COVER STORY: HOF CLASS OF 2022

Celebrating the HOF Class of 2022...men and women who have excelled in competition, engineering, design, motorcycle adventure and more

One definition of the term pinnacle is “the highest point of development or achievement,” and for more than three decades the American Motorcyclist Association has honored pinnacle achievers in our sport with annual inductions into the storied AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, located on the AMA headquarters campus in Pickerington, Ohio.

Pinnacle achievers do more than simply perform, however; they contribute to all sorts of nuanced and overt ways to the culture, fabric, freedom and adventure of our wonderful twowheeled pastime.

For 2022, the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame inducted six new members, achievers culled from the areas of Ambassadors/Industry, Design/Engineering, Dirt Track, Leadership/Motorcycle Rights, Motocross/Supercross, Off-Road, Road Racing and Specialty Competition.

They are, in alphabetical order, flat-track champion Kenny Coolbeth, speedway champion Greg Hancock, motorcycle adventurer Effie Hotchkiss, designer and builder Sandy Kosman, championship road racer Ben Spies, and AMA Supercross/ motocross champion James Stewart.

“The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Class of 2022 includes men and women who have excelled in a wide range of motorcycle pursuits,” said AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman. “They have contributed significantly to areas as diverse as motorcycle adventure, several forms of on-track competition, and motorcycle design and engineering, and we are both honored and humbled to add them to the list of greats in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.” In the following pages you’ll find brief bios of the Class of 2022, and why their induction is both timely and warranted. Also, the Class, and the motorcycles they rode — or built — are now on display in the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington, Ohio, and will be for the next 12 months, so plan to visit when you can.

We also honor those Hall of Famers who passed away since our last induction. The list includes AMA Superbike Champion Wes Cooley (June 8, 1956 - Oct. 16, 2021), racer and pioneer Preston Petty (February 19, 1941 – January 16, 2022), racer Bobby Hill (July 8, 1922 – July 12, 2022), racer Ed Fisher (June 1925 – August 4, 2022) and music legend Loretta Lynn (April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022). May they all rest in peace. —Mitch Boehm

KENNY COOLBETH

Kenny Coolbeth, born March 30, 1977, spent his young life around motorcycles as his father and grandfather were racers. When his father started racing flat track, Coolbeth got the bug.

“My dad asked me if I wanted to race when I was about 4 years old,” Coolbeth said, “and I said, ‘yes!’ That’s where it all started…”

Coolbeth went pro in 1994, winning the AMA Rookie of the Year award. But the transition from amateur to pro racing wasn’t easy.

“The learning curve was huge,” Coolbeth remembered, “especially going from an amateur to a pro at just 16 years old.”

Coolbeth’s first AMA Grand National win came in 2002. Then, in 2006 he won his first AMA Grand National Championship and followed that up with two more championships in 2007 and 2008.

Coolbeth signed on with the Harley-Davidson factory team in 2006 and won all three championships aboard Harley’s XR750. “It was a dream come true,” Coolbeth said. “Harley was the only factory brand involved in flat track at that time, and it was so cool for me to be a part of that.” Throughout his career, Coolbeth raced to 37 AMA Grand National wins and 108 AMA Grand National podiums. Coolbeth retired from professional flat track racing at the end of the 2018 season. “It felt like it was the right time to retire from racing,” said Coolbeth. “I’m glad I went out on my own terms while still racing competitively.”

Coolbeth continues to give back to flat track since his retirement. In 2023 he’ll be working as a rider coach and setup guy for the highly competitive Turner Honda Racing team. —Joy Burgess

greg HANCOCK

Born in Whittier, Calif., in 1970, Greg Hancock grew up in an era when speedway racing dominated Southern California. Through his father, Hancock was introduced to racing stars Bobby Schwartz and AMA Hall of Famer Bruce Penhall, and Schwartz would prove to be an inspiration to him.

“My dad was friends with all these racers, and I grew up watching them compete and hearing about their careers,” Hancock said. “It was like a drug.”

Hancock took the Junior Speedway National Champion title in 1985. By 1992, he began competing in the Swedish, Polish and Czech leagues. In 1997, Hancock reached the first apex of his young career, winning the FIM World Speedway Championship.

“It was everything to win the first world championship,” Hancock said. “But after that I don’t know how hungry I was to win another. To really want it.”

By 2009 he was toying with the idea of retiring, but his fortunes turned when he was approached by Prodrive, a British engineering group who offered to build him a custom chassis. After some tweaks they were finally getting somewhere. “They made one adjustment,” Hancock said, “and the first time I rode the bike I knew I could win the championship again.” Hancock went on to win the World Championship in 2014 and 2016, and in winning in 2016 became the oldest title winner at 46 years, 130 days old.

In all, Hancock earned four FIM Speedway World championships, three FIM World Team Cup titles and eight AMA U.S. National Speedway championships in a career spanning four decades. —Kali Kotoski

EFFIE HOTCHKISS

Born on Jan. 28, 1889, into a white-collar family, Effie Hotchkiss began riding motorcycles when she was 16. When she was working age, she took a position on Wall Street. But the banking industry didn’t suit her ambitions and she rebelled, especially after a doctor concerned about her health recommended that she should stop working, take pharmaceuticals and get bed rest, according to her memoir.

