I was born in 1971! My dad was deployed in the Air Force, but my mother bought me every single one of these toys! I remember jumping one out of a KC-130 while on base with my father in the 70s!
Thank you, Sir for this video. As a 51 year old man, Knievel was everything to me back in the 70s. I can remember watching the Snake River jump live on Wide World of Sports. I had most of these toys. The Camper/Van, numerous stunt cycles, the chopper, and funny car. I had the Stunt Stadium, too. I can still remember the smell of Evel's jumpsuit and the plastic smell of the Van and stunt stadium. I wish I had kept some of these items. Lord, these toys brought me a lot of joy in my childhood. Many a Christmas morning was spent playing with Knievel toys from IDEAL. IDEAL made quite a bit of money from Knievel toys. I still have many of my comics from the 70s w/pages of advertisements for Knievel toys. A co-worker and I just this past week, were commenting to some of the younger employees how old comics had advertisements for Knievel IDEAL toys. Just a great time to be young!!!!!!
Thanks for the video. Question... First issue Evel Knievel stunt cycle with the chrome forks is said to be priceless factory sealed. Any idea how much it is worth today?
We’re the same age. I woke up on Christmas morning at 2:30 am the year I got the stunt cycle. I had to stay in bed until after 5 until my parents would let me get up. Evel and Jack Lambert were my heroes. One of my greatest Christmas memories.
I had the dragster and the chopper. I thought Evel Knievel was a made up Super hero back then. One day my dad yelled to me to come into the house to watch Evel Knievel do a motorcycle jump. It was the Wembly Jump Live in May 1975 on Wide world of Sports. Been a fan ever since.
I could look up a YT vid on Evel, himself..... but the toys were the shizzle. We made ramp, after ramp, after ramp, after ramp... all day, everyday. I'm sure it is idiocracy, but EK connected with every 8-12 year old boy's brain, and heart, in America.
Today’s society kids don’t know what true fun is. It’s all video games and on the phone being a hermit in there rooms. I never had 1 as a kid I’m 51 now and just bought my reissue Evel Knievel stunt cycle from California creations and it’s a blast!!
Had him on a bike when I was little in the late 70s I'm now 49 and still enjoy this stuff. Thanks 4 the memories. It'll be a good idea to reintroduce the toy and show off its features and articulation. That'll get it really hyped. ❤🙂
Toy story 4 brought me here. The Duke Caboom character was an homage Evil Knievel. I had the stunt bike and the arena, I played with them constantly. Thanks for the memories.
well done video. 3:00 Kings Island amusement park is in Mason, OH north of Cincinnati, Oh. I've been there many times. His son Robbie jumped Coke Zero trucks there in 2008.
I was born on the same year this toy came out and I remember playing him having The Bionic Woman setting behind him as I play both of them a lot and make Steve jealous.
I was 9 when I received my first of many cycles. This stupid, yet fun and important toy filled the life of an abused little boy . It helped remove me from my tortured reality. The last of my cycles was given to me when I was 11. The last jump Evel and I ever made together was into an empty 8' pool. Evel and I both knew this would be the most dangerous and last jump we'd ever make. At the bottom of that empty pool lay Evel and his wreckages along with mine. The wreckage from my early childhood was laid waste next to Evel's. Now that that was done I could develop my own unfettered destiny. Not many months after that I became the owner of my first dirt bike. Freedom was quickly approaching. Thank you Ideal/Evel.
This is a great video for Knievel fans and vintage toy enthusiasts alike. He left out a few products from the Ideal line. That is understandable. But how could he leave out the "Escape From Skull Canyon" playset? It was one of the best products in the entire Ideal line. I should know. I had that playset as a young boy in the 1970's. Evel could jump over the canyon using a log ramp. Or he could ride through the canyon with or without crashing into the boulders. It also came with a sasquatch creature, voodoo symbols and skull posts. It had great play value. It's still a great video. Thank you for making and posting it.
@@johnwild8336 Thanks for clearing that up. I'm having a Mandela effect rush. I think I'm remembering something like SST crash cars.? ... Hoods & doors and whatnot would fly off with a bumper button. I had a set called T bone vs jalopy or something. The jalopy didn't move. It was just a target. And the door was a button that launched the parts.
