The AMA Dud Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award acknowledges the highest level of service to the AMA in any area of activity. The award is named after its first recipient, a San Francisco motorcycle dealer and AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer who embodied tireless and generous support of motorcycling.
- 2012: Jerry Abboud—Hailed for his unwavering dedication to protecting the interests of motorcycle, ATV, personal watercraft and snowmobile riders and dealers against unfair regulations and laws, and proposing more equitable ones.
- 2013: Andy Goldfine—Recognized for his generous and tireless support of motorcycling. Created in 1970 to acknowledge the highest level of service to the AMA in any area of activity, the award pays tribute to its namesake, AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Dud Perkins. Goldfine served with distinction on the AMA Board of Directors from 2004 to 2011 and on the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation Board of Directors from 2008 to 2011, helping to guide the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. As founder of Aerostich/RiderWearHouse, he introduced numerous innovative apparel and accessory products to the market, and as a key organizer of the annual worldwide “Ride to Work Day,” Goldfine helped heighten the awareness of motorcyclists as everyday people who ride virtually every day.
- 2014: Mike and Margaret Wilson—Melbourne “Mike” J. Wilson and Margaret Wilson, AMA Life Members and inductees into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, have both served with distinction on the board of directors of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which raises funds for the Hall of Fame, and are among the foundation’s principal benefactors. The Wilsons commissioned and donated the beautiful bronze sculpture, “Glory Days,” which graces the Hall of Fame’s display area and serves as its official logo. Mike Wilson has also contributed in the design and development of displays at the museum. Margaret Wilson, a longtime member of the Motor Maids, has ridden her motorcycles over 550,000 miles and is an enthusiastic supporter and promoter of women’s motorcycling clubs and events. She was awarded the AMA Bessie Stringfield Award in 2003.
- 2015: Charles Umbenhauer—The AMA Life Member received the award for his many decades of advocacy on behalf of motorcyclists in the Pennsylvania legislature, with notable victories that safeguarded funding for rider education, ensured voluntary adult helmet use, reduced tolls for motorcycles and secured motorcycle parking at state-owned facilities.
- 2016: Craig Vetter—Long known for his accomplishments as a motorcycle inventor, designer and racer, Vetter was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame 1999. He designed the iconic Windjammer fairings of the 1970s, the Triumph X-75 Hurricane and the limited-edition Mystery Ship. More recently Vetter has conducted a series of motorcycle fuel economy runs that push the boundaries of everyday streamlining. Equally significant is Vetter’s longtime service to the AMA and to the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which raises funds for the Hall of Fame. For years, Vetter served on the AMHF Board of Directors (2008-13) and as the chairman of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Design and Engineering Committee. He is also a significant donor, having provided more than $100,000 in funds and historic motorcycles to the AMHF. In 2012, he was the grand marshal for the annual AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, the primary fundraiser for the Hall of Fame. In 2014, he was the featured guest at the annual AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Breakfast at Daytona, another successful AMHF fundraising activity.
- 2017: John Ulrich—In addition to his many years of service as an AMA board member, Ulrich has dedicated his life to road racing. He first competed in 1973 and has won races in five decades, including the 1983 and 1984 WERA National Endurance Championships and the 1996 WERA National Challenge Series 125cc Grand Prix Championship. Ulrich also co-founded Team Hammer in 1980. Team Hammer has won numerous amateur and professional championships to become one of the most successful road racing teams in the United States. In addition, Ulrich is the founder and publisher of Roadracing World magazine and the Roadracing World Action Fund, a nonprofit that advocates and promotes the use of soft barriers to prevent racetrack injuries and provides education on the value of adequate pre-race practice, rider training, and proper racetrack preparation.
- 2018: Tom White—Wearing AMA National No. 80 in flat-track competition from 1971 to 1976, White co-founded White Brothers Cycle Specialties in 1975 and later created the World Vet MX Championship and the World Four-Stroke Championship. White’s lasting contributions also included the creation of the Edison Dye Motocross Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997, which recognizes annually those who have made the largest impact on the growth of motocross in America. The Early Years of Motocross Museum was White’s pride and joy, which today features 160 historic motorcycles and related displays. Even in retirement White was a fixture on the racing scene, announcing motorcycle races during the past several years at the weekly REM motocross series at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, Calif. In 2017, White was honored with a monument along Glen Helen’s Walk of Fame. In addition to his many achievements, White donated untold hours of service to the AMA and as a board member of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which oversees the Hall of Fame. For many years he was a stand-out announcer at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, an annual fundraiser for the Hall of Fame.
- 2019: Malcolm Smith—Smith’s name is synonymous with everything positive about motorcycling: fun, sportsmanship and excitement. As a racer, Smith gained fame for his accomplishments in the Baja 1000 and for his gold-medal-winning rides in the International Six Days Enduro competitions. His notoriety reached well beyond the motorcycling community as the star of the influential 1970s motorcycle film, “On Any Sunday.” The movie helped launch an explosion in the popularity of off-road motorcycling in America. Smith went on to become a successful businessman with his Malcolm Smith Motorsports motorcycle dealership in Riverside, Calif. He also organized numerous fundraising rides in Baja, Mexico, that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for an orphanage in Valle de la Trinidad, Baja California. Smith has long been a supporter of the AMA and the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which raises money for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. He has donated motorcycles—including his Husqvarna 400 Cross—riding gear and helmets to the Hall of Fame museum, and he helped promote the 2007 exhibit “Malcolm!” Smith also has contributed thousands of dollars to support the AMHF.
- 2020: Selvaraj Narayana—Narayana, executive director of KTM North America Inc., began his involvement in motorcycle competition five decades ago, and his successful career at KTM has included leadership roles in virtually every aspect of the company’s international business: parts and accessories, apparel, dealer development, sales and service. Narayana also has served on the Motorcycle Industry Council Board of Directors and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Board of Trustees. He received the MIC Chairman’s Award 2008.
- 2021: Paul Slavik—Slavik, a former employee of American Honda, has spent decades promoting and protecting motorcycling. He participated in AMA-sanctioned competition events in Southern California and the Midwest from the early 1960s to the late 1980s. He was Honda’s national OHV coordinator and national OHV press coordinator. First appointed to the California Off-Highway Vehicle Commission in 2008, Slavik helped create the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council, was involved the Off Road PALs Program and was a member of the California OHV Stakeholders. He also served on the California Roundtable on Recreation, Parks and Tourism.