BMC Choppers Motorcycles

BMC Motorcycle Company - also known as Big Mike's Choppers - was founded in Bend, Oregon, in 1994 by "Big Mike" Rouse, who built the first BMC chopper in 1995. Production began in earnest in June 2000 with a $100,000 investment, four employees, and four interested dealers. The custom-chopper boom of the early 2000s and the decline of the original Indian Motorcycle Company fueled rapid growth, and BMC expanded into a second facility in Santa Cruz, California, scaling production to around 700 bikes a year and roughly $13 million in annual sales, sold through about 42 dealers in North America, Europe, and Asia at its peak. Founder Big Mike's builds also received television exposure on Discovery Channel's "Biker Build-Off" and Speed Channel's "Corbin's Right-On."