Thousands of men chased J.N. Roberts across the sun-blasted desert.

Around rocks and boulders, past cactus and brush, through gullies, up steep climbs and across the flats, they trailed the small cloud of dust — the slight man racing a Swedish-made endurance bike 80 mph toward the unforgiving horizon.

Often, they failed to catch him. At times, they didn’t even come close.

In the world of long-distance, off-road motorcycle racing, Roberts is a legend. With a partner, he won the first grueling Baja 1000 in 1967. Then he won it again. He twice topped the Baja 500. He took the Mint 400 three times. He won the famous Barstow-to-Vegas run four years in a row.

In the 1960s and 1970s, he sped along on his trusty Husky, logging win after win. He’s now in three motorcycle-related halls of fame.

And he’s been on the big screen again and again. Paul Newman broke his ankle goofing off on Roberts’ motorcycle, and Roberts fell in love with Montana while on the set of “Little Big Man” with Dustin Hoffman in 1969.

He appeared in the classic 1971 motocross film “On Any Sunday” and in the 2005 documentary “Dust to Glory.”

For decades, he jumped bikes and rolled cars for Hollywood, doing stunts in everything from “Smokey and the Bandit,” “Scarface” and “The Blues Brothers,” to “Days of Thunder,” “Police Academy 5” and “Hook.”

His grin was plastered on motorcycle-company billboards and magazine ads. Videos of his old exploits are easily found on the Internet.

Now 66, Roberts keeps busy on a small ranch west of Helena, where he’s lived since the early 1990s. He still races — last year, he completed the Baja 1000 again — and he’s still very competitive, often winning his age group and finishing ahead of men half his age.

He didn’t climb onto a bike until he was 23. But it was love at first ride.

In a recent interview and photo session, Roberts saddled his Yamaha and spun off a few quick jumps on his home course. The man’s a retiree, but he’s in excellent shape for his age, and — after more than four decades astride two wheels and a two-stroke — his comfort and skill on the bike is readily apparent.

Riders these days have trainers, expert pit crews and big money. The sport wasn’t the same 40 years ago, Roberts said. His training regimen was simple: Get on the bike and ride. And then ride some more.

The equipment, of course, also has changed. The bikes are much more dependable and offer smoother rides, he said.

“Bikes back then were a lot rougher on you than they are these days,” Roberts said, recalling 17-hour, body-pounding rides.

And then there were accidents, both on the race course and the studio lot. He’s broken his collarbone numerous times, fractured other bones, dislocated shoulders and brought home plenty of bruises.

Keeping the bike in one piece also was a challenge.

“These bikes nowadays are like a car, as far as your reliability. Back then we used to carry extra chains, parts, tools.

“And a lot of cash. Cash always works,” especially in Mexico, he said with a grin.

The reason for his success is no big secret.

“You’re just faster around corners,” Roberts said. “Faster everywhere they’re not, over rocks or whatever. It’s just the way it is.”

His favorite race was the 200-mile run from Barstow, Calif., to Las Vegas. Each time he won it, the event drew more than 3,000 racers. In his last win, more than 4,500 left the starting line at once.

Roberts took a years-long break from racing, but his old thirst for victory was rekindled a few years back when his son brought him a Honda bike to play with. He goes to some larger races, but also hits the local dirt. His wife, Janet, enjoys watching him work.

“It kind of scares me, because he races against a guy a little younger than he is,” she said. “And the two of them get dicin’ back and forth, and oh my heart gets racing. ‘Oh, sweetie! Get him! Get him!’ ” she laughed. “My voice is gone afterwards.”

Roberts got into the film business as a carpenter, but soon studios began offering him stunt jobs. He said he’s appeared in more than 100 feature films, though some of his older work went uncredited.

He’s also appeared in numerous television shows, “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “The A-Team” among them.

Roberts said the screen work eventually became just like any other job — boring at times, fun at others. Movie stars paid him varying degrees of attention. John Wayne waited until a film’s wrap party to walk up and say hello, while others were more forthcoming. Newman, whom he doubled for in “Sometimes a Great Notion,” is his favorite.

“It was fun. He’s just a down-to-earth guy. He’d get me through the chow line first,” Roberts said.

He hasn’t kept in touch with any of the actors, but some are as familiar as family when their paths cross again. Hoffman walked up to him during the filming of “Hook” and said, “You got old!”

As with motorsports, stunt work has changed with the times. Rolling cars just isn’t the same.

“When I first started doing it, we used to do what they called a grab strap. We’d turn a car over with no belts, no roll-bar, no nothing. You just put a strap on the opposite side where the passenger sits. Go in and hit a ramp, as soon as you see you’ve committed, crank your wheel into it, duck your arm underneath the grab strap and hang on.

“They’re good up to about 40 mph. Any more than that, and they thump you too hard. But actually the top comes down on the (old) cars, and it’s a softer ride than with a roll-cage. But now, they won’t let you do it anymore. Safety,” he said with a shrug.

Roberts has done a lot, but he showed no signs of slowing down.

His goal? When he turns 70, he wants to return to the World Championships in California and win the title for his age group.

Follow this link to see footage of J.N. Roberts racing.