Evel Knievel was not just a guy who jumped motorcycles over things . He was an unapolagetic showman who brought millions of people together to witness his feats of courage . There has never been nor will there be anyone else like him . People have jumped farther ( even his own son ) but it just doesn't have the same flair .
I live here in Yakima and although this happened before my time, my dad had numerous pictures of this day... He was good friends with Don Trammell (who is mentioned in this video). The speedway where he performed this jump, just got demolished last year. Lots of memories for lots of people at that track.
The entire library of his career on film/video is about 10-13 jumps....there actually isn't very much decent footage of him--especially footage of him NOT crashing.
I was a Junior in high school in Toppenish about 20 miles away. A friend asked me if I wanted to go see Evel jump. I said, "No, I've crashed on my motorcycle, and I don't need to see someone crash on theirs." I hope that didn't jinx him. I really wish that I had gone to see him now. R.I.P. Evel.
I grew up in the 70's and had my Evel Knevel lunch box and notebook. Huge fan but I ride a fully dressed 6 cylinder Honda Valkyrie Interstate.. and it's much bigger than the Eagle 750. Evel was amazing and my childhood hero...but that bike was no way near 1,000 lbs...by a few hundred.
Evil was my childhood hero & I started jumping my orddle bikes by age 6. Unlike Evil I only got a few concussions, 52 stitches from a mini bike accident & lots of scrapes & bruises & every scar tells a story
This was one of THE people everyone knew in the Seventies; even in England we'd watch this unrivaled showman as he cheated Death - his jumps were as legendary as they were notorious - how he survived them is a mystery. The man swallowed fear and simply flew over disaster. Even his crashes were somehow victories and there will never be anyone as exciting, as spellbinding as the King of the Dare-Devils. I hope he is at Peace.
American Eagle: a 750 Laverda (Italian) vertical twin, not 1000lbs, but pretty heavy I'm sure. I think they were around 450lbs. Whereas a Harley XR-750 weighs about 300lbs. An unusual bike for him to be jumping buses with, you can see that his approach was much slower than his other jumps. I guess there must've been a deal with American Eagle (Laverda). My absolute favorite bike is 750-SFC but there is a whole lot more development in that one.
i think that was his achillies heal he wanted a endosement deal with an moto manufacturing co. in stead of getting the best bike for the job. which would have a been a japanese motocross bike. but then again what do i know?
The First. The Original. The Best Then, Now, and Forever. Why? Because he was "Evel'.....before anyone else. No one had ever taken it to HIS Level...in the late 60's...thru the 70's...and into the early 80's. Sure...Even his Son has 'Technically...flown farther...higher... but, not with the same Style, Bravado, Originality...and 'Chance'. Get it? yes...even ....Balls. These guys these days...with all the super light bikes...high tech shocks and forks...probably 'calculating their jumps...using software algorithms, math calculations, and 'physics templates. This Man of Fucking Steel...did it only with his Will, Spirit, Sense of Adventure and Sheer Bravery. Oh...and a Bad Ass, fairly stock Harley or Triumph. All the others, STILL PALE... Kneel to the KING, NOW and FOREVER..... Robert Craig Knievel. God Speed, Cycle Hero.
Don trammel was a good friend of my father's and he was always very nice to me. I spent a lot of time at his -71 ranch growing up. You may have different memories of him, but my memories were good.
dear johny know -it-all if you would direct your attention to the close up of the gas tank it is in fact clealy a american eagle. thank you and goodnight
Evel's very graceful at crashing. He knows how to position his body for intial impact so as to protect his neck from breaking. No joke, this is the reason he survived & didn't get paralized. Rewatch his Caesar's Palace crash and you'll see how skilled he is at protecting his head.
Very Cool Footage a True Legend , i Wish i Had Met Him Back in the Day 👍👍& His Name is Evel Knievel not Evil Knievel , hes not Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers Films
I'm gonna go with maybe 500lbs?......'A thousand, Evel?....come on?....Love the man...but we all know he could be a bit of an 'exaggerator'. Naw. that bike didn't weight, 1000 Lbs. that's half a ton?...cripes....
Evel Knievel was not just a guy who jumped motorcycles over things . He was an unapolagetic showman who brought millions of people together to witness his feats of courage . There has never been nor will there be anyone else like him . People have jumped farther ( even his own son ) but it just doesn't have the same flair .
Ya know who else had charisma? Ted Bundy.
Steve Starr he didn’t say anything about charisma, weirdo.
well said
100 and 10% with that comment
I live here in Yakima and although this happened before my time, my dad had numerous pictures of this day...
He was good friends with Don Trammell (who is mentioned in this video). The speedway where he performed this jump, just got demolished last year. Lots of memories for lots of people at that track.
Back when real heroes wore capes.
RIP Evel.
Great footage. You have several jumps I have never seen. It's a real treat seeing these.
The entire library of his career on film/video is about 10-13 jumps....there actually isn't very much decent footage of him--especially footage of him NOT crashing.
This speedway, Yakima Speedway, was recently demolished. 😪
I was a Junior in high school in Toppenish about 20 miles away. A friend asked me if I wanted to go see Evel jump. I said, "No, I've crashed on my motorcycle, and I don't need to see someone crash on theirs." I hope that didn't jinx him. I really wish that I had gone to see him now. R.I.P. Evel.
Imagine if he had today's bikes, was a special man, seen him jump many times . Rip
I could not watch … will prob come back to this. RIP Evel K
Totally Awesome thanks for posting!!!
✌
I grew up in the 70's and had my Evel Knevel lunch box and notebook. Huge fan but I ride a fully dressed 6 cylinder Honda Valkyrie Interstate.. and it's much bigger than the Eagle 750. Evel was amazing and my childhood hero...but that bike was no way near 1,000 lbs...by a few hundred.
These were re-branded Laverdas. Pretty nice bikes for the day.
Not even 1000# with rider and fuel. Still a big, heavy old sow to jump on, tho.
Bet you wish you still had that lunchbox now
When You Saw It On TV, The Jumps Didn't Look That Far. But When You Saw It In Person, You'd Say: "Damn... That's A Long Ass Jump"!!! 😮
RIP Father & Son.
Evil was my childhood hero & I started jumping my orddle bikes by age 6. Unlike Evil I only got a few concussions, 52 stitches from a mini bike accident &
lots of scrapes & bruises & every scar tells a story
A wheelchair also tells a story 👌
This was one of THE people everyone knew in the Seventies; even in England we'd watch this unrivaled showman as he cheated Death - his jumps were as legendary as they were notorious - how he survived them is a mystery. The man swallowed fear and simply flew over disaster. Even his crashes were somehow victories and there will never be anyone as exciting, as spellbinding as the King of the Dare-Devils. I hope he is at Peace.
who in the heck would jump a 1000 lb. American eagle. Evel effing Knievel! that's who.
lol
The actual weight was more like 500 lbs...but still.
If Evil had the technology then that they have now, no one would be able to break the records he would set.
Nobody's balls are that big!
Legend
1:55 As he lands, the bike travels flat then jumps again to the angled exit ramp. A poorly constructed exit ramp didn't help.
American Eagle: a 750 Laverda (Italian) vertical twin, not 1000lbs, but pretty heavy I'm sure. I think they were around 450lbs. Whereas a Harley XR-750 weighs about 300lbs. An unusual bike for him to be jumping buses with, you can see that his approach was much slower than his other jumps. I guess there must've been a deal with American Eagle (Laverda). My absolute favorite bike is 750-SFC but there is a whole lot more development in that one.
i think that was his achillies heal he wanted a endosement deal with an moto manufacturing co. in stead of getting the best bike for the job. which would have a been a japanese motocross bike. but then again what do i know?
@@MrJonswift200
In 71 there weren't a lot of Japanese motocross bikes to choose from.
The First. The Original. The Best Then, Now, and Forever. Why? Because he was "Evel'.....before anyone else. No one had ever taken it to HIS Level...in the late 60's...thru the 70's...and into the early 80's. Sure...Even his Son has 'Technically...flown farther...higher... but, not with the same Style, Bravado, Originality...and 'Chance'. Get it? yes...even ....Balls. These guys these days...with all the super light bikes...high tech shocks and forks...probably 'calculating their jumps...using software algorithms, math calculations, and 'physics templates. This Man of Fucking Steel...did it only with his Will, Spirit, Sense of Adventure and Sheer Bravery. Oh...and a Bad Ass, fairly stock Harley or Triumph. All the others, STILL PALE... Kneel to the KING, NOW and FOREVER..... Robert Craig Knievel. God Speed, Cycle Hero.
More guts than talent or brains. Worst motorcycle jumper in history but the most well known mainly because of his misses which were many.
I was there and saw this.
1000 pounds is a figure of speech people.
Correct: I just looked it up and it weighed 500 pounds.
