| Recently, Brian Jackson and the crew
from Corbin's Ride On had the chance to travel
to Dublin , California , and the new Arlen Ness Headquarters
to meet Arlen Ness and Arlen's son Cory. During the interview,
Arlen told Brian that Cory was now the handling Arlen Ness
Enterprises on a day-to-day basis, and beyond a shadow of
a doubt, the company is in fantastic hands. In recent years,
Cory Ness has become like his father-an influential voice
in the custom motorcycle industry to a new generation of
enthusiasts. Arlen told Brian a bit about Cory's entrance
into the business and you may be surprised to know that he
wasn't initially as "gung-ho" toward it as you might imagine.
Arlen told Brian that as a young man, Cory wasn't really
interested in bikes as much as he was interested in sports;
however, in junior high school he had the chance to buy a
wrecked bike, and then he fixed it, sold it, and made some
money. Next, during high school Cory had a custom H-D Sportster
that he built and sold, making even more money, and from
that time on the designing and building began. Cory told
Brian that the Ness 's were a "motorcycle family" and that
there were bikes around all the time so basically, it was
easy to get involved.
Next, Cory took Brian for a tour of the Ness Museum at their
new facility. Housed there were some of Cory's own creations
including a bike that he referred to as "The Wedge." Built
in approximately 1996, this bike featured a 97 cubic inch
engine and was outfitted with all aluminum bodywork and billet
wheels. Next, Cory showed Brian what he considers to be his
first full custom. Designed and built approximately twenty
years ago, "Turn Loose" as Cory named it is one rad ride
indeed. Featuring several custom engine modifications and
a belt drive, this bike encompasses much of the Ness technique
of clean lines and with a stretched and low appearance.
Cory went on to tell Brian about what he believes led to
the popularity of his father's work as well as that of his
own today. "People like the style and that we do our own thing." Cory
also said that he also believes that a great deal of the success
of Arlen Ness Enterprises comes from the fact they "always
try to do something different every time." Next, Cory described
some of the projects that the company was involved in as well
as what they were planning for the future. First, Cory said
that while they still build several bikes per year the focus
is to eventually build their own production motorcycle. They
are also involved in ventures with other companies and their
projects such as the recent S&S 145 Tribute bike series.
For this endeavor, S&S commissioned five different builders
to build nine bikes each. Needless to say, Cory and Arlen each
built five of their own designs! For the last two or three
years, Cory and Arlen have also been a part of the design and
marketing team for Victory Motorcycles, particularly in the
design of the Victory Vegas. Recently, Victory has even started
to offer a Ness Signature Series bike that is equipped with
Ness accessories, or "Ness-ecities" as they are better known,
and paint schemes. American Iron Horse also offers The Stalker,
another Ness design whose popularity is also growing, and
according to the company website, there are also Ness designs
for Indian Motorcycles and for Big Dog Motorcycles as well!
Back to Episode CRN8012
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