Instead of heeding the doctor’s concerns, she used the inheritance left from her father and purchased a 1915 HarleyDavidson 3-speed twin and a Rogers sidecar for her mother and luggage. And on May 2, 1915, the 26-yearold Effie and her 52-year-old mother, Avis, set off on their journey.

Amid the suffragist movement and five years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment, Effie Hotchkiss broke the glass ceiling and became the first woman who was ever recorded to complete a transcontinental motorcycle ride in 1915, traveling from their home located in Brooklyn, N.Y., to San Francisco and then back home. News of the 9,000-mile journey traveled quickly, and Effie became a female icon for her endeavor. She was celebrated in the first issue of Harley-Davidson’s The Enthusiast magazine and in countless writeups in newspapers across the country. But her story didn’t end there as she soon left New York and went on to settle out west and became a rancher.

—Kali Kotoski

SANDY KOSMAN

As a self-trained designer of high-performance chassis and wheels for customized road, off-road and drag-racing motorcycles, Sandy Kosman was a builder of champions and a successful entrepreneur — especially considering it’s rumored he rarely, if ever, actually rode a motorcycle, let alone race one. Nevertheless, for 30 years from the 1970s, most dragracing bikes, many flat-track bikes, and a handful of AMA Superbike race teams adopted Kosman products, including American Honda, Vance & Hines, A&A Racing, Performance Machine and others.

Born on June 21, 1941, in Oakland, Calif., Kosman was raised in a family known for its creativity and intellect. During his teen and college years, Kosman developed a strong interest in motorcycles and motorcycle racing. He loved speed and hoped to become a good racer, but soon realized he wasn’t even a good rider, let alone fearless enough to race.

For Kosman, if he could not or would not race a motorcycle, clearly the next best thing was for him to create parts that would enable the bikes to be lighter and faster. Kosman Specialties did not build engines, but it did build frames, wheels, and suspensions in a quest to make them ever lighter yet strong enough to hold together at top speeds of 250 mph — all from ideas he formed in his head, translated to paper, and then fabricated at his shop in San Francisco. Despite never receiving formal training or having an engineering degree, Kosman and his company soon became a household name.

Kosman passed away on May 21, 2022. —Kali Kotoski

BEN SPIES

Ben Spies is considered one of the greatest American road racers in the history of the sport. The Texan, who earned the nickname “Elbowz” due to riding style that features his protruding elbows, won five national titles and raced to 44 AMA National wins during his career.

An undeniably impressive career resulted in Spies’ quick selection into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, an accomplishment Spies has not taken lightly.

“It’s a huge honor and accomplishment,” Spies said, “and what everyone works toward. Being recognized by your peers and the industry… it’s an amazing feeling.”

Spies came of age during the dominance of six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin, and ultimately unseated the champ in his prime in 2006. Spies’ AMA National Championships include the 2008, 2007 and 2006 AMA Superbike titles, the 2007 AMA Superstock title, and the 2003 AMA Formula Xtreme title.

In 2009, Spies made the full-time jump to worldlevel competition by joining the Yamaha Italia team in World Superbike competition. His rookie-year performance was exceptional, with 11 poles, 17 podium finishes in route to the 2009 World Superbike title. “We had a lot against us,” Spies said, “and just like the 2007 season, it came down to the last race weekend for the world title. I remember thinking ‘I’m kinda not supposed to be here, but I’ve been in this situation before.’ I just knew what I needed to do.”

He announced his retirement from racing in late 2013. —Keaton Maisano

JAMES STEWART

Born Dec. 21, 1985, James “Bubba” Stewart showed his potential early, winning seven AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships at Loretta Lynn’s legendary ranch before he turned 16.

Debuting at the professional level in 2002, Stewart placed second in the AMA Supercross 125 East class and won the AMA 125MX title later that year while riding for Kawasaki. Winning the title made Stewart the first Black man to win a title in the sport.

Teen People magazine listed him as one of 20 teens that would change the world, and in 2004 Sports Illustrated included Stewart on its list of 101 most influential minorities in sports, two spots ahead of legendary basketball player and cultural icon Magic Johnson.

In 2007, Stewart claimed the ultimate prize — the AMA Supercross Championship – and won a second AMA Supercross title in 2009.

In between his AMA Supercross triumphs, Stewart won all 24 of his motos of the 2008 outdoor series to secure the 450 Class National Championship.

“Even after a perfect season, I wanted more championships, so I never allowed myself to live on the past accomplishments because I was always concentrating on the future. That’s why the old saying, ‘You’re only as good as your last race,’ is probably the most honest and accurate statement in sports.”

Stewart’s professional racing career came to a close in 2016 after tallying 50 AMA Supercross premier class wins and 48 AMA Motocross national wins, cementing himself as one of the greatest motocross racers of all time. —Keaton Maisano

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