Today in motorcycle history, August 1, 1924

 

 

 The AMA (American Motorcycle Association) is officially established.  "The slogan of the AMA will be: An Organized Minority Can Always Defeat an Unorganized Majority." (Western Motorcyclist and Bicyclist, 1924)

 

  The When the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM) was dissolved after WWI the Motorcycle & Allied Trades Association (M&ATA) was formed.  M&ATA began registering riders in 1919, and by early 1924, it claimed to have about 10,000 members.  On May 15 at a meeting in Cleveland, the directors of the M&ATA proposed to create the "American Motorcycle Association" as a division of the M&ATA.  The new AMA would control rider registration and activities, issue sanctions for national events, and serve motorcycle industry members.

  The registered M&ATA riders were transferred as AMA charter members, while individual AMA membership dues were set at $1 per year.

  The official ratification of the AMA became effective on August 1, 1924, and the first national event operated under an AMA sanction was most likely the second annual National Six Days Trial, held from August 25 through 30 in Ohio and adjacent states.  This was a 1,400-mile endurance run that started and finished in Cleveland.

 

  A "fun, family friendly motorcycle organization" (much like HOG), in an interview with the media after the "events" at Holister, California in 1947 an AMA representative claimed that the problems weren't caused by any of their members, "99% of people on motorcycles are fun-loving, law-abiding citizens."

 

  The 1%er was born that day...