Dave Ekins

David Lawrence Ekins, born in Los Angeles on May 20, 1932, is an American off-road motorcycle racer who helped pioneer desert racing in the 1950s. He followed his brother Bud Ekins into the sport and was sponsored by factories including Velocette, Zundapp, Honda, Harley-Davidson and Bultaco. He was among the first American riders to use Honda machines in desert races, often beating riders on larger bikes, and won overall at the 1967 Greenhorn Enduro on a 100cc Zundapp. In 1962 he and Bill Robertson rode a Honda CL72 down the Baja California peninsula from Tijuana to La Paz in under 40 hours, a record that helped inspire the Baja 1000. In 1964 he rode for the first American team at the International Six Days Trial, and over five trials earned two gold medals and a bronze. He founded the Sunline brand of motorcycle parts and was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.