Perry Kramer is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX)

BMX

Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...

 racer whose prime competitive years were from 1974-1981.

Among his accomplishments is his co-founding with Scot Breithaupt

Scot Breithaupt

Scot Alexander Breithaupt is an entrepreneur, "Old School" former professional Motorcycle MX and Bicycle Motocross racer and a founding father of BMX in 1970 whose prime competitive years were from 1970 to 1984...

 of Scot Enterprise Racing (SE Racing). His nickname "PK" is a simple derivation from his first and last initials of his name and the inspiration of one of the most popular model of BMX bicycle, the "PK Ripper", that is still in production.

Racing career milestones

Note: In the early days of professional racing, prior to 1976, many tracks offered small purse prize money to the older racers of an event, even before the official sanctioning bodies offered prize money in formal divisions themselves. Hence, some early "professionals" like Stu Thomsen

Stu Thomsen

Stuart L. Thomsen was an American bicycle motocross racer.Stu Thomsen was one of the first of the "Old School" of professional BMX racers who gained fame in the early days of the sport beginning in 1974. His prime competitive years were from 1976-1985...

 who turned "pro" in 1975 at age 16, would race for small amounts of money at track events when offered. Even before the NBA

National Bicycle Association

The National Bicycle Association , later known as the National Bicycle Motocross Association was an United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Soledad, California that was created by Ernie Alexander in 1973 and ceased operations as an independent body in 1981...

, this was regarded as the first true national BMX sanctioning body and had a professional division. For the sake of consistency and standardization, noted professional firsts are for the first pro races involving prize money offered by official BMX sanctioning bodies and not independent track events. Professional firsts are also on the national level unless otherwise indicated.

----
Started Racing: 1973 or 1974. Perry Kramer himself is vague on this point. His first race was at what was the very first BMX track, Palms Park in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 which was started by Ron Mackler in 1969. In the very first issue of Bicycle Motocross News, June 1974 he is listed in the recap section that listed race results as coming in second on April 24, 1974 in 12-14 Jr. Expert. in the Palms Park Series in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

.

Sanctioning Body: Independent.

First race result:

First win (local):

Home sanctioning body district(s): National Bicycle Association (NBA) District "N" (Northern California);

First sponsor:

First national win: In the Open Main at the National Bicycle Association

National Bicycle Association

The National Bicycle Association , later known as the National Bicycle Motocross Association was an United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Soledad, California that was created by Ernie Alexander in 1973 and ceased operations as an independent body in 1981...

 (NBA) Winter Nationals in Scottsdale, Arizona

Scottsdale, Arizona

Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...

 on April 17, 1976.

Turned Professional: 1977 age 18.

First Professional* race result:

First Professional** win:

Retired: 1985

Height & weight at height of his career:

Amateur

• Dan Gurney: 1974

• Dirt-master: 1974-1975

• National Bicycle Association: January 1976 to Late 1976. He was directly sponsored by the sanctioning body.

• Mongoose (BMX Products): Late 1976-Early February 1978 Kramer would turn pro with this sponsor

Professional

• Mongoose: Late 1976-Early February 1978

• SE (Scot Enterprises now Sports Engineering) Racing: Mid-February 1978 - February 1983. Kramer was dropped by SE after the 1983 American Bicycle Association
  American Bicycle Association
  The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...
  
   (ABA) Winter Nationals held in Chandler, Arizona
  Chandler, Arizona
  -Demographics:As of the Census of 2010, there were 236,123 people, 86,924 households, and 60,212 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 73.3% White, 4.8% Black or African American, 1.5% Native American, 8.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 21.9% Hispanic or Latino, and 8.3%...
  
  .

• Race Inc: March 1983-Mid 1984

• SE Racing: Mid 1984-1985. After Race Inc. went out of business in mid 1984, Kramer rejoined his old sponsor.

Amateur

• 1975 Arizona State Champion

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

• 1976 Winternationals Open and Overall Champion
• 1976 6 & Over Expert and Overall Western States Champion
• 1976 National No.2 (Pro/Am Title)

National Bicycle League (NBL)

• None

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

• None

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

• None

Professional

National Bicycle Association

National Bicycle Association

The National Bicycle Association , later known as the National Bicycle Motocross Association was an United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Soledad, California that was created by Ernie Alexander in 1973 and ceased operations as an independent body in 1981...

