The induction breakfast for the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall Of Fame is set for August 10 at The Lodge @ Deadwood. Since 2001, the Museum has recognized those individuals and groups who have made a long-term, positive impact on the motorcycle community since. However, the Class of 2022 may be the most impressive yet, including both Bill Davidson and sister Karen Davidson, a number of dealers, aftermarket icons and even a former Dealernews Publisher.
Over the years, the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony has grown from 50 people to more than 600 and has become the Museum's largest fundraising event of the year. As a 501 (c) non-profit, tickets for the Induction Ceremony go straight to the museum to grow and thrive.
The Hall of Fame honors its members by sharing stories that showcase their contributions and accomplishments. In so doing the hope is to inspire visitors and the riding community.
THE CLASS OF 2022
Bill Davidson
William J. “Bill” Davidson is the son of Willie G. and Nancy Davidson. He serves as the VP of the Harley-Davidson Museum, which houses one of the largest corporate archival collections of unrestored Harley-Davidson motorcycles and artifacts in the world. His role as ambassador for the brand gives him the chance to travel the world as well, meeting and greeting people from all walks of life from all points on the map.
Bob Kay
Bob Kay and his wife Deborah partnered with a friend and opened Motorcycle Madness in 1974. He later went to work at Honda of Boston. In 1979, with the help of Ralph Cerundola, he started Recreational Dimensions, a parts distributorship. After graduating from Dean College with high honors, he went to work and later, with Deborah, bought into Nempco. He also met Dave Perewitz, who suggested he organize a bike show benefiting children’s charities in Laconia and later Sturgis. In 1992, his partners retired and Nempco was sold to Tucker Rocky, to become Bikers Choice. He managed the integration and became VP at Tucker and GM of Bikers Choice. He went on to found Biker Pros to help American custom builders, initially supplying parts and eventually focusing on custom bike shows helping builders get better exposure and sponsorships.
Carlo & Emma Lujan
Carlo and Emma Lujan of Auburn, California, grew up dreaming of the life they ultimately created. In 1982, Carlo and Emma opened their first motorcycle shop and it was called Carlo's Custom Motorcycle Parts. In 1988, Carlo was National #1 Pro Dragster for the Drag Bike series. In 1989, Carlo and Emma became C&E Auburn Harley-Davidson. It took up much of their time and racing got put on the back burner. However, they did race in Sturgis in 1990 for the 50th Anniversary and won 1st place. They closed their old dealership in 2008 but reopened an independent shop. In 2014, they added Polaris and Indian and they became C&E Auburn Indian and V-Twin.
Karen Davidson
Karen Davidson has a lifetime of living the Harley-Davidson experience. Davidson, the great-granddaughter of the company’s co-founder, William A. Davidson, and daughter of Willie G and Nancy Davidson, began riding at the age of nine. As director in Harley-Davidson’s Marketing Dept., she maintains Harley-Davidson’s distinctive reputation and legacy as she works on new initiatives for the company. Upholding her belief that authentic H-D design and innovation must be original, she acknowledges her father, Willie G Davidson as her greatest inspiration for pushing newness and originality in design.
Robin Bradley
Robin Bradley started AMD Magazine (initially as European Dealer News) in September 1993; International Dealer News followed in 1997, and the collaboration with Custom Chrome resulted in the first AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building in 2004, at Morgan Hill, California. The event moved to Las Vegas (Big Twin West, 2005) and then to Sturgis, at the 'Thunderdome' in 2006; then to Lynn's Dakota Mart lot from 2007 to 2012, before moving the show to Europe. He gravitated to the dealer and industry journal publishing market. He learned that a publication positioning itself well as a 'trade enabler' can establish itself as the oil in the engine that drives a market's business cycle. He brought consumer magazine personality and production values to a 'trade publication,’ and set a new template for how industry magazines could operate in a consumer market.
Tom Seymour
Tom Seymour studied science and received a full scholarship to Cooper Union. He earned his BSME in Engineering in 1969 and his MBA in 1973. He worked for several large corporations as an Engineer, Test Engineer, and Engineering Manager. Later, Tom launched Saddlemen seats. With Saddlemen, Tom used his engineering skills and experience of thousands of hours to develop some of the best motorcycle seats on the market. He was personally granted several patents on innovative seat technologies including gel technology. Tom has supported industry innovation, all levels of racing efforts including his own, a tireless advocate for the entire motorcycle industry, his longtime employees and continues to ride cross-country on a regular basis.
Kickstands Down
Benjamin “Benny” Hardy was a prominent Harley-Davidson motorcycle mechanic and custom builder. His business “Hardy’s Motorcycle Service” was in Los Angeles CA. He was well-known in the Black motorcycling community and was a mentor for motorcyclists in the area. Hardy built both iconic motorcycles used in the movie “Easy Rider.” The "Billy Bike" encapsulated Benny's idea for a cut down or "chopped" Harley and set the style copied by Black builders of that era.
Freedom Fighter
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation is a national organization dedicated to lobbying for those who ride, to protecting and defending their rights as motorcyclists, and to addressing the concerns of street riders and the motorcycle industry they support. In 1985 the MRF held its first annual Meeting of the Minds conference. For many activists from around the country this marked the first time they’d met to discuss how to best preserve and protect motorcycling. The main issues of the day, mandatory helmet laws, unfair insurance laws, and the right to modify motorcycles, are still faced today, along with many others. In 2022, the MRF will hold its 38th Annual Meeting of the Minds, representing an unbroken chain of unparalleled training and networking opportunities that has molded the American biker’s rights movement into the highly effective force it is today. MRF also holds its annual ‘Bikers Inside the Beltway’ grassroots lobbying event where riders from all over the country go to Washington, D.C. to help fight for their rights.
Arlen Ness Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
Don Emde’s list of accomplishments is extensive. He began AMA professional racing in 1969 and won AFM racing association’s overall national championship. His racing successes continued, and he moved to Expert level in 1971, riding with the BSA factory team and ranked 11th in the US. In 1972, he switched to Yamaha. When he won the Daytona 200, he set many milestones, including the first Daytona 200 victory for a Yamaha motorcycle, first two-stroke and smallest engine size to ever win that challenging race. After racing for a few more years, he transitioned into other roles and went to work for Bell Helmets and was promoted to its VP of
Sales & Marketing. In 1986, he became the publisher for “Motorcycle Dealernews.” Some of his notable changes were to shorten the magazine’s name to “Dealernews” and add the tagline “Voice of the Powersports Industry” to reach a larger audience. Emde was instrumental in launching the PR campaign in the ‘90s “Discover Today’s Motorcycling” (now motorcycles.org). He started his own newsletter, self-published many books, and produced a dealer publication for Parts Unlimited. Emde served on the AMA Board of Directors, helped to create the bylaws and election processes for the AMA Hall of Fame, and has been involved with Trailblazers for over 25 years and served as its president for the past 10.
To learn more about the Hall of Fame visit the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame seven days a week, 10 am - 4 pm (Oct-April), 9 am - 5 pm (May - Sept). Or click:
https://www.sturgismuseum.com/hof