I saw this movie when it was new. I later owned several triumph motorcycles over the following years. Riding a vintage triumph is a religous experience!!
Bud Ekins, a friend of McQueen's and a stuntman/motorcycle racer did the jump. The insurance company would not allow Steve to do the jump even though he could have, and wanted to. I had that poster in my room as a kid and it was obvious it was Bud and not Steve. Oh, and it was NOT a barbed wire fence. It was a wire fence with thousands of little pieces of rubber bands tied on it and painted silver to simulate a barbed wire fence. They needed so many of those tied on that many of the actors in the movie spent hours tying them on. It was a great effect because even close up it looked like the real thing. This was discussed in a documentary film on the making of this wonderful movie. I think it is still here on UA-cam.
Great video, the Metisse is beautiful the 650 Triumph motor, awesome sound, Hence why I went out and bought one!!!! Don't know why people leave nasty comments, if the guy doesn't want to wear any protection then so what, it's his life, I sometimes take gambles in life, my life, my call, the only thing I would say, If I was producing this then I would have tried it with the exact same running rear, ie" frame (if possible), Steve McQueen is a true hero, king of cool.
idc if that jump was as big as the orignal or not, that was awesome to jump something like an ol triumph. there is a triumph dealer by my way i want to check it out see whats going on. I love these old things.
I doubt the original Triumph was modified much at all for McQueen's/Ekin's jump in the original film. Those fellas were riding Triumph twins in all sorts of racing back in the day and knew them well and what they could do. The layout of the jump I'm sure was well situated as a plan, Ekins and his brother Dave were experts in that time and were always at the top of the motorcycle racing news in the '50s and '60s. They went on to ride early Honda scrambler CL72s in Baja test trials to promote the brand and it worked great for them. I was jumping a Matchless 500 scrambler for some shows in Mexico in '62 and it was mostly intuition and verve that carried it through, it was not a great feat otherwise.
I've owned similar bikes, and can't imagine jumping them very high. Other than using the stiffest shocks, and pre-loading the fork springs, can't think of what could be done to prep a road bike for such a stunt.
@@xzqzq Fwiw, I jumped over a pickup and had no landing ramp. I was riding a Matchless 500 scrambler, brand new in 1962. When I landed from the highest jump, it bent the handlebars slightly and stripped out the rear shocks where the body attached to the bottom bracket. I estimate the jump was as high as the one for the movie, perhaps higher and was done on a level surface of a baseball diamond. Ekin's jump was made slightly uphill which reduces the landing impact. We were all pushing boundaries, not with the greatest for foresight.... .
We didn't see the take off zone. Was there a ramp? In the movie it certainly looked like it was pure terrain. He also had to contend with a second barbed wire fence on the far side. Nice Metise.
Hollywood aside ...The great escape was real ..I work on a old RAF base in Nottinghamshire ...1943 was a Bloody year of losses for the squadron based at Langar, they lost 247 Airmen and ground crew that year. One of the members of 207 squadron, that was based there in 1943 was a an Airmen named Dennis oliver Street, He was in the real great escape,from stalag 3, after He escaped, he was captured by the gestapo and murdered at the side of the road.
Love this. Sad to say my riding has been whittled down to local and off hours since the invention of the cell phone. Too many riders in the news losing their lives
I hear ya! A few years back a riding buddy was killed by a texting teenager. They've named a state law after him. Another buddy t-boned a woman that blew a stop sign. Fractures. Then a couple months ago a young lady decided to turn left right into my path like she never saw me.... Two blocks from home. Things have deteriorated quickly!
@@BritIronRebel its unfuckingbelievable. Just yesterday im making a left and the guy starts going while Im DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF HIS CAR!! He sees me and apologizes but Im not accepting as I shake my head and mouth the word asshole. Im not giving up but the thought of selling keeps creeping in.
Top stuff gents ... great to back up the old time stunt riders on there heavy iron. Evel Knievel used to jump some pretty heavy old machines as well including a 750 Laverda branded as an American Eagle. Thanks for this one.
These Pommy bikes were a big part of my youth, so naturally I still like them, yeh there are better bikes today but for some reason they don't seem to sound as good...
See this bike at the Ace cafe this sunday. It's a mud plugger day so get muddy on your off roader before hand and then pop up there to see it! Cant wait to hear it fired up!
The jump was very impressive and took a lot of balls to execute. But it did not duplicate the original. Go to the original site and set the fence up to the same specifications as the movie and then you can prove something. And don't tell me you can't find an original Triumph.
