TLC Vinnie DiMartino is no longer on TV, but that’s a good thing. The former ‘American Chopper’ co-star will be at Javelina Harley-Davidson this weekend.

Leaving “American Chopper” allowed Vinnie DiMartino to focus on what he really wanted to do: build motorcycles. Without the drama.

“I wasn't happy for a while. It wasn't one specific thing, it was a hundred things. I just felt like I was just never going to do anything else there. I felt the show had reached its peak and was going down from there,” DiMartino, 35, said. “I'm a builder, that's what I love doing. My real goal is to get our business running 100 percent.”

That business is V-Force Customs, a custom motorcycle shop in Rock Tavern, N.Y., he opened with fellow “American Chopper” builder Cody Connelly in October.

That was only two months after he left the TLC reality show that followed goings-on of the Orange County Choppers custom bike company.

DiMartino and Connelly will be meeting their fans at the sixth annual River City Bike Fest at Javelina Harley-Davidson this weekend.

The three-day event also features other custom bike builders, Rik Emmett of Triumph fame and other musical acts, monster truck rides, Rhett Rotten's Wall of Death motorcycle stunt show and vendors.

DiMartino and Connelly will be signing autographs and showing off the first (and only) bike they've built at their new shop, the V-Force 1. They will be collecting entries for the raffle of the bike in December.

Will Vinnie and Cody get their own show? That's the first question they get from most people these days.

The answer? Maybe. DiMartino said establishing the business is his first priority (their next project is building a bike for the Tampa Bay Storm arena football team), then they'll consider bringing cameras in.

Meanwhile, the guys are getting hundreds of e-mails from fans who are “just so happy that we're not there anymore,” DiMartino said. “They're sad to see me leave the show, but they're glad that I'm not there anymore.”

Jessica Belasco | 210SA contributor