As a kid we all built bike ramps and would come home with knots on our heads, big bruises on our stomachs from twisted handlebars jamming into us, loose teeth, and trashed bikes. But we also had big ole smiles on our faces too!
@proodjjuice-hz5sn Yeah man, I'm tired of Boomers thinking they did everything when in reality it's their generation that gave birth to capitalism, racism, intolerance, reckless progress, sugar in everything. And while the 1% who truly adopted these means to serve their agendas are living in their old money castles, the 99% who were indoctrinated to believe in ideas that were only detrimental to them would end up like this guy right here who's only claim to fame is that he's from the generation that 'did it all'. Yeah, working 9 to 5 being someone else's passive income, paying mortgages and car insurance for 40 years, sure sounds like the OG gen.
My toy Evel Knievel I had for a week at Christmas then it went missing. I knew the dog had taken it, it wasn't until 12 years later when moving home that my mum said (having dug up her roses in the garden) John, I've found your Evel Knievel (I was 18), I said it's too bloody late now. The dog had taken it and obviously buried it, the little blighter. 😂
53 years old -- Back when Evel Knievel was making these jumps my heroes were Ultraman, Muhammad Ali, and Evel Knievel. BEST HEROES A KID COULD GROW UP WITH EVER!!!! Love the 1970's.
I was there. Nine years old. Seems like another world now. He and Roger Staubach were my heroes. Thanks for posting and allowing that little walk down memory lane this morning.
Yes! I have an autographed photo of Roger Staubach in my office and will never forget watching Evil Knievel as a kid. Man, things sure have changed since then...
Now that I'm older I was wondering why he did those jumps on Harleys???? They must of been his sponsor..Fuking Insane Suicide mission jumping on those. His son & modern day jumpers use lightweight dirtbikes made for that...
@@rosstempletonogskater they also do backflips front flips double backflips 360s and all kind of tricks he could never dream of although he was a revolutionary for the sport.
I saw that live on TV when I was growing up in Willoughby Ohio USA . It was very exciting time !!! We were getting closer to 200 years of freedom we were proud to be Americans . I still am I just don't like our politicians
I’m thinking, given the type of politicians that have consistently been elected and re-elected since those days, that the US of A may not be around to celebrate the tricentennial.
Wide world of sports was great in the 60&70s w/ Chris Schenkel. Miss that show, Howard Coselle & Ali ,it was great. Don't forget the demolition derby from Islip NY!!
Born in 71, this guy was my hero. To this day I love jumping dirt bikes and bicycles. My son loves jumping bicycles as well and has been all over the world competing with the best in the sport. Basically because of a seed Evel planted in my head almost 50 years ago with the stunt cycle toys!!! LEGEND!!
Loved this guy growing up in the 1970's. I knew and hung out with him in the mid 1990's. I first met him while working at Castle Keep guns in Largo, Florida. He wasn't supposed to own guns but he still came in to check them out. Cool guy but rather grumpy at times. He told me he was in a lot of pain. He told me about some of the crazy stuff he did. He used to keep all his motorcycles and rocket cycle from Snake River Canyon and his touring tractor trailer truck at Jerry's Custom Cars in Clearwater, Florida. I got to check out all his toys. He gave me a tour of his RV just before he left Florida for good. I was lucky to meet my childhood hero. R.I.P. Evel.
I would see him at the golf course in early 90’s in Clearwater. Like you said, he was grumpy. I remember he had a really cool black car and a very pretty wife. He was the coolest thing growing up as a kid
he was actually a huge POS as a person, in real life. Which of course as kids back then, we had no idea, nor did America, more than likely, or they'd have not propelled him to fame. Times were WAY, different back then. Which is why these pols hate todays new methods. It blew their cover
@@frez777 POS? ANY FACTS ON THAT?NEVER BACKED OF A DEAL,NEVER BACKED OUT OF A JUMP...HE BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF ONE MAN BECAUSE THE MAN WROTE A BOOK WITHOUT HIS CONSENT......PLEASE POST YOUR WISDOM ABOUT A MAN YOU DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT........AND KEEP POLITICS OUT OF A DISCUSSION ABOUT EVEL...IT SHOWS YOUR IGNORANCE...............