 (NBA)

• 1976 National No.2 (Pro/Am Title)
• 1979 Jag Pro World Champion. (NBA/NBL sanctioned)

National Bicycle League

National Bicycle League

The National Bicycle League is a United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Deerfield Beach, Florida but after several moves it was based in Hilliard, Ohio...

 (NBL)

• None

American Bicycle Association

American Bicycle Association

The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...

 (ABA)

• None

United States Bicycle Motocross Association

United States Bicycle Motocross Association

The United States Bicycle Association was a short lived Bicycle Motocross national sanctioning body based in Tempe, Arizona. It was founded in March 1984 by five former members of the American Bicycle Association : Rich Mann, Dave Cook, Geoff Sims, Steve Schaefer and Rod Keeling, who became the...

 (USBA)

• None

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

• None

Special races, Invitationals and Pro Series Championships

• 1980 Tokyo
  Tokyo
  , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
  
   Grand Prix Champion.

• 1980 Avro Invitational Fietscross Champion held in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

• 2001 Kobe Bryant Biggest Fan In the World Award

Notable accolades

• He and friends of his when they were children were responsible for getting Ernie Alexander, a Motorcycle Motocross track operator to hold Bicycle Motocross races. This led Ernie Alexander to eventually create the National Bicycle Association
  National Bicycle Association
  The National Bicycle Association , later known as the National Bicycle Motocross Association was an United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Soledad, California that was created by Ernie Alexander in 1973 and ceased operations as an independent body in 1981...
  
  .

• He helped Scot Breithaupt in the establishment of SE Racing in 1977.

• Named number five of the top five riders in Southern California
  Southern California
  Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
  
   of 1977 by Bicycle Motocross News.

• One of the most respected and pioneering BMX bicycle models is named after him: The P.K. Ripper manufactured by Scot Enterprises (SE) Racing. It was one of the first production BMX bicycles to be made from aluminum. It is a metal that was difficult to work with vis-à-vis
  Vis-à-vis
  Vis-à-vis may refer to:* Vis-à-vis * "Vis à Vis" , an episode of Star Trek: Voyager...
  
   bicycle frame construction and fragile if not manufactured correctly. As a result it was also more expensive than typical steel
  Steel
  Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
  
   bicycles. The P.K. Ripper was one of the first aluminum framed BMX bicycles that was reliable and durable for racing and competitively priced. It was in many ways ahead of its time. The fact that it resembles a modern BMX bicycle is no accident; most modern BMX race bicycles are usually made from aluminum. Like the P.K., modern aluminum bicycle frames have oversized flattened downtubes and toptubes which was called on the Ripper (and a pioneering S.E. Racing BMX Cruiser) "Floval" by the founder of S.E. Racing Scot Breithaupt
  Scot Breithaupt
  Scot Alexander Breithaupt is an entrepreneur, "Old School" former professional Motorcycle MX and Bicycle Motocross racer and a founding father of BMX in 1970 whose prime competitive years were from 1970 to 1984...
  
  . Also, there is a pro cruiser by S.E. called the "floval flyer," a very unusual-looking bicycle at the time, as was the "exotic" material it was fabricated from. When introduced, most BMX bicycles were made from either hi-tensile steel or more expensive but stronger chromium-molybdenum steel. Chromium-molybdenum steel, commonly known as "Chromoly", while more expensive than high-tensile steel, it was cheaper than aluminum, in part it was much easier to fabricate and more reliable in terms of durability than most other aluminum framed race bicycles on the market at the time. Aluminum, while significantly lighter and much less subject to corrosion
  Corrosion
  Corrosion is the disintegration of an engineered material into its constituent atoms due to chemical reactions with its surroundings. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metals in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen...
  
   than chromoly steel, is more brittle and less resilient than chromoly. The frame must be absolutely stiff or it is subject to failing abruptly, i.e. snapping in two suddenly. It will succumb from metal fatigue
  Metal Fatigue
  Metal Fatigue , is a futuristic science fiction, real-time strategy computer game developed by Zono Incorporated and published by Psygnosis and TalonSoft .-Plot:...
  
