Canadian motorcycle racer, dealer, importer, sponsor, AMA official, motorcycle collector and designer Trevor Deeley dies at 82.
"Trev" Deeley was born on March 15, 1920, in Vancouver, British Columbia, into a motorcycling family. His grandfather and father had operated a Harley-Davidson dealership in Vancouver since 1918.
During the 1940’s and 1950’s Deeley dominated flat track motorcycle racing in the Northwest. He became a factory sponsored rider for Harley-Davidson and his bikes bore the number 22 as an AMA expert national plate holder, the first Canadian to have this honor.
In 1953, Trev was appointed General Manager of Fred Deeley Motorcycles. Four years later he became the first Honda motorcycle distributor in the English speaking world. In 1973 Trevor was approached by Harley-Davidson to become the exclusive distributor for Canada. That same year, Trevor was awarded “Special Constable” status and became the first civilian to ride with the Vancouver City Police Drill Team.
In 1985 Trev Deeley became the first non-American on the board of directors for Harley-Davidson Motor Company. He retired from the board in 1993, later that same year he opened the doors of the Deeley Harley-Davidson Museum housing one of the finest collections of motorcycles in the country.
Trev Deeley was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 1995. This followed with the induction into the AMA Hall of Fame and the BC Sports Hall of Fame. In 1997 Deeley became the first Canadian to receive the Dudley Perkins Award for his outstanding contribution to the sport of motorcycling.
Not bad for a kid who began riding at fourteen on a 250cc Francis Barnett.
