Inducted under the 'Design and Engineering' category, Roberts is known worldwide for his unique designs and handmade creations.
A biography written by Ian Dawson commissioned by MNZ records that Roberts was born in Welling Garden City, Hertfordshire, UK and on leaving school he took up a sheet-metal and copper smith apprenticeship with the De Havilland aircraft company and then to moved to London to work at a major Jaguar car dealership and then Aston Marton.
Moving to New Zealand in 1962, he became a tutor at Wellington Polytechnic for 12 years where he taught many of New Zealand's apprentices the art of steel fabrication and metal work.
"Moving to New Zealand and Whanganui was the best move ever - it's been a holiday ever since," Roberts said.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s Roberts turned his attention to motorcycle road racing. He teamed up with notable Wellington tuner Dick Lawton along with Whanganui Suzuki importer Rod Coleman to build special Suzuki race machine frames that in the hands of Geoff Perry, Keith Turner, Dale Wylie and others were the combinations to beat against the factory racers from Yamaha and others.
Ironically, Roberts still regards himself as a car restorer and builder and maintains that motorcycles are simply a hobby.
"Rod Coleman became my idol," Roberts said.
"Without Rod none of this would have been possible."
In 1971 Keith Turner took on the 500cc World Championship on a Steve Roberts bike. The bike was a full handmade aluminium-framed Monocoque using a TR500cc Suzuki motor.
The bike out performed most of the other machines on the grid through it's handling, the main problem was over heating.
This was something that could not be overcome. Undeterred the frame was replaced by the standard steel Steve Roberts frame. Turner ended the year second in the 500cc World Championship behind the factory MV of Giacomo Agostini.
Fast forward some 10 years and another Robert's creation emerged, this time as a road based machine. The 'Warlord' was a full aluminium Monocoque-framed chopper. The bike featured a unique rising rate suspension system.
What happened next was truly something special in the racing world. He was commissioned to build a bike for leading New Zealand rider Dave Hiscock to compete in the World TT Formula One championship. The bike stunned the motorcycle world. The bike was made from hand beaten 3mm aluminium sheet metal. However, in the beginning the team and sponsors were a little uneasy in something so radical but proceeded anyway.
The bike was regarded as the best non-factory bike in the championship. There were a few issues with the bike such as cracking, however Hiscock and the Steve Roberts framed machine ended the year third in the championship and also third in the 1982 Isle of Man TT behind the factory Hondas of Ron Haslam and Joey Dunlop.
Not content, the next step was truly something even more radical. In just six weeks Roberts produced the first 'Plastic Fantastic'.
A world first. Instead of another aluminium bike it was made with a special composite of Kevlar and Carbon Fibre. It featured a unique suspension that Roberts nicknamed 'Tension Suspension'.
He applied for a patent on the suspension but was turned down due to it having been used on a car before. None the less this showed Steve was not afraid to try new designs and take on the factories head on.
The Plastic Fantastic Number#1 was a prototype, Number #2 was raced by Dave Hiscock and Robert Holden and Number#3 raced by Norris Farrow and Blair Briggs.
Roberts was awarded the UDC Finance Inventors award in 1983 for his Kevlar Motorcycle with Tension Suspension.
"Robert (Holden) won every race he entered on that machine, except Bathurst where he blew the motor in practice," Roberts recalled.
Moving away from two wheels he built the first ever Monocoque sidecar for Wellington's Andy Kippen the first to be made in New Zealand and even initially featured an entire body shell in aluminium when everyone else was using fibreglass. Kippen and Whanganui swinger Graeme Staples won three New Zealand Championships.
Roberts continues to make his handmade masterpieces such as Manx Norton tanks, to date having made over 180 of them. He has had requests about buying his stamp templates for his tanks, however there are none. Everything he makes are all individually made by hand and every creation was given its own name.
"It makes it so much easier to identify them," Roberts said.
