Wes Cooley, AMA Hall of Famer and former AMA Superbike racer, passed away on Oct. 16, 2021. (Photo courtesy Yoshimura Japan)

The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame offers its condolences to the family, friends and fans of Wes Cooley, a member of the Hall of Fame Class of 2004 who was a pioneering force behind the rising popularity of AMA Superbike racing in the 1970s and early ?80s. Cooley passed away on Oct. 16 at his home in Twin Falls, Idaho, after reportedly suffering complications from diabetes. He was 65.

Wester Steven Cooley was born in Los Angeles on June 28, 1956, and was a product of the Southern California roadracing scene. When he entered his first AMA Superbike Series event at Daytona International Speedway in March of 1976 on a Kawasaki KZ1000, he was a young, hard-charging rider who differed in several ways from the old-school roadracer mentality that had been the norm in the ?60s and ?70s.
Along with some of his 1970s contemporaries, Cooley helped change the face of the then-new Superbike class by stepping up the level of competition, eventually winning two AMA Superbike Championships in 1979 and 1980. He gave Suzuki its first AMA Superbike title in 1979.

In addition to his Superbike exploits, Cooley also made history by becoming the first rider to win an AMA Formula One National on a four-stroke.

Not only did Cooley become a racing icon in America, he was also a legend in Japan for winning the inaugural Suzuka 8-Hour Endurance race in 1978 and again...