@contributor34 I don't know exactly where THEY get them, but it makes sense since more Triumphs were sold in the USA than in England. It's not hard to locate a matching numbers bike for sale no matter where you live in the USA. I have 3 myself.
The stuntman that did this in the movie had his own used motorcycle shop in North Hollywood, California in the 1970's - 1980's where he sat around bullshitting with his friends.
@BritIronRebel Yeah, but that's my point, it's not the exact jump! Etkins jumped from a natural divot in the earth, what did this guy jump off? We don't know, because it's not shown in the shot. Also, Etkins jumped it at an angle, this guy jumped it straight on.
The heavy parts of the motorcycle that could be change had been changed to make it much lighter. Bud Ekins did that jump, please don't suggest it was doctored in any way. The technology did not exist in 1963.
So why is Guy Martin trying to prove history yet again ?, all he ever seems to do is to try to get his name up in lights on the back of someone else's previous achievments. I would love a Metisse.
the original stunt bike was a standard pre unit single monobloc carb T110, not a rickman metisse tuned up unit TR6, my 1964 stock 650 thunderbird that you can see in my avatar will do well over a 100mph and would easily clear that fence, Its a different world entirely trying to do It on an older pre unit.
you seriously going to bad mouth a re-enactment of the best motorcycle jump in movie history along with one of the greatest movies/ war movies ever made boy girl what ever you are you need to get a life and stop ruining others.
The bike is "similar" in engine only. It's a '60s Rickman MX replica and far better set up for this sort of thing than the stock-framed Triumphs Ekins (and Evel Knievel) used. The stock Triumph frames used to break under just normal road use. I've seen the evidence.
As far as I am aware this was Alan Bott’s machine that was used in this video which was #6 off the production line. If your interested here is a closer look at the bike I filmed in January 2018. ua-cam.com/video/txF3IzPGZ8A/v-deo.html
I agree the stunt here isn't as impressive as the original. He did jump it sideways, which would demand more air time. Plus, the bike wasn't nearly as set-up for jumping as this one is.
And it is so heavy at 300 pounds " you have to be brave to jump a 6 foot fence on a 300 pound bike " i guess these blokes havent ridden any japanese adventure bikes lately like an africa twin at a little over 500 pounds serviced and ready to go jump or crash ...compare the BMW 1200 GS adventure bike loaded with full gear 600plus ? The dual sport KLR650 weighs over 300 ..i used to ride the XR600R with a Baja Designs street legal lighting kit that was just under 300 pounds and jumping in 6 feet in the air will give you quite a thrill .i bought my 1st africa twin a few months ago and still making mods to make it feel some what capable of handling a dirt road ..but its still no where trust worthy as the honda stunt riders on you tube appear to be blasting the CRF1000L off of sand bluffs in the african deserts ...turn off the traction control and mine just wants to smoke the rear tire on pavement or throw a roost of rocks on dirt roads...back in the early 50s through 1968-69 it was triumph , bsa , norton and harley on the mile and in the woods as your common open class off road bikes ....
@BritIronRebel If they were going to re-enact the EXACT jump, then they would have showed entire the jump like they did in the film, including the approach and the actual take-off, and jumped at the exact same spot. Note in the film, Etkins jumps at an angle; this guy jumps perpendicular.
22 feet? Hmmmm I've just reviewed Bud Elkins's jump. The barrier in the movie - the horizntal bar is between chest high / shoulder high. The fence he doesn't jump and can't clear is about 22 feet. I suggest you google The Jump and the Fence.When Steve is lying on the ground and the German troops arrive it's pretty obvious it's not a 22 foot fence - unless the troops are about 26 feet tall. The fence in this video looks about the same height to me.
Oh yeah they did....The Rickman is so much lighter and more powerful than the old Triumph that Bud Ekins used.....there's no comparison. Very disappointing.
hardly sensei, it's meant to be as close to the original stunt as possible, the bloke who did it first time round did not have a bash hat a jacket or gloves.
Nice bike, lame jump; notice that they didn't even show him hitting the jump or the approach, just the decent. For all we know the ramp was the same height as the fence!
As you can see the fence is the seat height of the bike? You can jump that fence WITHOUT a motorcycle. The barrier Bud Ekin's DID jump was over 22 feet high at 45 mph. McQueen. did make several approachs but never reached that speed in the grass. Plus it was a stock bike painted green a shade never used my the NAZI'S on the BMW. which was under 500cc and barely 35 BHP. Gotta call bullchit on this one.
4 роки тому
Why modify the bike when NO AMERICANS took part in the Great Escape???????????
