Rare Racing Motorcycles To Be Displayed At AMA Legends Weekend

A number of rare, one-of-a-kind bikes with ties to the AMA Motorcycle Hall Of Fame‘s newest inductees will be on display at the 2013 AMA Legends Weekend, at the Green Valley Ranch Resort in Las Vegas, Nev., Friday and Saturday, Oct 18-19. Tickets are available to the general public.

Jeffrey V. Heininger, chairman of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which oversees the Hall of Fame, says that many of the bikes on display will be the exact motorcycles which took their riders to fame, glory, and now, the Hall of Fame.

The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place on Friday evening, Oct. 18. The gala event officially honors the class of 2013: AMA Supercross and Motocross Champion Ricky Carmichael; AMA and desert racing champion Danny Hamel; racer, promoter and motorcycle industry icon Norm McDonald; AMA Roadracing Champion Randy Renfrow; and motorcycling fundraisers and Ride For Kids founders Mike and Dianne Traynor.

In addition, two existing members of the Hall of Fame will be honored as Legends that evening: Mark Blackwell, a pioneering racer in American motocross, a six-time AMA championship race team manager and a well-respected executive in the motorcycle industry; and Torsten Hallman, a four-time FIM World Motocross champion who was instrumental in introducing the sport of motocross to America as well as founder of the Thor brand.

The bikes are also available for public viewing on Saturday, Oct. 19, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, during the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Dave Mungenast Memorial Legends Reception. At the reception, the Class of 2013, the 2013 Legends and numerous AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famers from previous years will be interviewed on-stage in a relaxed setting that allows fans and friends to get up close and personal with motorcycling’s heroes. Fans will also have the opportunity to get autographs from Hall of Fame members at a special autograph session, which begins at 1:00 p.m.

Bikes on display for the event include:

Danny Hamel’s 1994 Kawasaki KX500
Built by Dave Pyle of Kawasaki Team Green with Pro Circuit additions, the KX500 is in unrestored race condition, just as it came out of the desert after Danny Hamel’s 1995 season. This was the machine that powered Hamel to his 1994 Baja 1000 Championship when he was teamed with AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famers Larry Roeseler and Ty Davis. It also played a part in his 1995 AMA National Hare & Hound Championship — his fifth title on Kawasakis. This historic KX500 is owned by Kawasaki Motors Corp.

Randy Renfrow’s 1989 Pro Twins RS850D Race Bike
Good race bikes are often not born, they are made, and that’s definitely the case with this Pro Twins RS850D, campaigned in 1989 by Randy Renfrow. Built with a Honda Racing motor originally destined for flat-track competition, the bike was purpose-built from the bottom up to be a small, light, reliable-yet-ferocious race machine. Renfrow campaigned it in the 1989 season, taking the championship all the way to the final race, which Dale Quarterly won in the last turn of the last lap. In the end, this bike either won or came in second in every race it finished. The bike has been restored to its original race condition by Martin Adams.

2010 Ride for Kids U.S. Grand Prix Moriwaki MD600
For the 2010 U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Honda cooked up something special: A vehicle to help spur donations for the Pediatric Brian Tumor Foundation’s Ride For Kids events, which were founded by Mike and Dianne Traynor. The race bike, a Moriwaki MD600, was campaigned in the Moto2 class by Roger Lee Hayden and overseen by a race team headed by AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Kevin Schwantz. The bike sported Ride For Kids stickers, and was used in part of a fundraising campaign for the Ride For Kids. This machine is on loan from American Honda.

Ricky Carmichael’s 1997 Kawasaki KX125
All stories have a beginning, and for Ricky Carmichael’s AMA pro career, the beginning started with a Kawasaki KX125, built by Pro Circuit and tuned by Chad Watts. With this bike, Carmichael won eight outdoor AMA Motocross Nationals and three AMA Supercross main events, en route to winning the 1997 125 MX National Championship and the AMA Supercross East Championship. The bike remains in unrestored race condition and is on loan from Pro Circuit’s Mitch Payton, himself an AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer.

Ricky Carmichael’s 2001 Kawasaki KX SR250
Built by the Kawasaki Race Team and tuned by Chad Watts, this KX SR250 propelled Ricky Carmichael to two championships in 2001. In the AMA Supercross series, Carmichael rode the bike to 14 race wins (13 in a row) for the title. In AMA Motocross, it took him to seven AMA National wins and the title. It is said to have been his favorite bike during his Kawasaki career. The bike is presented in unrestored race condition, and is on loan from Kawasaki Motors Corp.

Norm McDonald-era Yamaha Ascot Scrambler
Pulled together by John Stein in a mere 90 days to race at the Catalina Grand Prix, the faithful Yamaha Ascot Scrambler replica harkens back to the time when Norm McDonald rode a similar machine at Ascot Park in California. Built on a 1962 Yamaha YDS2, with engine work by Scott Clough Racing, frame work by CIP Powder Coating, Race Tech shock work and plenty of other new bits, the bike was run in the revived Catalina Grand Prix in 2010 finishing with the 22nd fastest time out of 104 entries.

Mark Blackwell 1971 Husqvarna 400
This is an exact replica of the first Husqvarna that AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Mark Blackwell raced when he was sponsored by the brand’s firs U.S. importer, Hall of Famer Edison Dye. Blackwell himself acquired this machine and had it restored by Don Bailey as closely as possible to the original race machine.

Arrangements are also being made to bring host several Husqvarnas from the era of Hall of Famer Torsten Hallman from the Kelly Owens Collection, as well as additional machines from Suzuki and Honda that were campaigned by Ricky Carmichael.

Tickets for both public events are on sale now at www.motorcyclemuseum.org. The price is $140 forFriday night’s induction ceremony, which includes dinner, and $20 for Saturday’s reception, which includes a continental breakfast.

By Troy Siahaan