AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Fred Fox, who turned into a worldwide force in motorcycle parts distribution, passed away Feb. 5 at the age of 86. The American Motorcyclist Association and AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame offer its condolences to his friends and family.
Fox was born July 21, 1936, and went on to get his engineering degree to help his parents, who were in the business of manufacturing truck bodies.
Eventually, Fox started Surplus Unlimited — which became Parts Unlimited — to buy parts from snowmobile companies that were failing and supplying snowmobile dealers. This developed into the company making its own parts and working with motorcycles.
Fox elevated motorcycling and racing nationally by creating a distribution system that got parts to dealers quickly. Helping to fuel the growth of sports such as AMA Supercross and motocross, Fox sponsored motorcycle racing series as well as amateur and professional riders.
By 2011, Fox’s umbrella company, LeMans Corporation, was the largest aftermarket motorcycle, snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle, and personal watercraft accessory distributor in the world, employing around 1,500 workers worldwide.
Fox was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2011.