April 10, 2023

By Keaton Maisano

April is Get Out and Ride Month, so it is only fitting that this month’s Hall of Famer Spotlight is someone that truly cherished the magic that comes with riding a motorcycle.

AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Roger Hull tallied his fair share of miles during his journey through life — a life that saw him co-found Road Rider magazine, serve as an AMA trustee and become one of the first Americans to ride a motorcycle in Russia.

Born in April of 1924, Hull grew up in Stillwater, Okla. Following service in the military, Hull discovered motorcycling in his 40s.

While he was relatively late to the party, Hull wasted no time getting his fill of two-wheel adventure. In 1966, he decided to tour the United States on an ex-police 1960 Harley-Davidson Model 60 FLH Duo Glide — a bike he affectionately named the “Houndawg.”

An avid touring rider, Hull logged over 100,000 miles on the Houndawg before it was swapped out for another Harley. Hull’s passion for motorcycling was so strong that he didn’t own a car until health issues forced him to buy one.

During his riding peak, Hull co-founded Road Rider, the first magazine to cater to the touring rider.

One of the significant moments of Hull’s riding career was being a member of a group of Western riders that participated in a goodwill ride through the Soviet Union in 1979.

Hull served as an AMA trustee, with much of his focus in the 1980s on shifting the AMA’s efforts toward road riding. His influence brought about the formation of the AMA’s Touring and Transportation Department.

In 1990, Hull received the AMA Dud Perkins Award for his service to motorcycling.

After selling his interest in Road Rider, Hull was hired by Harley-Davidson in the mid-1980s to serve as a roving ambassador.

Hull passed away in early 1995. Six years later in 2001, Hull was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.