It’s been a year since we lost one of the most admired motorcycle racers and finest personalities on the MotoGP grid, Nicky Hayden. To honor and celebrate the life and career of professional American road racer and flat tracker, American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and American Honda will commission two custom motorcycles. American Honda will donate a 2018 Honda CBR1000RR and a 2018 Honda XR650L for the project.
Speaking about the project, AMA President and CEO Rob Dingman said, “Nicky Hayden was the consummate American motorcycle racer, emerging from the amateur ranks to dominate American road racing on his way to the 2006 MotoGP World Championship. Moreover, he represented the best of sportsmanship and character, and never forgot his roots, even when competing on the world stage against living legends. It’s our pleasure to work with American Honda to pay tribute to Hayden’s competitive accomplishments and exceptional class.”
The CBR1000RR will be decked out in a full Repsol Honda livery, while the XR650L will be heavily modified in a street-tracker motif by award-winning custom bike builder Tony Prust of Analog Cycles in Chicago. Renderings of the custom motorcycles will be unveiled on July 6 at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days in Lexington, Ohio. The bikes will debut during AMA Legends & Champions Weekend in Columbus, Ohio, on December 7.
These motorcycles will tour at select events and be on display at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame on the AMA campus in Pickerington, Ohio, throughout 2019, before ultimately being raffled off to raise funds for the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation.