Hall of Famer Craig Vetter — motorcycle inventor, designer and racer — will be the featured guest at its annual AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Breakfast at Daytona, on Friday, March 14, at 7:00 a.m., at the Daytona 500 Club on the infield at Daytona International Speedway.
“Craig Vetter’s impact is far-reaching, starting with the design of the iconic Windjammer fairings of the 1970s, continuing with motorcycle designs like the Triumph X-75 Hurricane and the limited-edition ‘Mystery Ship,’ and enduring more recently with a resurrected series of motorcycle fuel economy runs that push the boundaries of everyday streamlining,” said Jeff Heininger, chairman of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which oversees the Hall of Fame. “We’re proud to host motorcycling’s design professor emeritus for this year’s Breakfast at Daytona.”
Taking place during 2014 Daytona Bike Week, the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Breakfast at Daytona fundraiser will feature a live interview with Vetter on stage, an audience Q&A period and an autograph session with Vetter and other Hall of Famers in attendance. The event is open to the public, and tickets are available now at www.motorcyclemuseum.org. Proceeds benefit the AMHF and the Hall of Fame.
Craig Vetter founded the Vetter Corporation, a company that became famous for its touring and sport fairings for motorcycles from the late 1960s into the 1980s. Vetter’s designs always inspired new directions in motorcycle design.
Vetter was a racer himself at Daytona in 1976. Later, his company sponsored the Kawasaki team when Reg Pridmore became the 1978 AMA Superbike Champion. He also sponsored famous Vetter Fuel Economy Contests where motorcycles squeezed more than 400 miles out of a gallon of gas — a program he continues doing to this day at the annual AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days event in Ohio
Vetter said he’s looking forward to making the journey from his home in Carmel, Calif., to Daytona during Bike Week to meet fans and catch up with old friends
“My first motorcycle design was in 1964: the Daytona Display for Bridgestone motorcycles,” Vetter said. “My college professor was concerned: ‘Motorcycles… are you sure?’ In those days, motorcycles were not a part of ‘nice’ society. We were not respected and our motorcycles certainly did not belong in museums.
“Things sure have changed,” Vetter noted. “Today, motorcyclists occupy a new position in American culture. Today, it is cool to ride. We even have a Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum. How did all that happen?
“I lived this period,” he continued. “I helped make those changes. Along the way, I met the greats of motorcycling. I look forward to telling some of my stories at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Breakfast at Daytona, where it all began for me 50 years ago.”
