We really had no clue how the profit margin of a retail parts business should have worked, both of us had only high school educations and in 1969 I was 23, married with an infant daughter and Chris was 19 and two years out of school. The plan was for Chris to man the retail store on the weekdays while I worked full time at the newspaper, then on Saturdays I would be behind the counter. We agreed to pay her 1% more than bank rate on a two year repayment plan.Īnd so with $5,000 in the bank we rented a small store front and made plans for a January 1970 opening. I complained of their shortsightedness to my co-workers at the newspaper and Fran Walling, a fellow artist in the display advertising department, offered to loan me the money from part of her husbands life insurance settlement. To say the bankers laughed at us would be exaggeration but they declined our request. Deciding on the name ” CJ custom cycle parts” we made a business plan and went to the bank for a start up loan. We had purchased parts from them for my first panhead chopper that same year. Ed Roth published “Choppers” magazine which contained ads including one for AEE Choppers of southern California. We had built and sold 4 custom bikes that year and all our friends were asking how to buy the parts mail order. Jeff McCann ~ In the fall of 1969 my friend Chris and I decided to open a retail store selling “Chopper parts”. You can see the calendar this session produced here. Scanned from a 37 year old 35mm negative shot by John Reddick in September 1972. After advertising in the local newspaper want ads we hired two women who were inexperienced models but eager to work with the local “chopper guys”. ![]() I purchased two white paper background drapes and taped them together to get a wide enough “infinite” background for the bikes and models. That’s me waiting to see if the photographer needs the bike moved, which is also why I am in my stocking feet so as not to mar the paper drape. Jeff McCann ~ This is a full view of the setup in my garage for the cover shoot for the second edition of our parts catalog. ![]() McCann’s saved personal images and memories of that time are truly priceless–Ĭatalog Cover Shoot. It was a partnership that benefitted both sides, and that lasted for years. McCann also brought serious design, photography, and printing skills to the table– contributing heavily to the first Ness catalog and logo. Arlen, a master builder, was also a good painter– but nothing like McCann. He opened his own custom bike shop in the San Francisco Bay area – as did Arlen Ness. An accomplished artist, McCann began customizing motorcycles a few years later, and soon found himself with a steady side-gig of painting and customizing friend’s bikes.īy the 1970s, with his incredible skills and the Easy Rider chopper boom in full force, McCann was in hot demand. Jeff McCann, who discreetly signs his works with his hidden signature “Motorcycles Forever” got his first bike back in ’65, at the age of 20.
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