Showing posts with label Evel Knievel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evel Knievel. Show all posts
Saturday, September 29, 2018
Monday, May 21, 2018
Nitro Circus is teaming up with Indian Motorcycle and the History Channel to reenact three of Evel Knievel's most famous jumps.
Travis will reenact three of Evel’s most iconic jumps in Las Vegas, including the iconic Caesar’s Palace Jump, 50+ crushed cars and 14 Greyhound buses … all in one night, on live television on July 8,” said an Indian Motorcycle representative
http://www.thedrive.com/motorcycles/20842/travis-pastrana-will-reenact-iconic-evel-knievel-jumps-on-an-indian-scout-ftr750
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Evel Knievel.... things I learned from a fast read of Wikipedia's article on him
He did his first wheelie with an earth mover:
Knievel left Butte High School after his sophomore year and got a job in the copper mines as a diamond drill operator with the Anaconda Mining Company, he was promoted to surface duty, where he drove a large earth mover.
Knievel was fired when he made the earth mover do a motorcycle-type wheelie and drove it into Butte's main power line. The incident left the city without electricity for several hours.
Linda Evans was the movie camera operator that filmed him crashing at Ceasar's Palace on New Years Eve, 1967
Lloyd's Of London, which was getting publicity for insuring anything? Refused to insure Evel after the Ceasar's crash
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evel_Knievel
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Bud Ekins, famous movie stuntman and legend in Hollywood customs, cars, and motorcycles for his movie work, and friendship with Steve McQueen and Von Dutch. However, impressive for his own motorcycle accomplishments. Lets take a look
Born in, and lived in, Hollywood, California, Ekins began riding off-road motorcycles daily in the hills above his Hollywood home just after WW2 ended. He was too young for the military until years after WW2 was over, because he was born in May 1930
He was a young hooligan, not going to school after 8th grade, and getting 2 years in reform school for joy riding in a stolen car.
He started entering local off-road races in 1949, and within a couple years, was the top motocross racer in Southern California, winning the AMA District 37 championship seven times. He used a shovel blade as a engine skid plate. Crafty.
Matchless motorcycle factory sponsored him in the 1952 European Motocross Championship and he finished the season in ranked 15th in the world.
In 1955 Ekins won the Catalina Grand Prix, and in 1959 became the third three-time winner of the prestigious Big Bear Hare and Hound desert race, which at the time was the largest off-road event in the country, while at half way, he was in the lead, broke a rim, had his team fix it, and still made up the lost time and won the race 30 minutes ahead of the guy in 2nd place. For his 1959/3rd time win
He hired Von Dutch in the early 60's, and that's something I already covered in my Von Dutch posts. He also hired Evel Knievel:
‘I never saw Evel Knievel jump, but he worked for me,’ Bud recalled. ‘He was dead broke. I had him changing tyres. He was an egotist and that was before he got really famous. He jumped anything – Norton, Triumphs. He was a whore. He was kinda stupid to do it with a Harley, but Harley paid him for it.’
In a couple years, he opened a Triumph dealership, and the young Hollywood stars were dropping by... Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Warren Beatty
Von Dutch painted the sign/lettering on the bldg
Ekins won four gold medals and a silver during his seven years of competing in the ISDT, the International Six Days Trial, a form of off-road motorcycle Olympics.
After the first Baja 1000, Both McQueen and Ekins recognized the potential and advanced design of the Baja Boots. Solar Plastics, Steve McQueen’s factory which produced accessories for dune buggies and motorcycles, eventually purchased both Boots from Vic Hickey.
He was the stunt coordinator for the tv show CHiPS, and did stunts in the Love Bug, Blues Brothers, and Animal House. He was a writer for Motorcycling Magazine.
Many of his collected bikes are at auction every year, just a glimpse at Bonhams shows 6 pages of his motorcycles and cars, who states that Ekins was one of the USA’s foremost collectors of veteran and vintage motorcycles - at one time his collection numbered over 150 motorcycles and was considered to be the most valuable in the country.
a 1905 REO Roadster,
a 1908 REO Tourer and
a 1908 Delaunay-Belleville H4 Double Phaeton.
a motorcycle sidecar “Mona”
a 1970 Triumph Bonneville T140
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/arts/12ekins.html
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0252379/
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2010/11/10/namedropping-collection-to-be-offered-at-bonhams-classic-california-auction/
http://www.bonhams.com/search/?q=ekins&main_index_key=lot#/ah0_0=lot&q0=ekins&MR0_display=search&aa0=13&m0=0?q=ekins
http://www.influx.co.uk/features/california-bud-ekins-king-of-california/
http://www.budanddaveekins.com/stories-and-photos/
Monday, February 27, 2017
Saturday, February 04, 2017
Evel Knievel, information about how he got started I've never heard before
the video I want you to enjoy isn't embeddable, but here is the link https://www.facebook.com/donutmedia/videos/673537139475100/
and a couple screen captures the surprised me
Monday, May 30, 2016
Saturday, December 05, 2015
Tuesday, December 01, 2015
Monday, November 30, 2015
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
Some cool vehicles are getting auctioned off next weekend, at the Hollywood auction of Profiles in History, here's your chance to buy Fonzies Triumph!
This is a 1949 Triumph Trophy, one of 3 that Bud Ekins owned and loaned to the Happy Days show. Two were raced, used, beat up, and sold for parts. When the show ended, Ekins sold the third and only remaining "Fonzie" Triumph to a friend and motorcycle collector
At Hollywood Auction 74, September 29 through October 1, 2015 you can get Fonzies motorbike, and his leather jacket, at the auction in Calabasas California
or, the Impala from American Graffiti that was bought from Lucas Films in 1973, and that first owner is parting with after 42 years.
Black Beauty from The Green Hornet movie of 2011, has a 413, a 727, and 71,400 miles
All the members of Led Zeppelin had motorcycles made at the same time, this is John Bonhams, styled after Capt America, and named Sunset Tripper
The four members of Led Zeppelin commissioned Ron Hagest, owner of California-based Burbank Customs, to create Triumph-based choppers for each of the band mates.
When sold by Jason Bonham, it then took up residence in a Denmark pizza parlour until Dec 2014
Warner Brothers is parting with this street legal and driveable Charger used in the tv show, it runs and has a clear title
Evel used this corny bike in Viva Knievel, it's a Harley Davidson XLCH 1000, to break Gene Kelly out of a hospital
These are just some of the cool Hollywood things, you can look through the whole catalog online at http://www.profilesinhistory.com/buyers/upcoming-auctions-events/ and select Hollywood Auction 74 at the bottom
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Tuesday, July 07, 2015
Monday, June 22, 2015
Monday, May 04, 2015
A moment of silence
That is cool, when newspaper cartoonists take the opportunity to dedicate a days art to a cultural icon.
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