Evel Knievel Museum Opens at Topeka Harley Shop
Exhibit features tons of memorabilia and a VR jump experience.
There’s a whole generation of folks out there that doesn’t fully understand just how amazing Robert “Evel” Knievel was in the world of motorcycles, extreme sports and American pop culture and history. Before shows like Jackass, there was Evel Knievel doing death-defying stunts in front of thousands of people. He risked life and limb, and broke quite a few of them in the process, to entertain people for decades. Now, a Harley-Davidson dealership in Topeka, Kansas, hopes to honor him in the best possible way – with an Evel Knievel Museum.
“We’re always looking for ways to differentiate our business and add to the destination factor of our store. We couldn’t find a more appropriate subject matter for our demographic,” says Mike Patterson, the third-generation owner of Historic Harley-Davidson of Topeka, in an interview with Dealernews.
After Lathan McKay called him about restoring one of Knievel’s old rigs, a light bulb went off in Patterson’s head. He learned more about McKay’s extensive Evel Knievel collection and the wheels began to turn. Patterson knew that there would be potentially huge numbers of people who fondly remember Evel.
“I grew up an Evel Knievel fan,” says Patterson. “I saw him jump at the Kansas State Fair when I was four-years-old and remember it vividly.”
Unfortunately, Patterson wouldn’t be able to just do this all on his own. He needed help. After he and his team put together a proposal of what would be a huge expansion to his Harley dealership, he scheduled meetings with the government of Topeka. After the city, and then the state, looked through his materials, they decided to help him out.
‘We’re always looking for ways to differentiate our business and add to the destination factor of our store. We couldn’t find a more appropriate subject matter for our demographic.’
So after tons of planning, work began on the two-story, 13,000 sq. ft. expansion, and now, visitors are able to see, first-hand the fruits of their labor. Items in the museum include actual Evel Knievel bikes; leathers and helmets; a fully-restored Mack truck; multiple interactive exhibits; and a Virtual Reality Jump Experience, among many other awesome artifacts.
Making sure the Evel Knievel Museum was the best possible tribute to the legend is important to Patterson. “We needed to step up the game to a fully-professional level. It’s important for the community, the state, even the Knievel family,” Patterson adds.
Early signs point to more than 100,000 visitors during the first year. So far, the people visiting the museum seem to really love it, which makes museum director Bruce Zimmerman very pleased.
Zimmerman says, “One of the first questions visitors ask is, ‘Who did you hire to build this?’ We just smile and say, ‘No one!’ We look around and pinch ourselves over what has transpired — and what’s about to happen.”
