SC: How'd your son Cory come on board and get started? When?
AN: He was a sophmore in high school. We bought a wrecked Honda from a neighbor that Cory fixed and sold. Then there was a basket Sportster he fixed up. That made him the only kid in school with a custom bike. In fact, I think it ran in HOT BIKE. He worked part-time while he was in school. After graduation he went full and has been there ever since. Cory's been running our day-to-day operations for the last 15 years.
SC: How'd he get trained?
AN: On the job. He took a couple of business and night classes also, but no college.
The 1990's and Street Chopper's Resurgence
With the coming of the '90s America saw exponential economic growth due to the tech explosion that made the world a smaller place. Arlen moved to new digs yet again, where he'd remain until 2004. All that growth meant tons of disposable income, which meant more and more people looking for fun things to spend it on, like, say, motorcycling. By 2001, Americans were in love with choppers again, which lead to the rebirth of Street Chopper magazine. When that happened, Arlen was ready, willing, and able to be involved. He provided our readers with plenty to drool over in the form of feature bikes, and kept them posted on his latest developments with tech articles. By the decade's end, companies like Titan, Big Dog, and American Ironhorse were building production customs. Other manufacturers, like Victory, wanted in but with their own distinct style. Unsuccessful at first, the Polaris-owned company turned to Arlen for design help in 2001. With Cory managing the daily operations, Arlen spends a lot more time traveling (both for business and himself). His grandson, Zach is also starting his career as the third generation Ness tying his creativty to the company's future. In fact, Victory plans on building a Zach Ness Signature Victory in 2011.
SC: Tell us about Ness from '90s going into 2010
AN: Business grew in leaps and bounds. The new CNC technology let us make some really neat parts. It was exciting. We made motorcycles for movie stars. All that money coming into the industry let you make nice parts and sell them and we have just been growing from there.
SC: What'd you think when Street Chopper was brought back and it's current status?
AN: It was great. We loved working with those guys and got along great. We still do, just like we did 40 years ago.
Space Invaders
As business evolved so did the need for more space. Rent on that first storefront set Arlen Ness back $75 a month; back then, one paint job covered that monthly fee. Business grew as word got out, with Arlen venturing beyond the paint realm more and more. He stayed at that first shop for 10 years, then relocated just-down-the-street away for another 10, then again for 13-14 years, and he's been operating out of his current digs for the last five.