Inducted 1995 – Competitor – Motorcycle Racing
Accompanied by the smiles and hand clapping of his many friends and admirers, Trevor Deeley was inducted into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. This was a special night of tribute for all the athletes being inducted in the Hall of Fame, especially for a man whose name, while synonymous with Harley Davidson, is also responsible for bringing the Honda motorcycle into the English speaking world and shortly after that, doing the same with the Yamaha motorcycle. But this is not the reason Trev Deeley was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame – he was being inducted as an athlete. For the first time in history, the Hall of Fame was recognizing motorcycle racing as a legitimate sport and the racers as athletes. It was only fitting the first motorcycle racer inducted should be Trev Deeley.
Trev was a terrific athlete during the years he spent racing Harley Davidson motorcycles. Not only did this man of slight stature but gigantic will, determination and heart race Harley Davidson motorcycles, but he threw those heavy machines around corners and into straightaways at the toughest race tracks in North America.
Long before the luxurious and pampered life of today’s motorcycle racing professional, Trev and his wife would tow his racing motorcycle behind their car to the next track to compete in the next big race. He would drive, sleep in the car, do the mechanical preparations and then suit up to ride wheel-to-wheel against some of the best motorcycle racers of the day. He had enough skill and technique to achieve an impressive list of victories.