Awesome video John !!!.....This was my all time favorite toy as a kid. Great memories of setting up ramps and jumping Evel Knievel over every kind of obstacle I could think of......lol
Woah, you just reminded me of another great toy I had, the Joie Chitwood Mr. Pibb truck with the pull-back chevette! But I also had an Evel with his original bike, and then the blue chopper. I think my mom still has the christmas picture of me holding up the blue chopper. :)
Wow, sorry I'm late! I had the Stunt Cycle, the chopper, the dragster, and the scramble van. Yeah, pretty spoiled kid. Of all the toys, that stunt cycle was one of the greatest toys of all time!
nice nice. you may have seen I uploaded a "EVEL KNIEVEL STUNT BIKE SUCCESS & CRASHES Scramble Van and Vintage Comic Ads | Collection THX1138" n a wood deck which 'ramped up the difficulty level. I thought 3ft was too close so I tried about 6ft then the instructions fell out of the scramble van box and said 18" away!
I am actually looking at the Evel Knievel Deluxe Daredevil Stunt Set on eBay, its a repro but I would really like to know if the repro's are the same quality as the originals.
My opinion. Pro's for that set. Launcher is good, comes with ramps and flame circle. Also includes a nice set of tools and toolbox that was originally included with the Scramble Van. Con's for set. Bike that is included is the trail bike and not the stunt cycle. Ramps are very narrow, cardboard ring of fire is floppy. I got this set for $49.99 a few years ago. It's a good value at that price, but I wouldn't pay much more for it. The Playing Mantis version is the most accurate reproduction, if you get the Evel figure with the white jumpsuit. Hope this helps.
Actually, I first was going to get the Playing Mantis set but I thought I read somewhere that collectors were not happy because the bike was not the right color or something like that. Is the playing mantis version good quality? Thanks.
Nice video. We will need to agree to disagree on one point (your reply to a comment below). Having been the perfect kid-age when Evel had his heyday, and being the type of kid fan who watched his every appearance, the demise of the toy line was directly attributable to his assaulting an author who offended him with a baseball bat - for which he did jail time. I don’t recall feeling before that incident that his career was really fading, having eagerly watched his guest appearance on The Bionic Woman that same year. I also saw the infamous Death Defiers TV special the one and only time it aired. Maybe because I was very young, or maybe because Evel was my hero, I did not think the shark jump special was at all the terrible embarrassment it is described as today in internet lore. I remember later that year my dad reading in the paper and telling me about the assault. It didn’t hugely change my love of Evel at the time, but according to a well researched biography of the man I recently read, it did put the nail in the coffin of the toy contract. This was pointed out as being a hazard in basing a hero toy on someone who is still alive. You never know what they might do that could effect the reputation of the product. For example. I also had the Debbie Lawler stunt cycle set. That seems to have been a one year only toy. She crashed and hurt herself badly the same year the set came out, and although she recovered from her injuries, she never jumped again. Thanks for the well done video.
This one was challenging. Wanted to set the right tone for the upcoming shows. Evel was a complicated guy and telling his story in seven minutes is tough. Thanks for your support.
I hate Evel Knievel stunt cycle when I was a kid one day I took it outside to do this. This young girl said can I see your Evil Knievel stunt cycle I showed it to her and she stand up and jumped on it and broken in a million pieces but the way I was brought up as a kid I just came in the house told my mother about it and never thought of it again maybe one day I'll get it back in my collection very nice of review
What a traumatic experience. I suggest you give Evel a try again some day. This toy is reproduced often, so you will have another chance. Thanks for watching.
Can someone help me out I just came across a 1972 evel knievel with grey hair and a stunt cycle but the stunt cycle is not the same as the 1st or 2nd version, it's only difference with the first version mine has the handle bars and forks white and the difference with the second version is that mine has the black around the motor which i read was only done with the first version. Can someone help me out, is this a demo?
well I had the evel knievel bike and figure. I'm sure my one was one of the first , I think , it had the cross member on the handle bar and his helmet had red stripe ether side of the blue stripes but the later toys didn't have these 2 fitures . I also have an original ticket to the jump at Wembley london :)
Evel's fortunes had been on the down slide since the failed Snake River Jump and his assault on a writer was the last straw. They toys still could be found into the early 80s on toy shelves though. Some of the rarest toys where produced to support the film VivaKnievel. Thanks for watching.
You must have been 1 of very very very few kids that just couldn’t figure out how to use it. Or you were just 1 of many kids that every toy you touched broke.
I was born in 1971! My dad was deployed in the Air Force, but my mother bought me every single one of these toys! I remember jumping one out of a KC-130 while on base with my father in the 70s!
Thank you, Sir for this video. As a 51 year old man, Knievel was everything to me back in the 70s. I can remember watching the Snake River jump live on Wide World of Sports. I had most of these toys. The Camper/Van, numerous stunt cycles, the chopper, and funny car. I had the Stunt Stadium, too. I can still remember the smell of Evel's jumpsuit and the plastic smell of the Van and stunt stadium. I wish I had kept some of these items. Lord, these toys brought me a lot of joy in my childhood. Many a Christmas morning was spent playing with Knievel toys from IDEAL. IDEAL made quite a bit of money from Knievel toys. I still have many of my comics from the 70s w/pages of advertisements for Knievel toys. A co-worker and I just this past week, were commenting to some of the younger employees how old comics had advertisements for Knievel IDEAL toys. Just a great time to be young!!!!!!
Thanks for sharing. Knievel toys are a great part of my childhood too.
Thanks for the video. Question... First issue Evel Knievel stunt cycle with the chrome forks is said to be priceless factory sealed. Any idea how much it is worth today?
We’re the same age. I woke up on Christmas morning at 2:30 am the year I got the stunt cycle. I had to stay in bed until after 5 until my parents would let me get up. Evel and Jack Lambert were my heroes. One of my greatest Christmas memories.
@@johnwild8336 he died November 30, 2007
I had the dragster and the chopper. I thought Evel Knievel was a made up Super hero back then. One day my dad yelled to me to come into the house to watch Evel Knievel do a motorcycle jump. It was the Wembly Jump Live in May 1975 on Wide world of Sports. Been a fan ever since.
I could look up a YT vid on Evel, himself..... but the toys were the shizzle.
We made ramp, after ramp, after ramp, after ramp... all day, everyday. I'm sure it is idiocracy, but EK connected with every 8-12 year old boy's brain, and heart, in America.
I have the wind up Evel Knievel Motorcycle sitting proudly in my lounge room display cabinet...It will be with me forever :)
Hoping to start this series back up again in May 2017. Stunt Cycle First. Thanks for watching.
I never got any of this but the kids across the street did . And those toys are awesome much better than video games. 😁👍🏁
Yes they are
Today’s society kids don’t know what true fun is. It’s all video games and on the phone being a hermit in there rooms. I never had 1 as a kid I’m 51 now and just bought my reissue Evel Knievel stunt cycle from California creations and it’s a blast!!
Had him on a bike when I was little in the late 70s I'm now 49 and still enjoy this stuff. Thanks 4 the memories. It'll be a good idea to reintroduce the toy and show off its features and articulation. That'll get it really hyped. ❤🙂
Toy story 4 brought me here. The Duke Caboom character was an homage Evil Knievel. I had the stunt bike and the arena, I played with them constantly. Thanks for the memories.
I Never heard of Evel Knievel before I watched Toy Story 4, but that was the first time
well done video. 3:00 Kings Island amusement park is in Mason, OH north of Cincinnati, Oh. I've been there many times. His son Robbie jumped Coke Zero trucks there in 2008.
This is cool, I still have my Evel Knievel toys and they still work from the 70s.
My sweety had a evel knievel toy but sadly got played with etc wish my sweety still had the stunt bike now be worth some money
I was born on the same year this toy came out and I remember playing him having The Bionic Woman setting behind him as I play both of them a lot and make Steve jealous.
hi great video evel was a great hero and I loved the toys growing up great video,s ives uk
Thanks for watching. Plan on looking at each toy individually in the near future.
Vintage goodness---I had them all at one time---thanks for sharing
Been building my collection for years. Glad you enjoyed and thanks for your support.
Brilliant video - thanks for posting, grew up in the 1970’s great memories of Evel and his death defy stunts - top job !!
In 2018 I plan on getting to my reviews on the Ideal toys Evel Knievel line of toys. Stay tuned.
I had the blue chopper , one of my favorite toys ever!!
This toy line is legendary. Goes very well with the man the toys are named after. Thanks for watching.
Good old Evel. Always landing on his head, both the toy version and the real version.
He was one of a kind. Can't imagine what he'd be doing today if he was still with us. Thanks for watching.
@@johnwild8336 He'd probably be jumping his mobility scooter over flower beds at the old folks home.
I was 9 when I received my first of many cycles. This stupid, yet fun and important toy filled the life of an abused little boy . It helped remove me from my tortured reality. The last of my cycles was given to me when I was 11. The last jump Evel and I ever made together was into an empty 8' pool.
Evel and I both knew this would be the most dangerous and last jump we'd ever make. At the bottom of that empty pool lay Evel and his wreckages along with mine. The wreckage from my early childhood was laid waste next to Evel's.
Now that that was done I could develop my own unfettered destiny.
Not many months after that I became the owner of my first dirt bike. Freedom was quickly approaching.
Thank you Ideal/Evel.
Inspired comment. Thanks for sharing.
@@johnwild8336 As Evel would say, "You're never a failure until you fail to get up"
Thanks, Mr. Wild
I had the chance to play with the bike set , good memories...thanks
Your Welcome. Thanks For Stopping By.
That was a good video. At the end when you were talking I couldn't help but think of Dan Ackroyd doing a Saturday Night Live skit. 👍
What A Complement!
This is a great video for Knievel fans and vintage toy enthusiasts alike. He left out a few products from the Ideal line. That is understandable. But how could he leave out the "Escape From Skull Canyon" playset? It was one of the best products in the entire Ideal line. I should know. I had that playset as a young boy in the 1970's. Evel could jump over the canyon using a log ramp. Or he could ride through the canyon with or without crashing into the boulders. It also came with a sasquatch creature, voodoo symbols and skull posts. It had great play value. It's still a great video. Thank you for making and posting it.
Plan on reviewing each cycle in future episodes. Stay tuned.
😳 I loved how the harder you rip that T strip! The more insane destruction you could get.
Cranking the handle you mean. The T strip was a Mattel invention used on cars to Masters of the Universe figures. Thanks for watching.
@@johnwild8336 Thanks for clearing that up. I'm having a Mandela effect rush. I think I'm remembering something like SST crash cars.? ... Hoods & doors and whatnot would fly off with a bumper button. I had a set called T bone vs jalopy or something. The jalopy didn't move. It was just a target. And the door was a button that launched the parts.
Brad Brown yup I remember those....
There was a stunt cycle called SST or STP. I had that before Evel. You pumped it like a bicycle tire pump
Very informative, thanks a lot.
Awesome video John !!!.....This was my all time favorite toy as a kid. Great memories of setting up ramps and jumping Evel Knievel over every kind of obstacle I could think of......lol
Thanks Diz. Setting up jumps with this toy was one of the charms of ownership. This toy took a beating, and just kept working.
Thanx for the memories brother!!..loved it.
I loved this guy when I was a kid. I was born in 72.
Great Comment.
Just bought the 2005 reissue, boy oh boy , having more fun with it at 43...So sick!
Great video
Thank you.
Woah, you just reminded me of another great toy I had, the Joie Chitwood Mr. Pibb truck with the pull-back chevette! But I also had an Evel with his original bike, and then the blue chopper. I think my mom still has the christmas picture of me holding up the blue chopper. :)
Thanks for watching.
Graphics on the box's are works of art very cool
They were very nice. Working on my next video... Evel Knievel's Stunt Cycle.
Thanks for your video!
My pleasure!
Greatest memories in my childhood era I still ride dirt bikes and I’m 50 years old and still kicking like a chicken
This is one of the best toy lines of the 1970s.
Go on with your bad self!! Right here with ya.
Ah the great memories!
Yes Indeed, the Good Olde Days. Thanks for your support.
Awesome, loved these toys,
Thank you.
Wow, sorry I'm late!
I had the Stunt Cycle, the chopper, the dragster, and the scramble van. Yeah, pretty spoiled kid.
Of all the toys, that stunt cycle was one of the greatest toys of all time!
It sure was. The additional toys like the Scramble Van really fleshed out the toy line. Thanks for watching.
Good Video.
Glad you enjoyed it
Awesome Review John.
Great News. California Creations is coming out with the repro of the stunt cycle set that will hopefully work better than prior repro's :)
I Can't Help But Notice The Trail Bike Is Coming With This Set. Where's The Stunt Cycle?
@@johnwild8336 oh so that's not a stunt bike. My mistake.
Thanks, mate... 🇺🇸😎🇦🇺
You're Welcome.
Yeah, we set up ramps in our drive way to jump "our toy". That's the only thing we were doing with those ramps. I swear. 😉
takes me right back
Hope you enjoyed the ride. Thanks for watching. More to come.
Awesome video!!! Is there any chance we could get a copy, would love to add it to our site launching soon. Cheers.
Yes of course!
I made some Evel Knievel stunt cycle GIFS that will be available through twitter & FB
Cool. Thanks for watching.
6:55 winding up for another fun run! =D
I love that noise. Thanks for watching.
nice nice. you may have seen I uploaded a "EVEL KNIEVEL STUNT BIKE SUCCESS & CRASHES Scramble Van and Vintage Comic Ads | Collection THX1138" n a wood deck which 'ramped up the difficulty level. I thought 3ft was too close so I tried about 6ft then the instructions fell out of the scramble van box and said 18" away!
Loved this toy back in the day. Looking to buy the repro edition of the original motorcycle set.
Stay tuned for next uploads. Will cover all stunt cycle set, vintage and reproduction sets. Thanks for watching.
