Off-road motorcycle legend James Nelson Roberts, better known as JN Roberts, passed away at his home in Helena, Montana, on Tuesday, August 18. He was 84 years old.

An Indiana native who served in the Marines before moving westward, Roberts was many desert riders’ idol growing up as he dominated the scene in the 1960s and ’70s. He and Malcolm Smith teamed up to win the inaugural Mexican 1000 in 1967, then he and Gunnar Lindstrom became the first motorcycle winners of the Mint 400 a year later. Another win at the 1000 came in 1969 followed by another Mint and the Baja 500 in 1971, the same year as his fourth straight victory at the Barstow to Vegas. Roberts also represented Team USA at the International Six Days Enduro.

Perhaps making his runs all the more impressive, he was the man who led a two-stroke revolution on his Husqvarna while everyone else was on the more powerful four-strokes. He was so good that he won 27 consecutive races in the desert.

When not racing, he made a name for himself in Hollywood as a stunt rider. Roberts befriended fellow stuntman and director Hal Needham, who helped him land stunt roles in films like Little Big Man and Sometimes a Great Notion, doubling for Paul Newman in the latter. Roberts continued to do motorcycle stunts well into the 1990s, helping on projects such as The Blues Brothers, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Scarface, and Days of Thunder. His son Jimmy would also follow in his footsteps and is one of the top motorcycle stuntmen in the business today.

He was a member of Stunts Unlimited and Viewfinders MC, the latter an off-road motorcycle club for Hollywood stunt riders-slash-desert racers. By 1972, Stunts called him the “number one desert rider in the world”. His 1971 Barstow to Vegas win came with 26 stitches on his face after getting hurt while filming.

“To us, J.N. was more than his accomplishments and his legend. He was a member of the Stunts Unlimited family,” reads a statement from the group. “Ride on, J.N. You will be missed.”

His career seemingly ended with a near-fatal accident in 1972. After being released from the hospital, he went into the mountains to continue his recovery before making his return in SCORE’s 1973 Mickey Thompson–Delco RV Spectacular at Riverside International Raceway.

Even after his competitive days were behind him, Roberts continued to race and perform. He was a regular at the Red Bull Day in the Dirt, a Glen Helen motocross race put on by Jimmy, and appeared in the documentaries On Any Sunday and Dust to Glory.

He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009.

Featured image credit: JN Roberts Archive