The jump bike is actually Strutted. Unbelievably this modification eliminates ANY rear suspension action. 0 " suspension travel. Probably because that 600 pound motorcycle coming down would totally collapse any spring/ shock assembly available at the time for a Harley Davidson XR. Unbelievable but true. Look at the video. Those are solid bar stocks where the shocks should be. Truly the man was insane and fearless. RIP Godfather of extreme sports.
@@EzraStyles-b6n i just read police Reports, in the 70s and 80s there was lot of violence in many big cities, even in whole states, Florida for a example, the numbers of murdercases was 3 times higher in the 80s. Another example, 70s NYC was a pretty bad shi*hole. Chicago, La and more cities, Since the 90s the numbers of murdercases got lower.
People here saying Robbie did it. BS. Robbie did it on a modern Motocross bike. Evil did it on a street bike with barely any suspension travel. No comparison
@@craigcomfry4645 Robby and more recent daredevils had the advantage of far more modern equipment suited to what they were doing and I'm sure a lot of careful computer aided research & planning. Evel probably didn't do a whole lot more than get on the bike and give it hell.
I was 10 when he made this jump and I’m still amazed that he did his jumps on a Harley!! It was modified, but still a frickin’ Harley!!!! Today they use dirt bikes, you don’t see anyone doing jumps like this on street bikes. AWESOME!!!
When I was a kid evel was the man. All us kids would pretend to be evel knievel on our bikes. All the evel knievel toys wre out and we all had them. When he had a jump it was always a big deal and would be on tv and we would always watch it. I wish I still had my evel knievel toys and cards. I wish I could have got to see him jump in person. Would have cool to do a meet and greet but never got the opportunity. There were only a few guys that did a few jumps after evel quit. The only one who really kept it alive was his son Robbie. Never see it anymore now. RIP evel.
133' on a Harley Davidson XR- 750 sportster is still pretty damn impressive ! That's no light weight bike either ! Even on a modern-day motocross bike 80' 100' jumps aren't easy taken lightly jumps for most riders ! Broke my back and wrist * knocked out* cold when I came up short and cased it hard on a 100' double !
I watched all his jumps as a kid in the 70's. Watching this now, the guy has no technique and just balls of steel. Plus, that bike certainly ain't made for flying.
@@jasonlacroix6083: I wouldn't say Evel didn't have any technique. Back in his time, he was experimenting with what he thought would work best. On the most part Evel was right on, sometimes he wasn't. Evel most definitely had balls of steel, and then some! lol. And he used a real mans bike.
@@mark675 they are still being used for flat-track racing... And there are few motorcycles that can recapture the resale value more, than a clean Original HD...
@PEACEFUL WARRIOR, Evil Knievel was amazing, nobody else did the things he did on a machine like that... One of the reasons that bike flew so well, was because of the heavy weight of the machine... The kinetic energy it built at high speeds enabled it to sail through the air with a flatter trajectory than a lighter and dirtier aerodynamic drag form of a typical motocross machine.... But it was the landing that caused the damage to his bones & back... Much less energy was absorbed with that 5" travel swing-arm, and 7" travel forks.... IMPACT!!!! Even when he didn't crash the tremendous force of landing was intense... These people really did take their lives into their hands, by doing what they did for a living... Tremendous courage....
What people don’t talk about was that landing ramp actually broke structurally in several places but he still held on.I was there in the bleachers at the age of 9 was lucky enough to get his autograph on the side of my Evil Knievel Scramble Van which I still have along with my stunt bike several of those,chopper,and the sky cycle jet bike.
@@chuckg6039 Chuck look up today in history, October 25, 1975 Cincinnati enquirer on UA-cam. It has a picture of Evel Knievel jumping the Greyhound buses in practice. He wore the dark blue leathers and shows the buses. Big jump of course was in classic white leathers. Great picture!! I've never seen a video of the practice jumps..
@@denniswalter3920 I found a video of Evil's son Robbie in a blue suit. They did some wheelies. That was a cool car like vehicle he drove around. I don't recall that when I was there. Also enjoyed listening to Evil address the crowd before hand about helmets and safety.