@rontylees First of all...the fence is exactly the same height. Secondly, Steve McQueen didn't actually do the stunt, a stuntman did. Third, you're full of shit.....Lambretta my ass! A Lambretta would be beyond your ability to even ride on the street let alone do any stunts on.
Steve.. Budd and Triumphs..The recipe of cool forever chuck in a soundtrack thats instantly recognised..Set for life
I saw this movie when it was new. I later owned several triumph motorcycles over the following years. Riding a vintage triumph is a religous experience!!
Bud Ekins, a friend of McQueen's and a stuntman/motorcycle racer did the jump. The insurance company would not allow Steve to do the jump even though he could have, and wanted to. I had that poster in my room as a kid and it was obvious it was Bud and not Steve. Oh, and it was NOT a barbed wire fence. It was a wire fence with thousands of little pieces of rubber bands tied on it and painted silver to simulate a barbed wire fence. They needed so many of those tied on that many of the actors in the movie spent hours tying them on. It was a great effect because even close up it looked like the real thing. This was discussed in a documentary film on the making of this wonderful movie. I think it is still here on UA-cam.
"What they lacked in equipment, they sure made up with balls. Wow."
That pretty much sums up classic film-making.
Great video, the Metisse is beautiful the 650 Triumph motor, awesome sound, Hence why I went out and bought one!!!! Don't know why people leave nasty comments, if the guy doesn't want to wear any protection then so what, it's his life, I sometimes take gambles in life, my life, my call, the only thing I would say, If I was producing this then I would have tried it with the exact same running rear, ie" frame (if possible), Steve McQueen is a true hero, king of cool.
Steve insisted on motorcycles in the film. Excellent decision!
idc if that jump was as big as the orignal or not, that was awesome to jump something like an ol triumph. there is a triumph dealer by my way i want to check it out see whats going on. I love these old things.
I doubt the original Triumph was modified much at all for McQueen's/Ekin's jump in the original film. Those fellas were riding Triumph twins in all sorts of racing back in the day and knew them well and what they could do. The layout of the jump I'm sure was well situated as a plan, Ekins and his brother Dave were experts in that time and were always at the top of the motorcycle racing news in the '50s and '60s. They went on to ride early Honda scrambler CL72s in Baja test trials to promote the brand and it worked great for them. I was jumping a Matchless 500 scrambler for some shows in Mexico in '62 and it was mostly intuition and verve that carried it through, it was not a great feat otherwise.
I've owned similar bikes, and can't imagine jumping them very high. Other than using the stiffest shocks, and pre-loading the fork springs, can't think of what could be done to prep a road bike for such a stunt.
@@xzqzq Fwiw, I jumped over a pickup and had no landing ramp. I was riding a Matchless 500 scrambler, brand new in 1962. When I landed from the highest jump, it bent the handlebars slightly and stripped out the rear shocks where the body attached to the bottom bracket. I estimate the jump was as high as the one for the movie, perhaps higher and was done on a level surface of a baseball diamond. Ekin's jump was made slightly uphill which reduces the landing impact. We were all pushing boundaries, not with the greatest for foresight.... .
We didn't see the take off zone. Was there a ramp? In the movie it certainly looked like it was pure terrain. He also had to contend with a second barbed wire fence on the far side. Nice Metise.
Hollywood aside ...The great escape was real ..I work on a old RAF base in Nottinghamshire ...1943 was a Bloody year of losses for the squadron based at Langar, they lost 247 Airmen and ground crew that year. One of the members of 207 squadron, that was based there in 1943 was a an Airmen named Dennis oliver Street, He was in the real great escape,from stalag 3, after He escaped, he was captured by the gestapo and murdered at the side of the road.
Good video!! bike sounds great.
That must be the most amazing feeling ever to do the jump from The great escape!
🇫🇷Octobre 2021
Dire que 58 ans après
Le monde entier connaît
"Cool Man"
Eh Steve !!!!
Repose en paix🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷
On pense à toi 🙏
Love this. Sad to say my riding has been whittled down to local and off hours since the invention of the cell phone. Too many riders in the news losing their lives
I hear ya! A few years back a riding buddy was killed by a texting teenager. They've named a state law after him. Another buddy t-boned a woman that blew a stop sign. Fractures. Then a couple months ago a young lady decided to turn left right into my path like she never saw me.... Two blocks from home. Things have deteriorated quickly!
@@BritIronRebel its unfuckingbelievable. Just yesterday im making a left and the guy starts going while Im DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF HIS CAR!! He sees me and apologizes but Im not accepting as I shake my head and mouth the word asshole. Im not giving up but the thought of selling keeps creeping in.
