ancer took one of the industry’s leaders from us recently. Tom Cates, 75, had battled with cancer for a number of years and by all outward appearances he had it under control. But it returned in early June with a vengeance and hit Tom with more than he could endure. Mercifully, his final battle was a short one.
     Those who have been working in the motorcycle, ATV and snowmobile industry for the last couple of decades would know Cates for his leadership and management of the motorcycle and related powersports product line at K&N Engineering. But Tom’s career in motorcycling dates back far longer than his days at K&N.
     Cates was originally from Evansville, Indiana. He first gained attention in the Midwest where he would compete in flat track events. He worked his way up the ranks and in the late-1950s had earned his AMA Expert class license. In between the Nationals, Tom competed in numerous non-National events and he was for many years a regular competitor in the weekly Short Track races at Santa Fe Speedway in Chicago. His success at that track earned him the designation as the #1 Short Track racer in the United States in 1960.
     When Honda motorcycles came to the United States in the early ’60s, the company needed sales representatives to help set up its dealer network. Tom was recruited to help spread the Honda message in and around the Indiana area and he did that for a few years until BSA’s American distributor hired him to be part of its management team at the Oakland, California headquarters.
     Shortly after, Birmingham Smalls Arms in England decided to take over the sales and distribution of its BSA and Triumph brands in the United States and when a new facility was built in Duarte, California, the Cates family was again on the move as Tom took over the position of National Sales Manager for BSA.
     By 1970 the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers finally had filled out their model lines to include multi-cylinder models to compete with the British bikes and sales of BSA, Triumph and Norton motorcycles began to decline worldwide.
     First to fall was the BSA brand and Cates and many others in the BSA organization were transferred to the Triumph side of the business. Things continued to go downhill, however, and eventually the Triumph and Norton brands were brought together in a company known as Norton-Villiers-Triumph (NVT). But even that consolidation was not enough and in 1977 operations came to a halt. Cates, along with long-time friend and associate Bob Tryon, were let go as were the rest of the employees of the company. Tryon recalled recently that he and Tom lost their jobs the same day, about 20 minutes apart.
     Cates and Tryon moved to MCM Manufacturing, a Los Angeles area maker of motorcycle exhaust and other chrome accessories that was owned by one of their former associates at NVT. This lasted about a year for both of them. Tryon found a spot at American Honda that lasted until his retirement and Cates eventually took the position at K&N that he would fill until his passing.
     Long past the traditional retirement age, Tom had an old-fashioned work ethic and was so committed to K&N and his work there I don’t think he ever seriously considered stepping down. Financially he didn’t need to work, it was just his life.
     But working to the age of 75 didn’t mean that Tom didn’t have time for things other than selling K&N products. He took the time to serve on the Board of Directors of both the Motorcycle Industry Council and the Trailblazers. Through K&N he supported the sport with numerous sponsorships. He was particularly committed to the part of the sport that he started in, flat track racing. In his “spare time” he was an avid private airplane pilot, but most importantly he treasured the companionship of his loving wife Georgia and his family.
     My personal relationship with Tom Cates began around 1970 when my pro racing career got me in the saddle of a BSA flat track bike. I eventually became part of the BSA racing team and always enjoyed working with him.
     As the years went on our paths crossed often and he was always supportive of whatever it was that I was involved with. To the end, Tom had K&N involved in everything we were doing here at Parts Magazine. They are one of the largest advertisers of the magazine and were also one of the six aftermarket companies to sponsor our television show “Inside Motorcycling presented by Parts Unlimited.”
     I’ll always be grateful for his support, but what I’ll miss the most will be his positive attitude, his leadership and his sense of awareness of the right direction to take when decisions needed to be made.