70 years old... 48 years of design... What happened?
Craig Vetter, 2011
I am an American inventor and designer. I love things with wings, wheels and little engines. My lifetime goal has been to design and build products that:

"Help us live better on less energy"

Motorcycles can do just that.

Among my heroes are: Jesus Christ, Henry Ford, Glenn Curtiss, Soichiro Honda, Stanley Hiller, Burt Rutan, Roy L. Clough, Jr; Ed Zagorski, Del Tackett and Buckminster Fuller. Charles Lindbergh, now a fallen hero*

If they could change the world, I could too.
The above display of my designs and inventions was at the Quail "Gathering of Motorcycles", Carmel, California, 2009

The Last Vetter Fairing: 2009 The Windjammer: 1971-83
The First Vetter Fairing: 1966
The Triumph Hurricane: 1973
The Triumph T-160: 1975
In 1964, at age 22 I set out to help to make motorcycles more useful transportation. My inventions of the 1960s and 70s changed motorcycling and the highways of the world. But I did more than design. I manufactured my dreams and organized and managed what became the Vetter Corporation, second in size to Harley Davidson in the US. By 1980 I sold my corporate holdings to dedicate myself to my family. Living on our ranch in Carmel, CA, my wife Carol and I have raised two great boys, Zak and Morgan.
For an upcoming book on motorcycle design, I am interviewing,

"designer-to-designer"

the great people who have shaped our motorcycles.

There are good reasons why these guys are at the top.
2005 interviewing Willie G. and Louie Netz
"Of all the projects I have been involved with, I am most proud of the competitors who participated in the five years of the Craig Vetter Fuel Economy contests."

Craig Vetter
1983 Riders meeting, Craig Vetter Fuel Economy Contest.
"Craig Vetter, more than any other single individual, created the modern touring motorcycle."

Ed Youngblood, long time AMA President and motorcycle historian, 2004
1978 Vetter-ized Honda GL. They come this way from the factory, now.
"His legacy reached into nearly every segment of motorcycling"

Bill Stermer, American Motorcyclist, Aug. 2000
My design for the Triumph Hurricane of 1973, England, 2003 Reunion of Hurricanes
AArgh! There is another Craig Vetter...
The Craig Vetter in the greenish shirt writes stories and books about stuff I don't know much about. We have stayed in touch with each other since 1970 when we discovered we existed.

The picture, right, was taken , in the summer of 2005 in Chicago where the "Other Craig Vetter". lives. He is Liberal. I am Conservative. We have a great time together.
That is me, in the black shirt, the "Real Craig".

The guy in the greenish shirt is the "Other Craig"
The way you can tell us apart is I write about motorcycles and design. The "Other Craig" writes about camping and rock climbing and stuff like that.

*Lindbergh: A fallen hero

He was my childhood hero because he flew the Atlantic by himself. But then he decided to hug trees.
Trees are the result of solar energy which means they are a renewable asset. I have planted thousands of trees in my life. The trees my boys and I planted 25 years ago are keeping us warm today. We continue to plant trees to this day.

Trees are for planting and using, not for hugging.

A tribute to my father who died in January 2010

This page posted Nov 24, 2009

This page updated Aug 5, 2012
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