IN NOVEMBER, Tiburon resident Mert Lawwill, 72, was elevated to "legend" status by the American Motorcyclist Association's Hall of Fame.

During his 15-year career as a motorcycle racer, Lawwill logged 17 national championship wins. He won the AMA Grand National Championship in 1969 and amassed 161 career AMA Grand National finishes.

Lawwill forged a lasting friendship with actor Steve McQueen after the two men appeared together in "On Any Sunday," a feature film on motorcycle sport released in 1971.

After an inner-ear disorder that affected his balance forced him to retire, Lawwill managed racing teams for Harley-Davidson and became one of the top motorcycle racing frame designers and builders. Later, Lawwill designed and built highly prized mountain and racing bicycles, and most recently he has focused on creating a prosthetic device that enables amputees to ride motorcycles and bicycles.

Q: How did you get started riding motorcycles?

A: My older brother brought one home — much to my parents' dislike — and I began riding it around. I was 12. One thing I learned pretty quickly is that I had the ability to ride one better than all my friends.


Q: What attracted you to motorcycle racing?

A: Early on it was probably ego. I could do it better than all my friends so I concentrated on it and really studied it and worked hard at it. It was in my DNA, somehow.

Q: Have you been injured racing?

A: I've had over 100 fractures.

Q: Any accidents stand out?

A: Early in 1971, I was at Daytona International Speedway in Florida, and I blew out a tire at 150 mph. I was kind of like a rock you skip across the water.

Q: Then, shortly after returning to racing you seriously injured your left hand at a race in Castle Rock, Wash.

A: It was smashed into so many pieces that the doctor in the hospital that night said, "There is no way to repair it."

Q: After your doctor told you you were going to lose use of the hand permanently, Steve McQueen wanted you to go see a doctor. But you said you couldn't afford it. What did he say to that?

A: Steve wouldn't hear of it. No way. So he sent me an airline ticket and had his driver pick me up at the airport. They took me right to the hospital and checked me in. They outran my insurance instantly, and I never received a bill for any of the five operations. Steve paid for all of it.

Q: What motivated you to create the prosthetic device?

A: That all started because I had a friend of mine who had lost an arm racing, and he was after me for years to make this prosthetic hand for him.

Contact Richard Halstead via e-mail at