What’s sad is that John Noel and Don Trammel were probably soo drunk at the time they didn’t know what was going on. Both guys were a piece of work.
and who where john and don?
@@MrJonswift200 Along with doing a few other things, they owned Pepsi in Yakima
Don trammel was a good friend of my father's and he was always very nice to me. I spent a lot of time at his -71 ranch growing up. You may have different memories of him, but my memories were good.
He was one brave man that always kept his word if he said I'm going he went that is the mark of a man
I was born in Yakima 1 month prior........
I was born here and I was three in 1970 but have spent many hours at that track since. The future of the track doesn't look good. What a shame
How incredibly interesting
I have the original AP press photo of this and it was dated May 11, 1970.
hey the guy had multiple concussions he might of had a memory problem. did you See ceasars palace?
@@MrJonswift200 I think I've probably seen them all. That guy was crazy!
Hey when you tell someone you're gonna do something, you do it....(wedding vows excluded)
OUCH...😉
ROFL!! 😂
Love dont pay the bills
I think this was in May of 1970 not 1971, By 1971 he was riding H-D not American Eagle
+vincent bement i think your right.
dear johny know -it-all if you would direct your attention to the close up of the gas tank it is in fact clealy a american eagle. thank you and goodnight
He was riding British triumphs before that .
Faster , lighter & superior in every way .
So much for patriotism
1:34 .....thats where he lost speed, in the grass
1:33 jump
Evel's very graceful at crashing. He knows how to position his body for intial impact so as to protect his neck from breaking. No joke, this is the reason he survived & didn't get paralized. Rewatch his Caesar's Palace crash and you'll see how skilled he is at protecting his head.
Very Cool Footage a True Legend , i Wish i Had Met Him Back in the Day 👍👍& His Name is Evel Knievel not Evil Knievel , hes not Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers Films
Man... technology just wasn’t in his favor regarding what he had to jump with.
👍🏽👑🙏🏽
I call BS, I was there and he made the jump.
Slo-mo always ruins it. Real time is better because you get to see it as it actually happened.
WHY? WHY JUMP A 1000LB BIKE!
Surely he jestest
CRAZY!
He didn't.
500 pounds tops .
@@peterherrington3300
I heard tell that thang was super heavy. Guess I better look it up.
444 the one and only 🤩
SEND IT EVEL!!!!!
bad traction on the approach which compromised speed. launch ramp entrance caused front wheel to go airborne prior to the bike becoming airborne.
Probably would have helped if he hadn't jumped a 1,000lb motorcycle.
Since when does a 750cc bike weigh 1,000 pounds.
About half that .
Concussion is not your friend
No way that bike weighs 1000lbs! I've got a 900cc and only weighs around 650 and looks a lot bigger!
You are correct. It actually weighed 500 pounds: I just looked it up.
People out there doing flips and jumping things on light weight dirt bikes.Let me so you attempt those jumps on a bike like Knievel was using
As a child of the 70s Bruce Lee
Muhammad Ali and Evel Knievel
Were my heroes!..Bruce Jenner also was but that's another story!
🤣😆🤣😆✌️💛🤘
Cassius Clay was a draft dodger: he was no hero to those who actually served in Vietnam
Just a new level of no bike control
So he is wearing no protective suit why? Just to hype himself up even more? Even though nearly ever jump he does he crashes?
He's wearing a Bates leather suit. State of the art for the times.
Alex Mitchell you seem like you know about it. What happened to his suits? Do they ever come up at auctions?
He jumped 175 times and crashed about 13 times.
So who gives a shit how much it weighed? It was just the thought of him jumping the bike.
1000lbs? How do you make that bike that heavy? Nonsense.
Ride em cowboy
1000 pds. Huh.....
American Eagle ....480.6 lbs
Laverda 750GT "America Eagle"
Not 1,000 lbs...
I'm a big fan of Evel Knievel from being a kid in the 70s but that in no way is a 1000lbs 750cc motorcycle....lol
Ps. 450lbs tops.
Heavy Motorbikes don't fly.. Only Planes do..
He should have used a CR500.
I'm sure, if he had a time machine, he would have went to 1984 and picked one up.
You should of been swallowed
1000 lb 750 motorcycle i dont think so
I'm gonna go with maybe 500lbs?......'A thousand, Evel?....come on?....Love the man...but we all know he could be a bit of an 'exaggerator'. Naw. that bike didn't weight, 1000 Lbs. that's half a ton?...cripes....
1000lbs my ass
That wasn't a Harley. Probably a triumph