Dave Ekins

David Lawrence Ekins (born May 20, 1932) is an American off-road motorcycle racer who pioneered the sport of desert racing in the 1950s.^[1] He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.^[1]

Motorcycle racing career

Born in Los Angeles, California, Ekins followed his brother and fellow Motorcycle Hall of Fame member, Bud Ekins, into motorcycle racing.^[1][2] He and his brother honed their riding skills by riding the dirt trails in the hills above their Hollywood, California home.^[1] Ekins' riding skill earned him sponsored racing motorcycles from factories such as; Velocette, Zundapp, Honda, Harley-Davidson and Bultaco.^[1]

Ekins became one of the first American riders to use Honda motorcycles in desert races, helping usher in the era of lightweight, smaller-displacement off-road motorcycles.^[1][3][4] In the late 1950s, most desert racers preferred heavy, ungainly, British parallel twin cylinder motorcycles. He competed in many of the most prestigious West Coast off-road races aboard motorcycles as small as 100ccs in displacement, often finishing ahead of competitors on larger motorcycles, including an overall victory at the 1967 Greenhorn Enduro aboard a 100cc Zundapp.^[1][5]

In 1962^[6] Ekins and Bill Robertson rode a Honda CL72 motorcycle almost the entire length of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula in less than 40 hours to set the Tijuana-to-La Paz, Mexico record.^[1][7][8] Their speed record provided a challenge for other off-road competitors with both, motorcycles and four wheeled vehicles.^[1] One of these challengers to Ekins' record run was Ed Pearlman, who decided to organize a yearly off-road race that became known as the Baja 1000.^[1][2]

In 1964 Ekins along with his brother, Bud, Steve McQueen and Cliff Coleman were members of the first American team to compete in the International Six Days Trial.^[1] The International Six Day Trials, a form of off-road motorcycle Olympics, is the oldest annual competition sanctioned by the FIM dating back to 1913.^[9] Ekins competed in five ISDT events and earned two gold medals and a bronze medal in the prestigious motorcycle competition.^[1]

Ekins founded and launched the Sunline brand of motorcycle parts and accessories.^[1]