HAZEL KOLB BRIGHTER IMAGE AWARD WINNER Chris Real

BY KEATON MAISANO

The AMA Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award is bestowed by the AMA Board of Directors upon an individual or organization that has generated excellent publicity for motorcycling. And the 2022 recipient? That would be Chris Real, a man who has dedicated more than four decades of his life to bettering motorcycling and the many areas it impacts.

Real is an acknowledged expert within the transportation industry, focusing on both off-highway and on-highway motorcycles. Active as a technical consultant to many industry associations in North America, including the AMA, Real said he is grateful for the recognition.

“To be recognized by the AMA and the Board is really special,” Real said, “because it’s recognition from my peers and from the industry that I love, so it’s very special to me.”

Defining himself as an environmental actionist, Real has taken action within the specialty motorized industry, specifically in areas dealing with emissions, cleanup, sound reduction and advancing technology.

“We can study this, we can identify the problem, we can talk about the problem, we can point fingers about the problem,” Real said, “but at the end of the day, somebody’s got to bootstrap it and address the problem. That’s where the actionist comes in.”

With an emphasis on action, Real has provided technical background, equipment and support for the AMA’s sound meter program. His role in the space has spanned from research and testing to educating riders on responsible sound limits, and his work has been done to hopefully improve the perception of motorcyclists and minimize restrictions on motorcycling.

Serving as the committee chair for the noise elements of the Motorcycle Technical Steering Committee within the Society of Automotive Engineers, Real is responsible for eight different internationally recognized test methods and fully understands the importance of noise control.

“It’s a challenge because it’s technically complex and sound is emotionally complex,” Real said. “If you are a problem in the community, pretty soon the community will have a response and that response is usually non-favorable to our form of transportation and recreation.”

Furthering his focus on action and impact, Real initiated the Off-Highway Vehicle Sound Awareness Program of Educational and Field Activities that includes sound measurement and noise enforcement training for civilians and enforcement authorities. Additionally, he implemented the “Quiet Bike Challenge” award to help bring user awareness to the OHV noise issue.

In the emissions space, Real was asked by the AMA and others to oversee emissions testing on off-highway motorcycles at the California Air Resources Board. His expertise and his months of observation of the testing ensured that the motorcycling industry was fairly represented and also prevented any biased information from being propagated.

Additionally, Real implemented reduced-emission lubricant technology back in the 1980s that minimized carbon particulate accumulation and discharge in U.S. Forest Service-approved two-stroke spark-arrestor/ muffler systems.

For Real, his industry work is rooted in his early love for motorcycling. Recounting his childhood memories of watching the riders in the Greenhorn Enduro racing by his Pasadena, Calif., home, Real desired to ride — a desire that turned him into a “lifelong addict.”

Engrained in motorcycling through racing, riding and his professional career, Real just wants to help make motorcycling better and improve the way it is viewed by the public.

“It’s our responsibility to know where we’ve come from and the hurdles and the reputation that we’ve kind of earned as being outliers and the bad boys and girls of transportation,” he said, “and we have earned that. But then we should be able to learn from that foundation and move forward into the general transportation area and enjoy our form of mobility and fit in. I look back at where we were many years ago and where we are now, and we have made huge steps in the perception of what is a motorcyclist.”