Dudley Perkins

Dudley B. Perkins (May 19, 1893 – February 26, 1978 ) was an American champion motorcycle hillclimb competitor and Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealer. The American Motorcyclist Association's highest award, the AMA Dud Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award, was named after him in 1970, and he was its first recipient.

Early years

Perkins was born in Kern, California, now a part of Bakersfield, California. He began riding motorcycles in 1907 when attending school in Los Angeles. A neighbor offered to let him ride his Reading-Standard motorcycle, and Perkins was "quite thrilled."

Beginning of motorcycle career

After his family moved to Stockton, California, Perkins began working part-time for an Indian motorcycle dealer while still a student. He first competed on May 10, 1911, winning a one-mile race. He managed his dealership until 1968, when he turned control of the business over to his son, Dudley Perkins Jr., He won the Capistrano Hillclimb in 1920 and 1921, which was a very popular event of that era, attracting as many as 20,000 fans. Perkins won 12 California Hillclimb championships starting in 1915. He competed until 1943, when he was 50. Perkins was considered one of the top hillclimbers of the era and was described as one of the "classiest performers."

American Motorcycle Association leader

By the early 1930s, Perkins was already considered "one of the veterans of the sport of motorcycle racing". He was invited to serve on the Competition Committee of the American Motorcycle Association, now known as the American Motorcyclist Association.

In 1948, he spoke out on behalf of the American Motorcycle Association against outlaw motorcyclists who had created disturbances such as the Hollister riot and a similar event in Riverside, California.

Legacy

At the time of his death, Perkins "was considered the grandest of the grand old men of motorcycling." He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

The Harley-Davidson dealership he founded, the Dudley Perkins Company, is still in business under the name San Francisco Harley-Davidson, with its main facilities located in South San Francisco, California, and a branch on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. The company celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2014.