Dean Goldsmith, who led one of the early successful factory desert bike teams in the 1970s and ’80s before pioneering cinematography in film using vehicles, died June 25 at the age of 83. His former company Chase Car Inc. confirmed his passing three days later, which was further corroborated by Cycle News on June 30.
Chase Car posted the following statement:
Dean Goldsmith.
The man who changed the game in motorcycles, camera cars and our lives!
We will miss your friendship and great stories.
You will live on in our lives and the company.
Thank you for being the cornerstone of our lives. Until next time.
God Speed
Goldsmith’s career breakout came in the late ’60s and into the ’70s with Harley-Davidson, where he worked out of Jack Krizman’s shop alongside Dave Ekins. He primarily raced an H-D Baja 100 and Baja 125 in AMA District 37 and down in Baja, the latter still in its infancy. In 1971, he and Terry Clark won the 125cc class at the Mexican 1000.
“Terry Clark of Palmdale, Calif., and Dean Goldsmith of Van Nuys, were first in the class for motorcycles of 125 cubic centimers and under,” wrote the November 5, 1971 issue of The San Bernardino Sun. “Their Harley Davidson Baja 125 made the trip in 21:09.”
Later in the decade, he was recruited by Husqvarna. Under his stead, he helped the marque become one of the top factory bike teams in desert racing with successes like Larry Roeseler and Scot Harden winning at the Baja 1000.
After his racing days, Goldsmith founded Camera Car. As the name suggests, the company provides custom-built vehicles with cameras, affixed using cranes and heads, for filming. Naturally, most of the firm’s work is on car commercials, and also did cinematography for FanDuel’s Super Bowl LVIII commercial.
“Dean Goldsmith had a huge impact on my life, helping me achieve my dreams of winning in Baja,” wrote Harden. “Much respect and gratitude for the man. So sorry to hear of his passing. I have so many fond memories and great stories of time together from 1977 – late ’79. When you rode one of the bikes he built you could just tell it was different. Godspeed amigo!”
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