Top stuff gents ... great to back up the old time stunt riders on there heavy iron. Evel Knievel used to jump some pretty heavy old machines as well including a 750 Laverda branded as an American Eagle.
Thanks for this one.
That desert racer sounds well good
Top bloke ,great jump .
These Pommy bikes were a big part of my youth, so naturally I still like them, yeh there are better bikes today but for some reason they don't seem to sound as good...
having the right equipment is important.
This is a completely different bike!
Great jump well explained
Great !!!!
sounds awesome!
Rumor has it, without the studio's knowledge, Steve made the jump (off camera) just to see if he could do it.
Now I want to ride once again.
See this bike at the Ace cafe this sunday. It's a mud plugger day so get muddy on your off roader before hand and then pop up there to see it! Cant wait to hear it fired up!
Simply SUPERB!!!!!!
When men were men and sheep were scared!
this is hot stuff man
Nice stunt
amen great movie
The jump was very impressive and took a lot of balls to execute. But it did not duplicate the original. Go to the original site and set the fence up to the same specifications as the movie and then you can prove something. And don't tell me you can't find an original Triumph.
Loved it, any more please?
Barbed wire was string with rubber bands for the "barbs". Locals spent a lot of time making the "barbed wire
@contributor34 I don't know exactly where THEY get them, but it makes sense since more Triumphs were sold in the USA than in England. It's not hard to locate a matching numbers bike for sale no matter where you live in the USA. I have 3 myself.
The stuntman that did this in the movie had his own used motorcycle shop in North Hollywood, California in the 1970's - 1980's where he sat around bullshitting with his friends.
Bud Ekins. He was a very good friend of Steve's and, they were both on the American Trials team that went to Europe to compete.
@BritIronRebel Yeah, but that's my point, it's not the exact jump! Etkins jumped from a natural divot in the earth, what did this guy jump off? We don't know, because it's not shown in the shot. Also, Etkins jumped it at an angle, this guy jumped it straight on.
triumph parrallel always a top motor.
The heavy parts of the motorcycle that could be change had been changed to make it much lighter. Bud Ekins did that jump, please don't suggest it was doctored in any way. The technology did not exist in 1963.
So why is Guy Martin trying to prove history yet again ?, all he ever seems to do is to try to get his name up in lights on the back of someone else's previous achievments.
I would love a Metisse.
Guy Martin?
How Cool 😎!...
In the movie he jumped over the fence sidewise, and here je jumped strait.
the original stunt bike was a standard pre unit single monobloc carb T110, not a rickman metisse tuned up unit TR6, my 1964 stock 650 thunderbird that you can see in my avatar will do well over a 100mph and would easily clear that fence, Its a different world entirely trying to do It on an older pre unit.
Didnt the stuntman in the orignal jump the frence sideways? He jump straight over this frence?
Yes, the original movie stuntman approached the fence at a very shallow angle.
@@stephenrichey8487 back then. Proper stunts . Not like we have today in cgi
Evel Knievel jumps a triumph 650 father than that..lol..cool vid!! triumph, tried and true!!
you seriously going to bad mouth a re-enactment of the best motorcycle jump in movie history along with one of the greatest movies/ war movies ever made boy girl what ever you are you need to get a life and stop ruining others.
best motorcycle jump in movie history - that's laughable.
Yes it was good but there are so many better, especially in the last 20 years.
I agree with you on that
Great ! Thanks for posting.
What?! No barbed wire? 😆😆😆. Awesome!
The bike is "similar" in engine only. It's a '60s Rickman MX replica and far better set up for this sort of thing than the stock-framed Triumphs Ekins (and Evel Knievel) used. The stock Triumph frames used to break under just normal road use. I've seen the evidence.
As far as I am aware this was Alan Bott’s machine that was used in this video which was #6 off the production line. If your interested here is a closer look at the bike I filmed in January 2018. ua-cam.com/video/txF3IzPGZ8A/v-deo.html
I agree the stunt here isn't as impressive as the original. He did jump it sideways, which would demand more air time. Plus, the bike wasn't nearly as set-up for jumping as this one is.
SO much hype. Yes it was difficult, but not as hard as they made it sound.
