Arlen Ness RIP
Discussion
I was browsing the net (and PH!) at the airport waiting for a flight home from San Francisco on Monday evening when I read Arlen Ness had died. I'd been in the store just the previous week buying some goodies - it had become an annual pilgrimage to the shop once I found out there actually was an Arlen Ness dealership and it wasn't just some hallowed name in custom bike circles - although I see now all sorts of other stuff including sports-bike leathers with the Arlen Ness brand.
When I was a lad in the mid-70s me and my mates used to buy and swap Chopper magazines and ogle at the wondrous pictures (much like porn in the day too!) and the coolest, best looking bikes were from the Bay area, and in particular Arnel Ness bikes. Us young lads used to fantasize over extended/raked forks, low seats and candy and metal flake paint jobs while in reality we were buzzing about in the cold and rain on SS50s. I'm not sure who or what the equivalent would be today as the custom bike scene seems to now be largely cafe-racer based and not too much in the way of truly 'different' from what we've seen before.
I'd become fortunate enough to be a regular visitor to SF and I remember the first time I realised there was an actual dealership and dragged the wife and kids along to visit. I think they were pretty non-plussed, but to me it was stepping on hallowed ground. On the first visit I just ogled the new bikes and parts on the ground floor where there were one or two of the customs. But then just as we were leaving the sales-guy asked if we'd visited the museum/collection upstairs? I had no idea it existed, but what an Aladdin's cave of bikes, trophies and magazine articles - quite a few of which I remembered.
Probably only resonates with folks of a certain age, and of a certain persuasion who lusted after custom bikes and the cool Californian scene not long after the 'summer of love' in the late 60s. Anyway, here's some photos of Arlen Ness bikes on show upstairs at the dealership over the years...
2014 - my first walk upstairs - gobsmacked!
2015
2016
I'm going to single this one out as stunning, although I accept it's marmite. But as per the notice this isn't a candy paint job - it's clear tinted lacquer to show off the flawless aluminium forms underneath...
2018
2019 - last week!
When I was a lad in the mid-70s me and my mates used to buy and swap Chopper magazines and ogle at the wondrous pictures (much like porn in the day too!) and the coolest, best looking bikes were from the Bay area, and in particular Arnel Ness bikes. Us young lads used to fantasize over extended/raked forks, low seats and candy and metal flake paint jobs while in reality we were buzzing about in the cold and rain on SS50s. I'm not sure who or what the equivalent would be today as the custom bike scene seems to now be largely cafe-racer based and not too much in the way of truly 'different' from what we've seen before.
I'd become fortunate enough to be a regular visitor to SF and I remember the first time I realised there was an actual dealership and dragged the wife and kids along to visit. I think they were pretty non-plussed, but to me it was stepping on hallowed ground. On the first visit I just ogled the new bikes and parts on the ground floor where there were one or two of the customs. But then just as we were leaving the sales-guy asked if we'd visited the museum/collection upstairs? I had no idea it existed, but what an Aladdin's cave of bikes, trophies and magazine articles - quite a few of which I remembered.
Probably only resonates with folks of a certain age, and of a certain persuasion who lusted after custom bikes and the cool Californian scene not long after the 'summer of love' in the late 60s. Anyway, here's some photos of Arlen Ness bikes on show upstairs at the dealership over the years...
2014 - my first walk upstairs - gobsmacked!
2015
2016
I'm going to single this one out as stunning, although I accept it's marmite. But as per the notice this isn't a candy paint job - it's clear tinted lacquer to show off the flawless aluminium forms underneath...
2018
2019 - last week!
I reflect your thoughts on Arlen, am 59 now and have had similar feelings reading STREET CHOPPER back in the early/mid 70s,
remembering his "Arlen´s Nessecities" adverts and the long, low, slick, gold-leafed, madly-motored "Bay Area style" creations.
He was one of the first to establish a brand name in the Chopper Scene and was quite good at promoting himself.
I am not sooo much a fan of his later , voluptuous, bodyworks bikes, and the "bolt-on Evos / Victory customs"
although he was also the first to get companies outside of the custom bike world as customers/sponsors for "Theme Bikes".
He also was quite inventive with OHC and charged H-D engines, RIP Arlen, always a bit sad to see heroes of my youth go.
Wasn´t his son Cory picking up his legacy, showing talent and craftsmanship, is he still running the family busi-Ness ?
remembering his "Arlen´s Nessecities" adverts and the long, low, slick, gold-leafed, madly-motored "Bay Area style" creations.
He was one of the first to establish a brand name in the Chopper Scene and was quite good at promoting himself.
I am not sooo much a fan of his later , voluptuous, bodyworks bikes, and the "bolt-on Evos / Victory customs"
although he was also the first to get companies outside of the custom bike world as customers/sponsors for "Theme Bikes".
He also was quite inventive with OHC and charged H-D engines, RIP Arlen, always a bit sad to see heroes of my youth go.
Wasn´t his son Cory picking up his legacy, showing talent and craftsmanship, is he still running the family busi-Ness ?
I too have been to the dublin store and san leandro and the vegas store , always a warm welcome and if they were quiet a back store tour , the show bikes used to be in arlens office in the back of the san leandro store . His twin engined low rider “two bad” was on the cover of the first custom bike mag i ever bought “ street chopper” amazing amount of detail , the true godfather of custom bike building .
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