Deeley: Motorcycle Millionaire

Description

250 pages
Contains Photos
$14.95
ISBN 1-55143-025-8
DDC 380.1'456292275'092

Year

1994

Contributor

Reviewed by A.A. Den Otter

A.A. den Otter is a history professor at the Memorial University of
Newfoundland and co-author of Lethbridge: A Centennial History.

Review

Motorcycle connoisseurs will enjoy reading this well-written biography
of Frederick Trevor (Trev) Deeley, dirt track racer, motorcycle
importer, and successful businessman. The charismatic son of a wealthy
Vancouver dealer in British Austins, Deeley was among the first to
acknowledge the value of Japan’s Honda motorcycles. While many
forecasted failure, he became the first Honda distributor in the
English-speaking world. Subsequently, he abandoned Honda and became the
first Yamaha distributor in Canada. In 1973, Deeley took over the
distribution of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and shortly thereafter was
named one of the first outside members of the company’s board of
directors. In the process, he became a multimillionaire, a fact not lost
on the admiring author. Hilliard attempts to steer a middle course
between portraying Deeley as a blunt, unscrupulous schemer who dumped
his allies when their future appeared bleak and depicting him as a
playboy spendthrift who built a business empire with his father’s
wealth.

Citation

Hilliard, Frank., “Deeley: Motorcycle Millionaire,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed March 28, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/31759.