Samuel Hamilton Miller, MBE (born 11 November 1933) is a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

championship winning

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruisin ...

racer, in both

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on p ...

and

trials In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...

. He was appointed an MBE in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2013, Miller was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.

Career

Miller was born in

Belfast, Northern Ireland Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. After attending his first race at the age of 16 in 1951, he followed a career involving both road, dirt/grass track racing and

observed trials Motorcycle trials, also known as observed trials, often called simply trial/s (with or without the plural "s"), is a non-speed event on specialized motorcycles. The sport is most popular in the United Kingdom and Spain, though there are participan ...

. Miller became British Trials Champion 11 times and won the European Trials Championship twice. In his continuing career, Miller is a winner of over 1,300 trials, nine gold medals and the International Six Days Trial, as well as coming 3rd in the

1957 1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...

250cc Grand Prix in championship. In racing he rode a variety of machines including AJS 7R, Mondial and NSU. Miller has won three 250cc

North West 200 The International North West 200 is a Northern Irish motorsport event established in 1929 for road racing motorcycles held on a street circuit known as ''the Triangle'' between the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush in Causeway Coas ...

events (1956-1958). Miller rode mainly

Ariel Motorcycles Ariel Motorcycles was a British maker of bicycles and then motorcycles in Bournbrook, Birmingham. It was an innovator in British motorcycling, part of the Ariel marque. The company was sold to BSA in 1951 but the brand survived until 1967. Inf ...

, including both trials events and the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907 Isle of Man TT, 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing ...

races. When Ariel were absorbed by BSA in 1964, he formed a partnership with a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

firm,

Bultaco Bultaco was a Spanish manufacturer of two-stroke motorcycles from 1958 to 1983. In May 2014, a new Bultaco was announced. Origins The origin of the Bultaco motorcycle company dates from May 1958. Francesc "Paco" Bultó was a director of the ...

, and went on to become the lead developer of modern

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

motorcycles. The bike he created was the Sherpa T. This was done in 12 days, realizing his success when he finally cleaned a section on the Sherpa that was uncleanable on his famous Ariel. In his later professional racing career, Miller was involved with

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

. Miller is best known for the 500cc Ariel HT5 that he lightened considerably from standard ex-factory condition. The bike was famously known by its UK registration mark, GOV 132.TWN Club Zürich: Ariel HT5
/ref> It is now an exhibit in the Sammy Miller Museum (see below). Miller parted from Ariel at the end of 1964, moving to Bultaco motorcycles, then newly imported by the Rickman brothers, a press photo-call with Ariel executive Ken Whistance and competition manager Ernie Smith ending his seven years of association. During the 1960s he won the Scott Trial six times, twice on an Ariel and four times on a Bultaco. He set up his own motorcycle parts business in 1964 in

New Milton New Milton is a market town in southwest Hampshire, England. To the north is in the New Forest and to the south the coast at Barton-on-Sea. The town is equidistant between Lymington and Christchurch, 6 miles (10 km) away. History N ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, and put a few of his old racing motorcycles in the corner, later to become the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum. As of 2004, the museum had a collection of hundreds of bikes. In 2007 he was inducted into the

AMA Ama or AMA may refer to: Ama Languages * Ama language (New Guinea) * Ama language (Sudan) People * Ama (Ama Kōhei), former ring name for sumo wrestler Harumafuji Kōhei * Mary Ama, a New Zealand artist * Shola Ama, a British singer * Ām ...

Motorcycle Hall of Fame The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction, or motorcycling in general. It also displays motorcycles ...

. He sold his parts business as Sammy Miller Products in 2007. Today, Miller still rides in demonstration events.

Support for charity

Miller is a patron of the

National Association for Bikers with a Disability The National Association for Bikers with a Disability or NABD is a Registered Charity (No. 1040907) in the United Kingdom and (No. SC039897) in Scotland. The NABD gives technical advice and financial grants to help to adapt motorcycles, sidecar ...

.NABD Patrons
, accessed 27 May 2009

References

External links

Sammy Miller career statistics at MotoGP.comSammy Miller Motorcycle Museum websiteSammy Miller Products websiteMotorcycle Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Sammy 1933 births Living people Sportspeople from Belfast People from New Milton British motorcycle racers Motorcycle racers from Northern Ireland 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders Isle of Man TT riders Motorcycle trials riders Members of the Order of the British Empire

Career

Support for charity

See also

References

External links