It is a sad day in both the motorcycle and mountain bike industries. Mert Lawwill, an inductee into both the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame and the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, passed away yesterday in Boise, Idaho. He was 85.
Lawwill, the 1969 Motorcycle Grand National Champion, was a leading industry voice bridging the gap between moto and and what would become mountain biking. He was a longtime racer for the Harley-Davidson program, competing during one of the sport’s most competitive eras. Lawwill’s smooth style and sound mechanical intuition made him the perfect racer, developing his own racing chassis that would set a new standard for dirt-track racing in the 70s and 80s.
He was further propelled to stardom with his Hollywood debut in the film “On Any Sunday,” starring Steve McQueen (one of Zach’s all-time favorites).
This same enginuity would follow him after his moto career into the mountain biking sector, especially in suspension design. Lawwill designed and patented a four-bar suspension system found on early Yeti and Schwinn bikes. He also created the Lawwill Leader, a leading-link suspension fork that was ahead of its time.
But even before the “transition” to bikes, Lawwill is credited with producing one of the world’s first production mountain bikes. In 1977, the PRO CRUISER was born.
There is no doubt that Lawwill pushed both the moto and bike industries forward. Yet, the work he found the most joy in had a deeper connection. A fellow moto racer, Chris Draayer, lost his arm in a racing accident, and Lawwill was determined to see his friend back on a motorcycle. The result was “Mert’s Hands,” a prosthetic that connected a rider who lost an arm or hand to the handlebars, but released in the event of a crash.
This type of forward thinking opened the door for adaptive riders to pursue the sport they loved and, according to Lawwill, was his most meaningful contribution.
“From an early age, I understood that my father lived a life that was anything but ordinary. As I began to recognize the respect and admiration people had for Mert, the attention that came with it—even being asked for my own autograph as a child—felt surreal. I started calling him ‘Mert’ as a way to navigate that spotlight. As I grew older and pursued my own career in mountain bike racing, he remained my most steadfast supporter, always encouraging and standing behind me. It was never a question of pride—I have always felt a deep sense of gratitude and honor to call someone so impactful my father.” (Joe Lawwill, Mert’s son)
