IN
THE
WIND
P32
Dave Miller:
1955-2020
T
he motorcycle community
mourns the loss of industry
icon Dave Miller, who was found
dead on Friday at his Anaheim
race shop, Dave Miller Con-
cepts. His body was found by
a shop employee shortly after
noon on the floor in front of his
welding bench. The 64-year-old
racer-turned fabricator/tuner had
recently completed an exhaustive
series of chemotherapy treat-
ments following a cancer diagno-
sis late last year.
Dave was a three-time National
Minibike Champion and accom-
plished pro racer during the early
years of motocross in Southern
California, but it was his skill as
a tuner and fabricator that really
stood out. In 1973, Miller went
to work for Donny Emler at FMF,
building pipes and aftermarket
products that squeezed every bit
of performance from the early
Honda Elsinores, Yamaha YZs
and Suzuki RMs. Miller also built
custom bikes, such as the famous
"Penda" and became well known
for quality and attention to detail.
In 1975, he opened his first
shop, Miller Mano, creating the
slogan "Everything's Sano at
Miller Mano" and sold it in 1977.
Miller's growing reputation as a
master craftsman made him a hot
commodity for many MX-, auto-
and boat-racing teams, while also
producing custom race bikes for
well-heeled clients. He opened
his "non-profit hobby shop," Dave
Miller Concepts, in the early '80s
and continued to produce works
of art, right up to his death.
"Dave was a true genius with a
photographic memory, he could
tell you the specs on every bike
he ever worked on, right down to
the size of the pilot jet and how
many turns out on the air screw,"
said lifelong friend Todd Peterson.
"One time as we left a rider's
meeting, he talked about casting
an aluminum radial head in metal
shop class!" said Ross Maeda. "I
was just learning to split cases,
and he was making cylinder
heads in high school!"
Patrick Johnson, a fellow bike-
building craftsman, described
Miller: "Dave was a sculptor, a
painter, an architect, an engineer,
a chemist and a physicist. He
could explain the inner workings
of a motorcycle and tell you where
to best set up for the next corner.
He was a true Renaissance man.
Dave was our Michelangelo, our
Da Vinci. He molded motorcycles
with his hands out of raw metal
and saw potential in a design
none of us could ever imagine.
He was cut from a rare cloth that
they don't make anymore and
there are but a few of him left."
Friend Dave Carlson wishes
people knew the Dave Miller that
he knew so well. "Sure, Dave was
a motorcycle genius," he said.
"He had a gift and he used that
gift to provide for his wife, Jody
and sons David, Cole and Andre.
I've never known anyone as dedi-
cated to family as Dave was."
A GoFundMe account has
been created to help the Miller
family with medical expenses
and other expenses related to his
passing.
Steve Bauer
Dave Miller,
of Dave Miller
Concepts, passed
away at the age
of 64. PHOTO: SCOTT
HEIDBRINK
