VOL. 56 ISSUE 4 JANUARY 29, 2019 P41
JERMAN PASSES AWAY
M
ark Jerman, better known
simply as "Marko," passed
away on Saturday, January 19, at
the age of 60. He suffered heart
failure related to diabetic blood
infection issues that he'd been
struggling with since May 2018.
He lived in Palmdale, California.
Jerman was well known in the
motorcycle industry ever since
getting his first job with Vance
& Hines and started traveling
across the country following the
AMA Superbike Championship
while turning wrenches for Colin
Edwards, which included a few of
his championship years. Before
joining Vance & Hines, as a
young kid, Jerman helped around
the shop at FMF when the now
famous company was just getting
started.
In the late 90s, Jerman was
heavily involved with the devel-
opment of the Yamaha YZ400F
four-stroke MX bike and was Doug
Henry's mechanic when Henry
raced the YZ400F.
He was also an avid motorcycle
rider and racer and enjoyed racing
in Baja with his longtime Baja 1000
racing partners Joe Bolton, Steve
Bukley, Mark Vanscourt, Dana
Jones and Earl Roberts.
Jerman was also a member of the
Hilltoppers Motorcycle Club.
According to Jerman's longtime
girlfriend Sarah Johnson, "Marko
was a jack of all trades. He was
a standout guy, always in a great
mood, a go-with-the flow-sort-
of-guy, and always had the most
fantastic campfire stories. He knew
everyone. And everyone knew him
'cause he was such an awesome
guy. He lived an amazing life." CN
(Above) "Marko" Jerman, well
known in the motorcycle-racing
industry, passed away at the
age of 60. (Below) Jerman
(second from left) tuned for
AMA Superbike Champion Colin
Edwards.
