10 Facts About the Builders of the Easy Rider Choppers

1. The Easy Rider Question

Tall handlebars, up swept mufflers and the stars-and-stripes on the small gas tank made the chopper that Peter Fonda rode in the movie Easy Rider more than just a motorcycle. It became a star. Dennis Hopper's bike also had distinctive design elements, like the flamed peanut tank and T-bars, that are still seen today. Not only did these bikes influence custom motorcycle builders worldwide, but they helped to establish the chopper subculture. Although the motorcycles were instantly famous, the names of the men who built them never showed in the movie credits and were almost forgotten altogether by history. 

2. Fonda Takes Credit

Peter Fonda has occasionally taken credit for the motorcycle builds, primarily in comments like this made during a 2007 NPR interview, "I bought four of them from Los Angeles Police Department. I love the political incorrectness of that...and five black guys from Watts helped me build these." It has also been reported that actor Dan Haggerty, most known for his role in the TV series Grizzly Adams, was responsible for the build but history has revealed his role was limited mostly to acting as the "bike wrangler" on set.

So who was truly responsible for building two of the most recognizable motorcycles in the world? 

3. Hopper Disagrees with Fonda

Dennis Hopper gained wide acclaim as director of the movie but had well publicized disputes with Peter Fonda over finances and writing credits for the movie. In the 2009 audio interview for the Easy Rider Criterion Collection DVD, he says flat out, "Clifford 'Soney' Vaughs built the bikes, built the choppers."  Hopper's distaste for Fonda lasted for rest of his life, despite many documented efforts from Fonda to resolve the conflict. While dying from cancer, Hopper refused a visit from Fonda, and was subsequently turned away from Hopper’s funeral. Recognition, credit, and financial disputes between the stars of a movie about living outside of those factors is indeed, ironic.

But who was Clifford Vaughs and what role, exactly, did he have? 

4. Cliff Vaughs Controversay

Clifford 'Soney' Vaughs (April, 1937 - July, 2016) was no stranger to controversy as an African-American civil rights activist. Raised by a single mother, Vaughs was a smart kid who earned his masters degree and moved to Los Angeles in the early 60's. He joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and also rode his chopper all over the south, taking part in protests. Above is perhaps the most famous photograph of Vaughs, taken by Danny Lyon in Cambridge, MD, showcasing Vaughs dedication to the cause.

Cliff continued his civil rights explorations in film making, including a lost documentary titled What will the Harvest Be with interviews from Martin Luther King Jr. on the rise of the Black Power movement. After being denied entry into the cameraman's union, Vaughs successfully sued to break the union "color barrier". One night while working in the newsroom at TV station KAMC, he had his fateful meeting with Peter Fonda while covering Fonda's arrest for possession of marijuana. The two quickly bonded over their passion for motorcycles. 

5. Vaughs is a Hard Core Biker

Vaughs was an avid rider himself, and was a member of one of the first racially integrated motorcycle clubs, the Chosen Few MC. He had several bikes, including the Super Hog chopper above, and was no stranger to riding. In 1964, he used his motorcycle as part of his civil rights activities and rode it through Alabama visiting black sharecroppers. "I may have been naive thinking I could be an example to the black folks who were living in the south, but that's why I rode my chopper in Alabama. I wanted to be a visible example to them; a free black man on a motorcycle," Vaughs said.

6. Ben Hardy's Fateful Visit

After discovering their shared passion for bikes, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper accepted an invitation from Vaughs to join him and his longtime friend Ben Hardy to hang out. That night at Vaughs' house they discussed Fonda's idea for a movie 'like a western but with motorcycles.' It was there that the name "Easy Rider" came to be, based upon a Mae West movie poster for She Done Him Wrong, he had on his wall, featuring the song  title I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone. Vaughs and Fonda also laid out what became pretty much the entire structure of the film that night, though Vaughs did not receive a writing credit, or any on screen credit.

