Looking at the freckle-faced youth, the Kawasaki recruiter had doubts about the young rider's potential. Measuring a mere 5'6" (168 cm), would this kid be able to handle competition in AMA Motocross? If it weren't for the enthusiastic endorsement of ace rider Jimmy Weinert, Kawasaki might have passed up hiring him altogether… To be fair, in 1978 when Jeff Ward got his KX125 ride in his second year as a pro, hardly anyone could have envisioned the glorious future that waited for him.
In the world of American motocross, there were four major categories of competition: three classes of AMA National racing (125, 250, 500), plus AMA Supercross (250), which was enjoying great popularity at the time. With a fresh contract from Kawasaki in hand, Ward started competing in the AMA National Motocross 125cc class. Just because it was the smallest-displacement class did not mean that a diminutive rider would have an advantage. Quite the opposite; the top riders were all big.
"You need more strength to bring it back when it gets out of shape. There was no way I could have had success without getting more upper body strength."
To make up for his difference in size, Ward started weight training. But it was not until 1984, his eighth year as pro, that he got the championship he had been working for.

Ward and his KX250 at the opening round of the '86 AMA Nationals (Gainesville, FL).
KX evolution and Ward's success story are so intertwined that it's hard to separate them.

Once he had broken the ice with his first championship, Ward collected titles like he was mass-producing them. He won both the AMA National Motocross 250 and AMA Supercross in '85, then added a second AMA Supercross in '87 and a second AMA National Motocross 250 in '88. This was followed by back-to-back championships in AMA National Motocross 500 in '89 and '90, making him the first rider in history to have won titles in all four of AMA's top racing categories.
"The first championship means a lot, but all championships are equally sweet. The important thing is that you've won all the categories you raced."
And with the discontinuation of the 500 class after '93, Ward's record achievement cannot be topped…
As a top Kawasaki rider and as an American champion, Ward's earnest approach to racing became an example to follow for many young riders coming up the ranks. Jeff Matiasevich, one of his teammates toward the end of his career, used to follow him around in training and on the track, copying everything he did in the hopes of absorbing as much as possible.
But even if you could learn everything that Ward knew, there was one element that no one could imitate. That was the phenomenal sense of balance that Ward had inherited from his trials rider father. While part of Ward's riding technique had been cultivated through hard work, that he also possessed natural talent was certain.
Tom Morgan, Ward's chief mechanic during his glory days, used to add lead weights the rims of Ward's wheels every time he changed tyres to make sure the wheels were perfectly balanced. It was said that Ward was the only motocross rider able to feel the almost imperceptible wobbling of an unbalanced wheel.

Ward's characteristic riding style, cultivated through a combination of hard work and natural talent, helped make him the first rider in history to win titles in all four of AMA's top racing categories.

Ward's trials-style riding was evident everywhere. When he took off from jumps, his ability to get the right amount of squat in the rear shock was so precise you'd think he was measuring it. When cornering he always pursued the maximum amount of traction. Case in point: Ron Lechien, a fellow KX250 rider, used to lean the bike over so far in corners that his handle almost dragged through the dirt. Then there was Ward, who was going through the same corner hanging off and standing the bike up as much as possible to be able to accelerate harder coming out of the turn. Tracing a wide arc (similar to cornering on a JET SKI) to maintain a high corner speed versus quickly turning the bike point-and-shoot style to get the most traction - Lechien's and Ward's contrasting styles caught the eyes of many Kawasaki fans in the mid '80s.
"Part of that riding posture was getting ready for the jump after the corner, but, yeah, I was quicker in all of the tight stuff. Tall guys had to take an outside line because they couldn't get that squat to jump up cleanly."

Ward contested his final season with a full career's worth of racing numbers decorating his helmet.

Riders' careers often come to end because of an injury, or because they were let go. But Ward's decision to retire was his own, and the idea came to him while he was still a contracted factory rider. He would make his final season his farewell tour, he decided.
For the '92 season, the last year of his contract, Ward painted his helmet with all the racing numbers he had used over the course of his career, and toured all over the country. In stadiums filled with supercross memories and on outdoor National courses permeated with sweat and tears, Ward carved ruts for the last time. In that year's AMA National 500, he notched a victory in the 4th round and finished the series ranked a very respectable 3rd, ending his career as a factory racer on a high note.
Ward's motocross career spanned a period during which Kawasaki's motocross bikes underwent rapid evolution. Uni-Trak suspension, liquid cooling, disc brakes, the perimeter frame… Every time the KX series incorporated new technology, Ward gained another weapon to put in the arsenal he used so effectively in racking up his successes. In the annals of Kawasaki's brilliant motocross history, Jeff Ward's name is surely recorded as one who was there from the beginning through the glory days.
"I am proud to be a part of this great history."
Mr. Ward, the contribution you made to Kawasaki's motocross activities through your talent and dedication will not be forgotten.