   at a much faster rate, especially if it is subjected to flexing. This is why the tubes of an aluminum frame are both of a larger diameter and are thicker walled than chromoly tubes, to maintain stiffness. Further, aluminum is harder to weld. The welds have to be extra strong and "double butted" and thorough which gives the aluminum frame with its very obvious beaded welds an "unfinished" look, as if someone forgot to sand them down at the factory to give it the clean, almost one-piece look of a chromoly frame. As a result, the weight advantage of aluminum is reduced significantly, in addition to it higher fabrication cost. For these reasons, the Chromoly steel frame and fork was the standard of BMX racing and freestyle for twenty years. Only in the mid-1990s, as manufacturing advances - many pioneered in the construction of a mountain bike frame - made aluminum cheaper and easier to work with, did aluminum-framed race and freestyle bicycles begin to supplant chromoly. Today the aluminum BMX bicycle frame is the standard, and the modern iteration of the P. K. Ripper is still manufactured by SE (now called Sports Engineering) Racing.

• He was one of the founding members of the Professional Racing Organization (PRO) racers guild
  Guild
  A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
  
   in 1977.

• Following in the footsteps of Bobby Encinas
  Bobby Encinas
  Bobby Encinas is a former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1973 to 1980. He was one of the first superstars in BMX and one of its most savvy promoters...
  
   he established Perry Kramer's Pro School of BMX traveling BMX clinic in 1978 teaching hundreds of kids what BMX had to offer.

• He is a 1991 Inductee into the ABA BMX Hall of Fame

• He is a 2004 Inductee into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame
  United States Bicycling Hall of Fame
  The United States Bicycling Hall of Fame, located in Davis, California, is a private organization formed to preserve and promote the sport of cycling.-Location:...
  
  .

Post BMX career

• He stayed within the industry and worked for various bicycle companies including Giant.

BMX press magazine interviews and articles

• "Perry Kramer's Pro BMX Winners Seminar!" BMX Plus! May 1982 Vol. No.5 pg.10
• "Perry Kramer on sponsorships" BMX Torque March/April 1983 Vol.1 No.7 pg.34 Australian publication. It was the last BMX Torque ever published.
• "Flashback: Perry Kramer" Snap BMX Magazine Vol.7 Iss.4 No.42 pg.69 Retrospective article.

BMX magazine covers

Bicycle Motocross News:

• May 1976 Vol.3 No.5 with Tinker Juarez
  Tinker Juarez
  David Juarez is a former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross racer and current top mountain bike racer whose prime competitive years in BMX were from 1978 to 1984 and in mountain bike racing 1986 to the present. Since 1986, he has been a mountain bike racer and since late 2005, competing...
  
   and an unidentified racer.
• January 1977 Vol.4 No.1 (holding trophy) with numerous unidentified.

Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:

• January 1981 Vol.8 No.1 (4) leading unidentified racer (164)
• March 1981 Vol.8 No.3 in top insert head shot Scott Clark
  Scott Clark (BMX rider)
  Scott Clark is an "Old School" former professional Bicycle Motocross racer whose prime competitive years were from 1978 to 1985....
  
   in main image.

Bicycle Motocross Action:

• June 1981 Vol.6 No.6 with Scot Breithaupt
  Scot Breithaupt
  Scot Alexander Breithaupt is an entrepreneur, "Old School" former professional Motorcycle MX and Bicycle Motocross racer and a founding father of BMX in 1970 whose prime competitive years were from 1970 to 1984...
  
   and R.L. Osborn.

BMX Plus!:

• October 1979 Issue No.8

Bicycles and Dirt (ABA publication):

Total BMX:

NBA World & NBmxA World (The official NBA/NBmxA membership publication under two names):

Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The NBL official membership publication under two names):

ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The ABA official membership publication under three names):

USBA Racer (The USBA official membership publication):

External links

• The American Bicycle Association (ABA) Website.
• The National Bicycle League (NBL) Website.