75 Years of Excitement

The "75 Years of Excitement" exhibit featured nearly 100 machines highlighting the AMA's history from 1924 to 1999. Composed mainly of competition machines, the exhibit spans the years from early board-track racing to night speedway, through hillclimb's dominance and then on to today's professional AMA racing series. The exhibit ran through January 2001.


The 75 Years of Excitement exhibit occupied the main floor's north end.

All the racing disciplines were represented. From trials to drag racing.

The evolution of the racing motorcycle.

Motorcycle racing disciplines the AMA has sanctioned.

Some of the special machines on display:

Floyd Emde's 1948 Indian Big-Base Scout
The very machine Floyd Emde used to win the 1948 Daytona 200

Dick Klamfoth's 1949 Norton Manx
This priceless piece is complete with the famous Roadholder front fork and "garden gate" plunger rear-end, which helped establish Norton as a performance brand in America.

Mert Lawwill's Harley-Davidson KR750 dirt-tracker
The machine Mert Lawwill rode to victory in the 1969 AMA Grand National championship

Kenny Robert's 1975 Yamaha TZ750 dirt-tracker
"They don't pay me enough to ride that thing." That's how Kenny Roberts summed up his experience on this factory race bike, featuring a powerful Yamaha TZ750 two-stroke road-racing motor wedged into a dirt-track frame.

Steve McLaughlin's 1976 BMW R90S
This bike won the first-ever AMA Superbike race at Daytona in 1976.

David Bailey's 1984 Honda RC500
In 1984, David Bailey won the first eight rounds of the 10-race AMA 500cc Motocross Championship aboard this factory-built machine to clinch the series title.