I am actually looking at the Evel Knievel Deluxe Daredevil Stunt Set on eBay, its a repro but I would really like to know if the repro's are the same quality as the originals.
My opinion. Pro's for that set. Launcher is good, comes with ramps and flame circle. Also includes a nice set of tools and toolbox that was originally included with the Scramble Van. Con's for set. Bike that is included is the trail bike and not the stunt cycle. Ramps are very narrow, cardboard ring of fire is floppy. I got this set for $49.99 a few years ago. It's a good value at that price, but I wouldn't pay much more for it. The Playing Mantis version is the most accurate reproduction, if you get the Evel figure with the white jumpsuit. Hope this helps.
Actually, I first was going to get the Playing Mantis set but I thought I read somewhere that collectors were not happy because the bike was not the right color or something like that. Is the playing mantis version good quality? Thanks.
Nice video. We will need to agree to disagree on one point (your reply to a comment below). Having been the perfect kid-age when Evel had his heyday, and being the type of kid fan who watched his every appearance, the demise of the toy line was directly attributable to his assaulting an author who offended him with a baseball bat - for which he did jail time. I don’t recall feeling before that incident that his career was really fading, having eagerly watched his guest appearance on The Bionic Woman that same year. I also saw the infamous Death Defiers TV special the one and only time it aired. Maybe because I was very young, or maybe because Evel was my hero, I did not think the shark jump special was at all the terrible embarrassment it is described as today in internet lore. I remember later that year my dad reading in the paper and telling me about the assault. It didn’t hugely change my love of Evel at the time, but according to a well researched biography of the man I recently read, it did put the nail in the coffin of the toy contract. This was pointed out as being a hazard in basing a hero toy on someone who is still alive. You never know what they might do that could effect the reputation of the product. For example. I also had the Debbie Lawler stunt cycle set. That seems to have been a one year only toy. She crashed and hurt herself badly the same year the set came out, and although she recovered from her injuries, she never jumped again. Thanks for the well done video.
Wasn't kings island in Ohio?
Yes it is. Thanks for the correction.
Yeah, the Brady Bunch filmed there.
Really awesome video man! Well done!!!!!!
This one was challenging. Wanted to set the right tone for the upcoming shows. Evel was a complicated guy and telling his story in seven minutes is tough. Thanks for your support.
Duke Kaboom never had those in Toy Story 4 (I'm Not Spoiling)
Now that everyone has seen that movie I will do a comparison soon. Thanks for watching.
I hate Evel Knievel stunt cycle when I was a kid one day I took it outside to do this. This young girl said can I see your Evil Knievel stunt cycle I showed it to her and she stand up and jumped on it and broken in a million pieces but the way I was brought up as a kid I just came in the house told my mother about it and never thought of it again maybe one day I'll get it back in my collection very nice of review
What a traumatic experience. I suggest you give Evel a try again some day. This toy is reproduced often, so you will have another chance. Thanks for watching.
Missed out the Strato
Many of us did as it was a late release for the line. Thanks for watching.
You forgot about the funny car and playsets
EK merchandising rights for toy(s), made him a millionaire.
That it did. But by 1980 he had spent it all. Easy come, easy go. Thanks for watching.
Can someone help me out I just came across a 1972 evel knievel with grey hair and a stunt cycle but the stunt cycle is not the same as the 1st or 2nd version, it's only difference with the first version mine has the handle bars and forks white and the difference with the second version is that mine has the black around the motor which i read was only done with the first version. Can someone help me out, is this a demo?
well I had the evel knievel bike and figure. I'm sure my one was one of the first , I think , it had the cross member on the handle bar and his helmet had red stripe ether side of the blue stripes but the later toys didn't have these 2 fitures . I also have an original ticket to the jump at Wembley london :)
Kings Island Ohio not New Jersey near Cincinnati
Thanks for the correction. In season 2 of my channel Evel will be making a return. Your support is appreciated.
Evel lost his toy contract and went bankrupt, when he beat a man with a bat, and went to jail for it.
Evel's fortunes had been on the down slide since the failed Snake River Jump and his assault on a writer was the last straw. They toys still could be found into the early 80s on toy shelves though. Some of the rarest toys where produced to support the film VivaKnievel. Thanks for watching.
Kings Island is in ohio not new jersey.
Thank you for the correction and for watching.
I had the X-2 jet cycle and it sucked
Just too top heavy with the jet fire action. Didn't launch as good as the stunt cycle. Thanks for watching.
As a child of the 70s I can say these toys were crap .
You must have been 1 of very very very few kids that just couldn’t figure out how to use it. Or you were just 1 of many kids that every toy you touched broke.