Ness Style Digger

This is one of Arlen Ness's best builds.  The more that you look at it, the more you appreciate the work that was involved.

As I study his builds it seems that some were pure custom bikes like this Knucklehead and some were more "bolt together" bikes.   Arlen Ness was a genius when it came to business.  He figured out very early that the real money was not in building choppers, it was in selling the parts so we could build them ourselves. His parts were far better than some of the stuff floating around back in the 1970's.  It's amazing that some of us are still alive with the bikes we were building then !  He found local artisans and craftsmen and established relationships that lasted a life time.

He was an innovator in the custom bike scene and I always admired him.  I only met him one time when he was showing some bikes at the Vallejo water front when I worked for Vallejo Fire Dept.  I talked my captain into going down there so I could look everything over.  He was a very genuinely courteous person.

Engine 11....American Canyon Fire Protection District, California

Some of my best memories of working in the Fire Service was working for and with the American Canyon Fire Protection District.  American Canyon is just North of Vallejo, California in Napa county.   

I worked as a reserve for many years and then was picked up as a full time permanent firefighter.  There were a lot of great people that worked there and it was in AmCan that I received my initial fire and EMS training.  We were encouraged to go to school and so I did, achieving my California state Fire Officers Certification.
Later on a went to work for Vallejo Fire Department which is a whole other story.....  I loved working for Vallejo Fire, some of the greatest guys and gals I ever worked with !

Wishing all the best to the professionals who work in the fire service, EMS and police at this time of great civil unrest.  Be safe and remember to be courteous and professional......