcoal filter (Tarryton cigarettes! One of our early vices!) and a muffler.
"They said they needed a `settlement conference.' They started out wanting us to pay $22,000 per motorcycle," says James.
"Look, West Coast Choppers is famous. I'm famous. My wife is famous. I think that's why they went after us so strongly. But just because I'm famous doesn't mean I'm a billionaire. I said, `Do you want to clean up the air, or do you just want a bunch of money? Because I can bring those bikes into the shop and clean them up the way you want them.' I told them to choose between the environment and the money."
Eventually it was the money, with the settlement being closer to $5,000 per bike than the $22,000 starting figure.
Either way, James, understandably, feels wronged. "If they care so much about air, then why don't they read that study by Oxford (University) that showed how much air pollution is caused by cow farts? Why isn't CARB out in Norco fining dairies?
"Heck," he more or less says. "I was going to protest the payment by setting myself on fire in front of City Hall, but I couldn't afford the fine."
But, seriously, folks. James does more than most Long Beachers, famous or otherwise, rich or otherwise, for the environment. He recently donated more than $5,000 to help clean up Drake Park, near his West Coast Choppers (and he spent about $25,000 in "unauthorized" improvements to the area. His and his wife's Cisco Burger (620 W. Anaheim St.) is lousy with such Earth-friendly features as solar power, biodegradable packaging and organic meat that's free of hormones and preservatives.
And his latest endeavor at West Coast Choppers is a crazy fast hydrogen car he's calling Hydro-Hell. It basically runs on water. You could breathe its exhaust right out of the pipe if you were of a mind.
"We're going after the hydrogen-powered land speed record." That's currently held by BMW at a cute little 186 mph. James says his version will do 250 mph. He's going to give it a go in an event that will be filmed for a documentary, "probably in a couple of weeks."
He's Jesse James. He's famous. He's rich. He's a big target. The smart money is on James getting ticketed by the California Highway Patrol when he goes for the record.
Tim Grobaty
www.presstelegram.com
You might've noticed, if you read the newspapers, watched the local news programs, that local business hero Jesse James was socked with a $271,250 settlement by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) after his Long Beach-based West Coast Choppers had turned out 50 custom-built bikes between 1998 and 2005 that were found to have been in violation of the state's emissions standards. Most of the stories went on to say James could not be reached for comment.
We found James to be very reachable, but not, initially, very quotable, when we asked what he thought about CARB's actions:
His first reaction was an unprintable adjective modifying an unprintable noun.
"I've always been in compliance with CARB," he told us, settling down. "Back before '98, they used to go after the bigger manufacturers, companies that built more than 50 bikes a year. We've always made 20 or fewer. In '98, apparently, there was a change in the bureaucracy, but I never received any notification of the change. "Then, in July 2005, right after I got married (to Sandra Bullock; you might've read about that, too), a CARB official came into the shop and revoked the registration of all the bikes I'd sold in that period, saying they either had to be removed from the road or removed from the state." If you know Jesse James, you know he's a reasonable guy. He offered to take back all the non-OK-with-CARB bikes and fix them up so they'd be air-friendly. He said all they needed for compliance was a charcoal filter (Tarryton cigarettes! One of our early vices!) and a muffler.
"They said they needed a `settlement conference.' They started out wanting us to pay $22,000 per motorcycle," says James.
"Look, West Coast Choppers is famous. I'm famous. My wife is famous. I think that's why they went after us so strongly. But just because I'm famous doesn't mean I'm a billionaire. I said, `Do you want to clean up the air, or do you just want a bunch of money? Because I can bring those bikes into the shop and clean them up the way you want them.' I told them to choose between the environment and the money."
Eventually it was the money, with the settlement being closer to $5,000 per bike than the $22,000 starting figure.
Either way, James, understandably, feels wronged. "If they care so much about air, then why don't they read that study by Oxford (University) that showed how much air pollution is caused by cow farts? Why isn't CARB out in Norco fining dairies?
"Heck," he more or less says. "I was going to protest the payment by setting myself on fire in front of City Hall, but I couldn't afford the fine."
But, seriously, folks. James does more than most Long Beachers, famous or otherwise, rich or otherwise, for the environment. He recently donated more than $5,000 to help clean up Drake Park, near his West Coast Choppers (and he spent about $25,000 in "unauthorized" improvements to the area. His and his wife's Cisco Burger (620 W. Anaheim St.) is lousy with such Earth-friendly features as solar power, biodegradable packaging and organic meat that's free of hormones and preservatives.
And his latest endeavor at West Coast Choppers is a crazy fast hydrogen car he's calling Hydro-Hell. It basically runs on water. You could breathe its exhaust right out of the pipe if you were of a mind.
"We're going after the hydrogen-powered land speed record." That's currently held by BMW at a cute little 186 mph. James says his version will do 250 mph. He's going to give it a go in an event that will be filmed for a documentary, "probably in a couple of weeks."
He's Jesse James. He's famous. He's rich. He's a big target. The smart money is on James getting ticketed by the California Highway Patrol when he goes for the record.
Tim Grobaty
www.presstelegram.com