And it is so heavy at 300 pounds " you have to be brave to jump a 6 foot fence on a 300 pound bike " i guess these blokes havent ridden any japanese adventure bikes lately like an africa twin at a little over 500 pounds serviced and ready to go jump or crash ...compare the BMW 1200 GS adventure bike loaded with full gear 600plus ? The dual sport KLR650 weighs over 300 ..i used to ride the XR600R with a Baja Designs street legal lighting kit that was just under 300 pounds and jumping in 6 feet in the air will give you quite a thrill .i bought my 1st africa twin a few months ago and still making mods to make it feel some what capable of handling a dirt road ..but its still no where trust worthy as the honda stunt riders on you tube appear to be blasting the CRF1000L off of sand bluffs in the african deserts ...turn off the traction control and mine just wants to smoke the rear tire on pavement or throw a roost of rocks on dirt roads...back in the early 50s through 1968-69 it was triumph , bsa , norton and harley on the mile and in the woods as your common open class off road bikes ....
@BritIronRebel If they were going to re-enact the EXACT jump, then they would have showed entire the jump like they did in the film, including the approach and the actual take-off, and jumped at the exact same spot. Note in the film, Etkins jumps at an angle; this guy jumps perpendicular.
I saw the movie I could not figure why McQueen did not walk or drag the bike under the dam fence..
They should have used the 2011 Steve McQueen Limited Edition instead....
👍🇺🇸❤🇬🇧🇮🇲
22 feet? Hmmmm I've just reviewed Bud Elkins's jump. The barrier in the movie - the horizntal bar is between chest high / shoulder high. The fence he doesn't jump and can't clear is about 22 feet. I suggest you google The Jump and the Fence.When Steve is lying on the ground and the German troops arrive it's pretty obvious it's not a 22 foot fence - unless the troops are about 26 feet tall. The fence in this video looks about the same height to me.
Was not the bike in the film rigid?
@Ghawdxi
The whole reason for this video is to re-enact the exact jump. I seriously don't believe they "cheated" in any way.
Oh yeah they did....The Rickman is so much lighter and more powerful than the old Triumph that Bud Ekins used.....there's no comparison. Very disappointing.
@Tom Nekuda The only modifications to the Triumph were sidecar fork springs and heavier shocks on the rear.
Doesn't that Trumpet sound the dog's wotsits? Nice vid.
That bike should be named 'Brexit'
Hilts could NEVER jump that 2nd fence. it was waaaay too high though.
how much this bike?
www.metisse-motorcycles.com/motorcycle/steve-mcqueen-desert-racer/
That bike was too weighty for that second jump. No barbed wire!
hardly sensei, it's meant to be as close to the original stunt as possible, the bloke who did it first time round did not have a bash hat a jacket or gloves.
There goes a organ doner
That Rickman is a way better bike than Bud Adkins had.
Bud Ekins.
May be he wouldn't be so scarred if he had worn a helmet.
Thet stated that tis bike was pushing about three hundred pounds. If that is true then my 71 Husky would have been a much better and is at 218 lbs.
That's the weight of the bike used in the video here. But the bike used the the movie was MUCH heavier!
for what the video??? and stunt????
Nice bike, lame jump; notice that they didn't even show him hitting the jump or the approach, just the decent. For all we know the ramp was the same height as the fence!
My favorite stunt was when Piglet halfheartedly tries to climb the fence in broad daylight and gets shot to death by the guard tower.
You guys are making a huge deal out of a jump an average motocrosser wouldn't even think about. Just sayin
I agree... Except the actual movie jump was on a 1960's Triumph road bike, not a motocrosser.
Well then it's not a very scary jump.
Learn to read. I never criticized the film or the original jump.
if you watch the movie ud understand y
Why is anyone WAISTING time & money just to figure this out?...stupid....just watch the movie & you can see that it was done.
As you can see the fence is the seat height of the bike? You can jump that fence WITHOUT a motorcycle.
The barrier Bud Ekin's DID jump was over 22 feet high at 45 mph. McQueen. did make several approachs but never reached that speed in the grass. Plus it was a stock bike painted green a shade never used my the NAZI'S on the BMW. which was under 500cc and barely 35 BHP.
Gotta call bullchit on this one.
Why modify the bike when NO AMERICANS took part in the Great Escape???????????
not even a helmet wot a pratt
The Gay...t Escape Re-Enacted
Тhis moviе is nоw аvailable toоo waatch here => twitter.com/cb0ea07cb20be2b0e/status/822781710446170113 Thе Grеаt Еscape Rе Enaaасted
@rontylees First of all...the fence is exactly the same height. Secondly, Steve McQueen didn't actually do the stunt, a stuntman did. Third, you're full of shit.....Lambretta my ass! A Lambretta would be beyond your ability to even ride on the street let alone do any stunts on.