No one probably ever thought that Bill Baird’s benchmark of seven consecutive AMA National Enduro titles could ever be broken, but then they must’ve never voiced those thoughts to Dick Burleson.
From 1974 to 1981, Burleson was all but unstoppable in AMA National Enduro competition, winning a still unassailable eight consecutive AMA National Enduro Championships, and star rose even higher as he gained international fame for winning eight consecutive gold medals in the International Six Days Trials (now International Six Days Enduro) events.
It’s ironic that Burleson didn’t even begin riding a motorcycle until he was 18 years old. What started with a little Honda 90 just to get to and from work led to a chance meeting with a group of off-road riders while attending the University of Michigan. After riding with them, Burleson discovered that he had a knack for dirtbiking, and be began to compete in motocross, eventually turning pro where he finished fourth overall in the 1970 Trans-AMA Motocross Series.
Burleson also began competing in Enduros, and he found that he liked them even better than motocross. Again proving his skill, he was tapped by the legendary John Penton to compete on the American team at the 1971 International Six Day Trials (ISDT). Bike issues presented him from finishing, but he returned to the ISDT in 1972 and earned a bronze medal.
After graduating from college, Burleson found employment with Husqvarna—not as a rider—but as a service manager for Husqvarna. In 1973, he returned to the ISDT and was instrumental in helping the American team earn the ISDT Silver Vase trophy. Reeling off three straight AMA National Enduro wins in 1973, Burleson scored nine more in 1974 and claimed his AMA National Enduro Championship. At the ISDT in Italy. He also landed his first gold medal and was the highest-scoring American.
That set up an era of dominance in which “King Richard” reeled off seven more AMA National Enduro titles in a row, all the while continuing to keep up his gold medal streak in ISDT events. Along the way he earned the AMA Amateur Athlete of the Year award twice, in 1976 and 1981. After defeating Terry Cunningham in a 1981 season in which the title came down to the last checkpoint of the last race, Burleson retired, going out on top. Some 13 years later, he contested the ISDE in Tulsa where he earned a silver medal.
Burleson was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999.
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