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
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Dave Ekins at the AMA Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Bud Ekins at the AMA Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
- ^ "Honda's First Four Years in America: and you thought it was easy". motohistory.net. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
- ^ "American Honda Motor Company and Honda Motor Company". budanddaveekins.com. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
- ^ "Greenhorn Enduro Winners". district37ama.org. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- ^ "A Ride Down the Peninsula".
- ^ "Honda's First Four Years in America". motohistory.net. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
- ^ "A Ride Down The Peninsula". budanddaveekins.com. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
- ^ "History of the International Six Day Trials". ultimatemotorcycling.com. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2019.