David Lawrence Ekins (born May 20, 1932) is an American off-road motorcycle racer who pioneered the sport of desert racing in the 1950s.[1] He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.[1]

Motorcycle racing career

Born in Los Angeles, California, Ekins followed his brother and fellow Motorcycle Hall of Fame member, Bud Ekins, into motorcycle racing.[1][2] He and his brother honed their riding skills by riding the dirt trails in the hills above their Hollywood, California home.[1] Ekins' riding skill earned him sponsored racing motorcycles from factories such as; Velocette, Zundapp, Honda, Harley-Davidson and Bultaco.[1]

Ekins became one of the first American riders to use Honda motorcycles in desert races, helping usher in the era of lightweight, smaller-displacement off-road motorcycles.[1][3][4] In the late 1950s, most desert racers preferred heavy, ungainly, British parallel twin cylinder motorcycles. He competed in many of the most prestigious West Coast off-road races aboard motorcycles as small as 100ccs in displacement, often finishing ahead of competitors on larger motorcycles, including an overall victory at the 1967 Greenhorn Enduro aboard a 100cc Zundapp.[1][5]

In 1962[6] Ekins and Bill Robertson rode a Honda CL72 motorcycle almost the entire length of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula in less than 40 hours to set the Tijuana-to-La Paz, Mexico record.[1][7][8] Their speed record provided a challenge for other off-road competitors with both, motorcycles and four wheeled vehicles.[1] One of these challengers to Ekins' record run was Ed Pearlman, who decided to organize a yearly off-road race that became known as the Baja 1000.[1][2]

In 1964 Ekins along with his brother, Bud, Steve McQueen and Cliff Coleman were members of the first American team to compete in the International Six Days Trial.[1] The International Six Day Trials, a form of off-road motorcycle Olympics, is the oldest annual competition sanctioned by the FIM dating back to 1913.[9] Ekins competed in five ISDT events and earned two gold medals and a bronze medal in the prestigious motorcycle competition.[1]

Ekins founded and launched the Sunline brand of motorcycle parts and accessories.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Dave Ekins at the AMA Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Bud Ekins at the AMA Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "Honda's First Four Years in America: and you thought it was easy". motohistory.net. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "American Honda Motor Company and Honda Motor Company". budanddaveekins.com. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "Greenhorn Enduro Winners". district37ama.org. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  6. ↑ "A Ride Down the Peninsula".
  7. ↑ "Honda's First Four Years in America". motohistory.net. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  8. ↑ "A Ride Down The Peninsula". budanddaveekins.com. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  9. ↑ "History of the International Six Day Trials". ultimatemotorcycling.com. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
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