Copper chopper back in garage

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The "Copper Chopper" is back home after being mistaken for trash.

The motorcycle, made by workers at a Cabot heating-and-air company, was reported stolen from the Bikes, Blues & BBQ festival in Fayetteville this week.

Employees built the motorcycle with copper tubing, tubing insulation, a refrigerant drum, a blower motor, refrigerant gauges, nut drivers, two squirrel cage blower housings and sheet metal.

The motorcycle was picked up by someone who was told everything left behind was trash. Moore Heat and Air paid a $200 reward for the motorcycle, which won the creative contest at the motorcycle festival.

"I am just glad that someone took it because it was cool and not just for the copper," employee Sherry Mash said. "With so much copper theft going on these days, we were afraid that it had been scrapped for the copper and we would never see it again."

The nonfunctioning motorcycle serves as a mascot for the company.

"It's basically junk to anybody but us," Dave Moore said.