IN
THE
WIND
P48
Arlen Ness
Passes
T
he AMA is reporting the passing
of AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer
Arlen Ness, who died March 22 at
age 79.
He is best known for his innovative
and wild custom motorcycle designs
and custom parts business, and often
was called "The King of Custom Mo-
torcycles."
Ness grew up in Oakland, Califor-
nia, and started as a custom hot-rod
car builder before making the transi-
tion in the late 1960s to customizing
motorcycles. Ness' first custom motor-
cycle build—a 1947 Harley-Davidson
Knucklehead he bought for $300 and
known as "Untouchable"—was a hit
when he entered it into its first show.
The attention Ness garnered from
that first bike prompted him to open
a motorcycle painting business.
Soon after that, he branched into
custom parts that he made and sold
at his shop and through catalogs and
shipped nationwide.
Ness' custom bikes were known
for their low-slung, stretched-out
look. His trendsetting designs have
been studied and copied by other
bike builders and factory engineers.
He was among the first people in the
motorcycle industry to recognize the
value of CNC machining technology to
the production of aftermarket motor-
cycle parts.
In 2008, the AMA Motorcycle Hall
of Fame honored Ness' contributions
to motorcycling with "Awesome-Ness,"
an exhibit that featured memorabilia
Arlen Ness was
often referred to as
the king of custom
motorcycles.
PHOTO: AMA MUSEUM
and motorcycles, including "Untouch-
able" and 10 other custom motorcycles
from Ness' personal collection.
Early this decade, Ness worked with
Victory Motorcycles on the Arlen Ness
Vision, a hot-rod version of the Victory
Vision touring bike.
Ness was inducted into the AMA Mo-
torcycle Hall of Fame in 1992. CN
