Former Suzuki Executive Passes
M
el Harris, best known for
his years heading up the
motorcycle division of Suzuki in
America, died on Sunday, March
20, 2022, after a two-year battle
with cancer. He was 76.
Harris moved up the ladder at
Suzuki, starting with the com-
pany in 1981 as a district sales
manager in New England, then
to regional manager in Chicago,
before becoming assistant
national sales manager, national
sales manager, marketing direc-
tor, and finally VP of motorcycle/
marine operations.
After leaving American Su-
zuki at the end of 2008, Harris
worked for Quantya Electric
Motorcycles, ATK, and most
recently for SSR Motorsports as
Vice President of Operations.
Under Harris' direction Suzuki
had some of its biggest success-
es, both in the showroom and on
the track.
Harris was a major believer in
racing and as such, during his
term heading up American Su-
zuki he was largely responsible
for hiring one of the most im-
pressive rosters of racers in the
history of American motorcycle
racing. Travis Pastrana, Ryan
Dungey, Jeremy McGrath, Nicky
Hayden, Mat Mladin, Ben Spies,
Aaron Yates, Greg Albertyn and
John Hopkins were just a few of
the riders Harris helped bring on
board at Suzuki.
By far the biggest coup for
Harris came in 2005, when he
hired Ricky Carmichael away
from Honda. Carmichael was
coming off a serious knee injury
and many wondered if he would
continue to be the racer he was
before the injury. With Suzuki
Carmichael won every outdoor
national in 2005, en route to to-
tally dominating the premier class
in the AMA Motocross Champi-
onship.
"Mel will be deeply missed,"
Carmichael said. "I really enjoyed
my time working with Mel, he
was so kind and really put his
IN
THE
WIND
P24
Part of Suzuki's racing
success in the 2000s
was because of this man,
Mel Harris, who passed
away at the age of 76.
