Larry Lawrence | January 16, 2022
Motorcycle Hall of Famer who popularized plastic fenders turned 80
Preston Petty, a noted 1960s off-road and motocross racer who founded a company that popularized plastic fenders for off-road motorcycles, died in Texas last night, according to several close friends.
He was 80.
Petty was one of the first riders in the country to ride Honda motorcycles. He also rode for America in three International Six-Day Trials (ISDT – now known as ISDE) events and was one of the early proponents of bringing European-style motocross to America. Petty was perhaps best known for his pioneering plastic motorcycle component business, Petty Plastics. His innovative fenders changed the then-current view that plastic was junk on off-road motorcycles. Petty fenders became the gold standard by the 1970s and nearly all serious racers scrapped their stock fenders for Petty units.
Petty was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.
In his later years, Petty returned to racing, competing in Vet Flat Track and Trials events, often on electric bikes, wearing his signature blue overalls. According to friends, he had been in poor health for a few years.
Larry Lawrence | Archive Editor
In addition to writing our weekly archive section, Lawrence is able to report on any event that we throw his way.
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