Jesse James' Monster Fine
Jesse James is looking to clear his name after having to fork over a big fine for selling some supposedly smog-spewing motorcycles.
Fifty of James' custom-built bikes, sold via his West Coast Choppers shop in Long Beach, California, between 1998 and 2005, were found to have been in violation of the state's emissions standards, with some of the two-wheelers emitting up to 10 times the amount of pollutants allowed under state laws, according to the California Air Resources Board.
The motorcycles, which can go for upwards of $50,000 and have names like "Undertaker" and "666 El Diablo," didn't have state-certified emissions equipment in the exhaust and fuel systems, the board claimed.
To make amends, James paid up $271,250 and then spoke out against the process.
Before writing the six-figure check, Sandra Bullock's Monster Garage-hosting husband offered to make all his noncompliant bikes meet the required standards. However, he said in a statement, that the board was only interested "in the cash settlement."
"We hope that paying this money will bring to light that California has a flawed system when it comes to its clean-air agencies and the policies and practices they use," he added.
The 37-year-old, who wrapped up five seasons as coproducer and host of the Discovery Channel's Monster Garage last June, is far from an environmental outlaw and won't be making Al Gore's hit list anytime soon.
All of the one-of-a-kind creations coming out of his shop since 2005, the same year he tied the knot with Bullock, have met clean-air standards.
Not only that, but in April of last year, James opened the West Coast Choppers-adjacent Cisco Burgers, an eco-burger joint that's completely solar-powered, serves food in biodegradable wrappers and uses only organic, preservative- and hormone-free meat.
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