Erv Kanemoto (born May 7, 1943) is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning an ...

and motorcycle race team owner. He was one of the most successful motorcycle racing tuners and race team crew chiefs of the 1970s through the early 2000s, working with motorcycle racers who won two national championships and six

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. He is best known for his association with motorcycle racers

Gary Nixon Gary Nixon (January 25, 1941 – August 5, 2011) was an American professional motorcycle racer who most notably won the A.M.A. Grand National Championship in 1967 and 1968 as a member of the Triumph factory racing team. He was also the winner of ...

and

Freddie Spencer Frederick Burdette Spencer (born December 20, 1961), sometimes known by the nickname Fast Freddie, is an American former world champion motorcycle racer. Spencer is regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of the early 1980s. Motorcycle ...

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Motorcycling career

Kanemoto was born in Utah and grew up on a farm near

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

. He began boat racing at the age of 15 then switched to tuning

kart Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ...

s raced by his sister. He was hired as a race mechanic by Kawasaki in 1968 and became known for his partnership with motorcycle racer Gary Nixon when they won the 1973 U.S. Road Racing National Championship aboard a temperamental and brutally fast

Kawasaki KR750 The Kawasaki KR750 was a racing motorcycle built by Kawasaki. It featured a liquid-cooled, three-cylinder, two-stroke engine.two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

engine. The duo competed at the international level in the 1976 Formula 750 championship, laying claim to the

Formula 750 Formula 750 was a FIM motorcycle road racing series based on a 750 cubic centimeter engine capacity. History The series began in 1971 as a collaboration between the American Motorcyclist Association and the Auto Cycle Union. The FIM adopt ...

world championship until international politics denied them that prize. When Nixon retired in 1979, Kanemoto joined a young up and coming road racer named Freddie Spencer and won the U.S. 250cc Road Racing National Championship with a

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

. He spent the 1980 season with Spencer before moving to Europe in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

to be a Yamaha mechanic for former 500cc world champion

Barry Sheene Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing and was a two-time world champion, winning consecutive 500cc titles in 1976 and 1977 ...

. Kanemoto is perhaps best known for the world championships won with Spencer for the

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

Grand Prix team in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

when Spencer accomplished the double by winning both the 250cc and the 500cc Road Racing World Championships in the same year, a feat that will never be repeated due to the discontinuation of the 250cc and 500cc classes in current MotoGP competition. He joined forces with

Eddie Lawson Eddie Lawson (born March 11, 1958) is an American former four-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. His record of not crashing and consistently finishing in the points earned him the nickname "Steady Eddie".1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

to win another 500cc World Championship for Honda. Kanemoto also won 250cc World Championships for Honda in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

and 1992 with

Luca Cadalora Luca Cadalora (born 17 May 1963) is an Italian former professional motorcycle racer who is the 125 cc World Champion, and 250 cc World Champion and 8-time Premier Class race winner. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from ...

as the rider, and in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

with

Max Biaggi Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi (; born 26 June 1971) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who achieved six World Championships. With four 250 cc road race titles and two in World Superbikes, he is one of only two ri ...

as the rider. In 2001 Kanemoto was inducted into the AMA

Motorcycle Hall of Fame The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction, or motorcycling in general. It also displays motorcycle ...

. Kanemoto is currently still involved in motorcycle Grand Prix racing as a consultant.

References

External links

Erv Kanemoto at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame

* ttps://archive.today/20130203062454/http://www.superbikeplanet.com/erv93.htm Erv Kanemoto Interview, by Dean Adams, Superbike Planet, 1993 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanemoto, Erv 1943 births Living people Sportspeople from Utah Sportspeople from San Jose, California American people of Japanese descent Motorcycle racing team owners Mechanics (people)