Fame, largely for his work with Yeti Cycles. Dur-
ing this period, Lawwill also began producing his
famed Mert
Lawwill Street Tracker motorcycles,
which were street-legal versions of the factory
Harley-Davidson XR750 flat-track racers he raced.
Inspired by his former teammate Chris Draayer,
who lost his arm in a racing accident, Lawwill
also used his engineering talents to develop hu
-
man prosthetics, creating a system that would
help
amputees ride motorcycles and bicycles
again. Dubbed "Mert's Hands," this device was
built around a ball-and-socket attachment that
snapped onto the rider's handlebars to allow
them to steer easily.
For his contributions to the motorcycling
community, Lawwill was inducted into the AMA
Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2012, Law
-
will was granted AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
Legend status, reserved
for those whose accom-
plishments transcend their induction category
and
have a significant impact throughout the
motorcycle community.
CN
VOLUME 63 ISSUE 19 MAY 12, 2026 P33
(Above) Lawwill won the AMA
Grand National Championship
in 1969. The following year, his
title defense was chronicled in
the film On Any Sunday.
During his racing
career, he achieved
the dirt track Grand
Slam, winning at
least once in the
Mile, Short Track,
Half Mile and TT.
He was also an
accomplished
road racer.
