Don Emde

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Don Emde (born February 16, 1951 in San Diego, California [1] ) is an American motorcycle racer, author and publisher. In 1972 he won the Daytona 200 motorcycle race in only 56 laps. [2] In 1999, he was inducted to the American Motorcyclist Association's Motorcycle Hall of Fame, [1] and in 2011 was inducted to the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame. [3]

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Racing moments

Emde's 1972 victory at Daytona as a privateer [4] was the first win at that race for a Yamaha, the smallest displacement racebike to take first place, the first victory for any two-stroke, and the first (and only) father-son win at Daytona (his father Floyd Emde won in 1948). [5]

Emde retired from racing in 1973 and became an author and magazine publisher. [1]

In May, 2014, Emde organized a recreation of Erwin "Cannonball" Baker's 1914 transcontinental motorcycle ride, on its 100th anniversary. [6] [7]

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