Vaughs oversaw the building of the custom motorcycles, which was done in Ben 'King of Bikes' Hardy's shop in south L.A.. Hardy was already well known in the African-American bike scene and had gained a reputation for being the best around at all aspects of bike building and repair. Together, they selected used Harley-Davidson Panhead police motorcycles as their donors and quickly built two of the most famous and influential motorcycles in American history. They reportedly got paid $5,000 total for the work on the four bikes they delivered for the film, and they built them in a matter of weeks.

7. The Classic Bikes of Easy Rider

Although Vaughs was associate producer, and oversaw the motorcycle builds for Easy Rider, tensions mounted after a hectic production shoot in New Orleans for which the bikes weren't ready. Cliff Vaughs was fired early into the production, and neither he nor the primary bike builder Ben Hardy ever saw their names in the movie credits for building the most recognizable bikes in America.

Decades later, few know who built the iconic designs that influenced the chopper movement worldwide. Some blame racial tensions as African-Americans were not wholly accepted into the American culture, much less the small world of custom bike builders. Some say it was ego trips that had others taking credit for the creativity and hard work of Vaughs and Hardy. Still others say it was simply the pressures of film production which allowed the omission of what seemed at the time to be a small detail of a low budget film. Regardless of the reason, it is clear that proper credit is long overdue. 

8. Not So Easy - Staring Peter Fonda, and Evel Knievel

Apparently, the riff was not as bad between Clifford Vaughs and Peter Fonda as it was between Dennis Hopper and Fonda. A few years after the release of Easy Rider, Vaughs produced a motorcycle safety film that included not only Fonda, but none other than Evel Knievel himself. At the time, motorcycle accident rates were soaring, and Harley-Davidson saw their support of this film as a good move to ensure the safety of their riders. Also appearing in the film are Cliff himself, and many other members of the Chosen Few MC. The film called Not So Easy, has become a cult classic and is well worth a watch.

9. Vaughs Gains Credit

Proper credit finally began to shine on both Ben Hardy and Clifford Vaughs early in the 21st century. In 2006 Discovery Channel's History of the Chopper included a well documented piece on Ben Hardy's influence on the custom chopper movement, including a clip from a 1980s interview with Hardy, and a lengthy peice from Sugar Bear, a current top builder who is also African-American and has a shop not far from Hardy's old place. There was also the Black Chrome exhibition at the California African American Museum, which included both Hardy and Vaughs and their contributions. Their names now get mentioned more, including in the Profiles in History auction description of the remaining Captain America chopper for $1.35 million, which mentioned both of them in their press release. The bike was described as "designed and built by two African-American chopper builders, Cliff Vaughs and Ben Hardy, following design cues provided by Peter Fonda himself."

It wasn't until 2008 that most average riders heard of their names, thanks to a post by well known motorcycle blogger Paul d'Orleans, which subsequently became a book entitled The Chopper: the Real Story. Like many, d'Orleans was shocked to realize he knew nothing about the men behind building these famous motorcycles. His research and publication of their story has done much to bring these builders the credit they deserve.

10. Fonda Set the Record Straight

In 2012, Paul d'Orleans posted on The Vintagent a public letter from Peter Fonda to Clifford Vaughs, granting him long overdue credit. Fonda details the influence Clifford had over the builds and ultimately, for their creations. "I apologize profusely for not being more forceful about your role in their existence and their perfect design," Fonda said. Vaughs responded to finally gaining the recognition that had eluded him all of the decades later with a detached appreciation by saying, "I'm happy about it, but that was just a month out of my life,"

Just one month that changed American motorcycle culture forever. To hear the rest of the story of his life has one questioning the lines between fact and fantasy as many of his experiences are indeed, stranger than fiction. His life would make for an eventful Hollywood movie in itself, and that is an entirely different story. When Paul d'Orleans managed to track him down in 2010, Clifford Vaughs was living in Panama, following a life of sailing the seas, treasure hunting, and other pursuits almost too incredible to be true.

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