K&N Co-Founder Norm McDonald Inducted Into the Trailblazers Hall of Fame

K&N Co-Founder Norm McDonald was active in virtually all aspects of motorcycle racing

Norm was recently named as an inductee into the prestigious Trailblazers Hall of Fame. The Trailblazers Motorcycle Club is an organization of motorcycle enthusiasts that dates back to 1936. One of the organization’s signature functions is the recognition of pioneers of the sport of motorcycling.

Norm’s backstory is deeply rooted in motorcycle racing, promotion, and innovation. He bought his first motorcycle at the age of 17, and the rest is motorcycling history. After serving his country in the Navy, Norm began raising a family with his wife Lucy and racing motorcycles.

Norm spent the mid 1950s working as a surveyor in southern California and racing motorcycles in every event he could. He was a mainstay on the starting grid at such motor parks as Ascot and Fontana, as well as churning up dust at the major desert races across the West. There was no aspect of motorcycle racing that was foreign to Norm as he competed in TT, drag, desert, and flat track.

(L to R) Bryson, Smith, Martin, Jump, Williams, McDonald, Mall, Wilson, and Mahan at K&N

In 1957, Norm met Ken Johnson and the pair of gear heads opened K&N Motorcycles in Loma Linda, California. That’s right, the “N” had met a kindred spirit, and the “K” completed that legendary company logo.

K&N Motorcycles, which started as primarily a service shop, blossomed in 1958 when Ken and Norm saw the promise in a then relatively unknown Japanese motorcycle brand. The visionaries became one of the first Yamaha dealers in the US. Throughout his early career, Norm owned a plethora of other franchises like BSA, Harley-Davidson®, Greeve’s, Hodaka, and many others.

Norm McDonald is the "N" in the iconic K&N logo (Photo: AMA)

K&N Engineering was born in 1965, when Ken and Norm started their innovative parts company by first producing a line of handlebars, fenders, and braces for those spindly 1960s forks. The next year, K&N air filters were born. Over the rest of the decade, K&N filters blossomed into the industry standard for performance and protection.

In 1971, Norm decided to leave the engineering company to Ken. He stuck with the dealership portion of the industry and opened other locations in Oklahoma and Kansas.

Now in his 80s, Norm has not slowed down a bit. The octogenarian started the Motorcyclists Against Cancer Rally with his wife, Lucy. The organization has raised over $300,000 for cancer research. He also runs an MSF-certified training school and also promotes the Oklahoma Gold Rush off-road racing event. Clearly, Norm is set on giving back to society and to the motorcycling lifestyle that he was integral in building.

(L to R) Dennis Mahan, Malcolm Smith, Jerry Mall, Norm McDonald, Gary Bryson, George Wilson

K&N congratulates Norm McDonald on his induction into the Trailblazers Hall of Fame. Norm is a true ambassador of the sport of motorcycling and K&N is proud to continue that heritage into the future.