Rumble attracts cycle enthusiasts

For the past few days, Tionesta, with a population of about 736, has been home to more motorcycles than residents.

Beginning Thursday evening and continuing through Sunday night, thousands and thousands of motorcycles descended on the rural Forest County community for the second annual Rumble on the River.

Under the pale blue sky of a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon, organizers declared the fundraising event for the Hunting and Fishing Museum hugely successful.

“We blew the top off it. We had more than 20,000 people for the weekend,” said Dan Habjanetz, the museum’s secretary/treasurer who serves as fund-raising chairman.

Sunday was also the busiest of the three-day motorcycle rally that was a draw for bikers and would-be bikers from around the country.

Headlining the attractions was world-renowned bike builder Arlen Ness, whose California company is a pioneer in the industry of custom bike design. Ness, who only makes six to 10 yearly appearances, is a celebrity within the bike world.

“My son, Cory, runs the company and I spend most of my time building bikes for myself and doing appearances,” the soft-spoken giant of the industry said.

Admittedly, Tionesta has no similarities to most of the areas Ness regularly visits.

“Well, it’s not like New York. It is really pretty here and the people are very nice,” said Ness, who is accustomed to such locales as Las Vegas, Daytona and New York City.

Ness’ custom designs, which range in price from about $45,000 to $150,000, are made for customers all over the world. Two of his productions were brought to the Tionesta event for show by unidentified buyers in the area.

Although his coveted designs are admired by bike builders at the top levels of the industry, Ness said there are more important reasons to make his public appearances.

“We need younger guys in this industry. Ninety percent of our customers are 50 to 70 years old. There are more older people than younger people,” he said.

Having achieved a pinnacle in his career, Ness reflected on one thing he may have changed along the way.

“I would have spent more time in school. I’ve had a great life doing something I really enjoy 12 hours a day, seven days a week. But, traveling to all those foreign countries, it would have been nice to know some languages,” he said.

Ness was joined at the three-day rally by fellow bike builder “Big Rick” Hoffman of Salem, Ohio. Hoffman was born in the New Castle area and, unlike Ness, has been to the area countless times.

“My father drove trucks and hauled cement up here about 40 years ago,” said the jovial, large-framed man.

Hoffman, the spokesman for Geico motorcycle insurance, attended last year’s event as a spectator and was instrumental in Ness’ attendance this year.

“He opened a lot of doors and put us in contact and assisted in getting Arlen to come here,” Habjanetz said.

“The only reason I’m here and the (bike builders) are around is Arlen. He is the godfather of motorcycles, a real pioneer. People owe a lot to these guys, it’s where the industry came from,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman’s entourage includes two trailers holding many of his own production designs and a specially crafted bike which is to be featured on a late fall episode of “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. The bike includes the Geico gecko logo and was built for bikersfortykes.com. It is anticipated the cycle will raise about $100,000 for the charity.

The festival was expanded from last year’s one-day inaugural event, and included three live bands each day, food, children’s activities and contests. Last year’s event raised about $35,000 for the museum, which is expected to be completed in the summer of 2009.

A final tally of this year’s proceeds will be determined within the next few weeks. A larger-scale analysis, to be completed by professionals at Clarion University, will outline the profit estimates for the area with regard to influx of money to restaurants and lodging facilities.

Local merchants with booths on the grounds at the Lighthouse included the Tionesta Volunteer Fire Department, Boy Scouts and the Hunting and Fishing Museum. Hotels and campgrounds within 50 miles of the event were booked for the weekend, Habjanetz said. In addition, gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants all had extra clients to service.

Meanwhile, as the dust is barely settled from the 2007 event, planning for the ‘08 Rumble has been under way for several months.

“Hopefully, more and more of the townspeople will get on board with joining the event. We are doing it all for the museum and the community,” said Tionesta Mayor Juston Mealy, a member of the rally’s planning committee.

“No matter what, we are going to keep it cost effective,” Habjanetz said.