"Evel" Knievel and his Skycycle (Photos)
King of the Daredevils - the Skycycle and more...
1. Evel Knievel jumps the fountains at Caesars Palace, New Year's Eve, 1967
It was New Year’s Eve in 1967 when he got the opportunity to perform a jump of 141 feet - over the fountains at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. He failed and broke several bones. He also became wildly popular. Once he recovered, he continued delighting fans with jumps over cars - and even buses.
>>Join the conversation about Evel Knievel and his Skycycle right here in the Harley-Davidson Forum!
2. January 23, 1966 - First Jump
The debut of Knievel and his daredevils was on January 23, 1966, at the National Date Festival in Indio, California. His name was Robert Knievel. He was born in Butte, Montana and he loved Harley-Davidson motorcycles. "Evel" was the greatest Harley-Davidson stunt rider of all time. In my youth, and to many of my generation he was a hero. No stunt rider before him and no one since has taken American hearts by storm like the one and only Evel Knievel. Evel performed wheelies before every jump to entertain the audience and crashed through plywood firewalls. His first public performance is shown here, where he jumped over two pick-up trucks. The show was successful - a star was born. Knievel received offers to do more shows after that performance.
>>Join the conversation about Evel Knievel and his Skycycle right here in the Harley-Davidson Forum!
3. Jan 23, 1970 - Cow Palace - 11 Cars
What happened after the jump, though, made headlines. Evel often spoke out against drugs and violence in America, including gangs like the Hell's Angels. After someone threw a tire iron at Knievel, the Hell's Angels who were present started a riot. Evel managed to fend off the rowdy crowd and get himself to safety.
>>Join the conversation about Evel Knievel and his Skycycle right here in the Harley-Davidson Forum!
4. Jan 8, 1971 - 13 cars - Astrodome in Houston, TX
During this jump, the pressure was perhaps greater than any time in his career. Even though he “only” jumped 13 cars, he did it in front of more than 100,000 people, which was a new Astrodome record. Evel had become a stunt rider after a stint in the military and attempted to jump over anything and everything - rattlesnakes, mountain lions and much more (though not always successfully).
>>Join the conversation about Evel Knievel and his Skycycle right here in the Harley-Davidson Forum!
5. Snake River Canyon - 1974
Was he just crazy, or did the man have cojones of steel? One day, he said he wanted to jump across the Grand Canyon. Well, the US Government stepped in and said "no". In 1974, Evel Knievel received permission to attempt a jump across Snake River Canyon in Idaho instead, so he hired an engineer to design his "Skycycle", shown in this photo during the actual take off. He failed to make it all the way across the canyon, perhaps due to an erroneous trajectory, but his rocket bike came with a parachute so his floated down into the river and was physically fine.
>>Join the conversation about Evel Knievel and his Skycycle right here in the Harley-Davidson Forum!
6. May 26, 1975 - Wembley in London - 13 buses
As "Evel" matured as a stunt man, he was nationally televised again and again, eventually becoming famous. He would mesmerize audiences by jumping over groups of cars lined side by side between his launch and landing ramps, each time adding one more car to his stunt.
>>Join the conversation about Evel Knievel and his Skycycle right here in the Harley-Davidson Forum!
7. Oct 25, 1975 - Final Jump - Kings Island
Since Evel attempted 13 buses in London, he came back to the states to attempt 14. Always sporting his star-spangled jumpsuit, Knievel once said: "Anybody can jump a motorcycle. The trouble begins when you try to land it."
>>Join the conversation about Evel Knievel and his Skycycle right here in the Harley-Davidson Forum!
8. Evel Knievel - The Man - An American Icon
If I was to tell you about the guy holding the Guinness Book of World Records for the most bones broken; or perhaps the guy is known as the King of the Daredevils; or how about the guy Muhammad Ali referred to as "the white Muhammad Ali". He jumped animals, then cars, then bus...then the Snake River Canyon. He prayed before every jump and the audience was always tense as he took off up the ramp - not knowing if he would survive at the other end. He spoke against violence, drugs, and gangs. Knievel loved Harley-Davidson motorcycles and wanted to give it a positive image when someone uttered the word "Biker". Oh - and you guys that like to mess with your brothers because they're riding Sportsters, be aware that the majority of Evel Knievel's public jumping was done on a Harley-Davidson XR-750.
>>Join the conversation about Evel Knievel and his Skycycle right here in the Harley-Davidson Forum!
For help with service and maintenance of your bike, check out the how to section of HDForums.com
