IN
THE
WIND
P32
AMA
MOTORCYCLE
HALL OF FAMER
PASSES
T
he AMA reported that Motorcycle Hall
of Famer Jerry Branch passed away
on December 28 at the age of 94.
Branch is perhaps best remembered as
one of the most innovative designers and
builders of motorcycle racing engines in
the second half of the 20th century.
John O'Keefe, Branch's business part-
ner for 43 years at Branch & O'Keefe Co.,
said Branch was still coming to the shop
to work regularly until his passing.
Branch began working on motorcycles
at a Memphis, Tennessee, Harley-Da-
vidson dealership when he was in high
school, eventually leaving to join the U.S.
Marine Corps during World War II. He
returned to work at the dealership after
the war and developed a friendship with
rock 'n' roll legend and Memphis resident
Elvis Presley, who brought his Harley-
Davidsons to the Memphis shop.
Branch moved to Los Angeles in the
1960s and began working as a tuner on
Harley-Davidson racing engines. His suc-
cess with Harley-Davidson projects led
him to working with other motorcycle and
automotive manufacturers including Ducati
and Kawasaki, and he was involved in the
formulation of the original AMA Superbike
rules.
Branch authored several books about
his work with cylinder head airflow. His
innovations in engine design and per-
formance were far reaching and helped
usher in the Superbike era of racing.
He founded the company Branch Flow-
metrics, which he sold to Mikuni in the late
1990s.
Branch was inducted into the AMA Mo-
torcycle Hall of Fame in 2005.
For more information about Branch and
his contributions to motorcycling, visit the
AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame website at
www.motorcyclemuseum.org. CN
AMA Motorcycle
Hall of Famer
Jerry Branch
passed away at
the age of 94.
