AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame member and noted designer Craig Vetter — whose contributions to motorcycling range from the iconic Windjammer fairings to the Triumph X-75 Hurricane — will be honored as this year’s grand marshal at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days featuring Rockers and Mods, July 20-22, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.
Vetter has been a member of the American Motorcyclist Association and a designer since 1965, and his varied background gives him a unique alliance to both the Rockers and Mods motorcycle subcultures. His design projects over the years have involved café racers — the motorcycles of choice for Rockers — and scooters, which are favored by Mods.
“AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days has become the high point of my summer,” Vetter said. “Rockers and Mods will be fun for me since I raced my Rickman Café bike to victory in AMA competitions in the 1970s. And my current favorite ride is a scooter, though many Mods would probably not recognize my fuel-economy streamliner as a scooter, at least not at first glance.”
Celebrating his 70th birthday at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, Vetter will tell some of his many stories from his storied design career. As grand marshal, he will lead special laps around the sprawling Mid-Ohio roadracing track. Fans will have plenty of access to meet the motorcycling legend, including special autograph signings.
“Craig Vetter was a man ahead of his time back in the day — and he remains that way today,” said AMA president and CEO Rob Dingman. “If you ride a faired motorcycle today, there’s a very good chance that its design reflects the inspiration of Craig Vetter, and his recent focus on motorcycle fuel economy runs demonstrates how prescient his events were in the ’80s. It will be an honor to provide attendees at this year’s AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days with an up-close-and-personal experience with a living legend of motorcycling.”
AMA member pricing, available through May 28, is only available by calling the AMA directly at (800) AMA-JOIN (262-5646). Non-AMA members can buy tickets directly from www.MidOhio.com.
For updates about events and activities, as well as information about past AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, visit www.AMAVintageMotorcycleDays.com.