EVEL was ahead of his time , as. A kid I remember watching all his jumps on ABC wide world of sports , and I had all his cool toys ,,,, EVEL was the GOAT 🏍🏍👑
I saw Evil at a custom car/bike show, at an indoor colosseum, as a teenager. He preached to the crowd a bit, & then said; “I got something to show you”, & walked off stage behind the curtains. The building sound of a turbine was heard, & getting louder by the seconds. Everyone was covering their ears. Slowly Evil rode out on stage on a turbine jet trike! As he IDLED by, the scorching exhaust heat had the crowd moving back. Truly a rare & unforgettable moment in my youth. I never heard any news about his jet trike afterwards. Evil certainly BLEW us all away!🏆😎.
I use to work with Gene Romero on his flat track racing series he promoted in the 2000s. In the 70s Evel use to sponsor Genes race efforts. So I got to meet Evel at a couple of races we ran where he was Genes guest. It was quite a thrill having watched both these guy’s in the 70s as a kid then as an adult hang out with them at the racetrack. Godspeed to both of these men , will always remember.
The crazy thing is that people only remember his crashes. Nobody ever talks about all the jumps he landed. Just another example that shows that people only remember the things you screw up on, or fail at most of the time.
It's the American way now. Second guess everything and micro scrutinize to make themselves look superior and to make others look like they're some sort of asshole. I don't remember this world being like this in the 20th century
OMG, I used to love watching him do his stunts back then, it was such a huge family event at our house. Plus his action figure was a Must Have at Christmas!!
I really remember this stunt. I would have been 14 years 7 day old on the day of the stunt. My birthday is on October 18, my wife's birthday is 7 years younger, but the day before.
I was there sitting in the grandstand directly to his right as he passed through. I was able to look directly down at him as he went by. A bridge of sorts was built to span a ditch that was behind the grandstand for him to cross as he slowed down after the jump. Awesome to witness this daredevil.
@@chuckg6039 yes he did. I believe (from old memory 😆) it was 10 buses. Your the first I've had tell me they were there too. I'm from Upper Sandusky Ohio. Spent the night before in a Blazer in the field parking lot.
@@crmolnar1 I'm from Columbus. My next door neighbor friends Dad somehow got tickets. We arrived about 2 hours before. Had perfect seats! I think about that day often.
@@chuckg6039 👍 I couldn't miss that show. I've told a lot of people about that experience. Of course the younger crowd doesn't know who he was. It eas truly a great event to witness. After the jump Evel told the press the frame had gotten cracked. He was fortunate to have survived the jump.
@@crmolnar1 I was actually 19 years old. Born in 1956. I recall the practice jump. And yes I recall he broke his frame. I can't recall if after the jump we went into the park and ride rides. I believe we did. Might have been last day of their season. Or maybe they just opened for that event. Can anyone let me know if the park was open that day?
Some of us seen it, anyone born after 1980 only heard about it. We had and lived the best years since civilization began. 1955 - 1990 Whata great ride! Today millennials can’t even figure out directions, written or verbal let alone drive a stick.
As a kid in the 70s there was nothing better than a Saturdays Wild World of Sports with Evel Kneivel jumping then right after that the Harlem Globetrotters
The first internationally known stuntman daredevil of our time, and did it with bikes that were way too heavy and never designed for what he put them through. He did it by feel. No Speedometer, call him crazy but you kinda had to be to do that, and back then he had very few competitors for his crown. There were a few but never got his adoration. In the 1970’s this was what I looked forward to on Wide world of Sports whenever he jumped. A true peoples entertainer, put up with no BS did what he said he was gonna do crash or no crash. One of a kind best describes EK.
Evel Knievel was responsible for the majority of the bumps and bruises on my body throughout my early years as a kid. Who among us didn't build ramps and jump with our bicycles pretending to be Evel Knievel. We all managed to crash like he did most of the time too. Life was good.
Me and my friends would watch Evel on tv and go watch stunt shows at the county fair. The announcers would always say , “ kids , don’t try this at home.” We couldn’t wait to get home lol.
54 YEARS OLD HERE,STILL LIMPING FROM MANY FAILED CANYON JUMPS IN MY DAY!!! LOL STILL RIDING AND STILL JUMPING.....JUST LEARNED TO TUCK N ROLL BETTER!!!
@@whiskeywhiskeyromeo3730 59 yrs, old, Been a 2 wheel guy for life. My wife and I were riding our Harley Road King when a man decided to take a nap while meeting us in his car. We are now below the knee amputees on our left side. That was 2016. Still ride and love it. Call us crazy...
Like so many other boys of this era, I still have the scars to prove that I wanted to be just like him! If mom hadn’t come home at the right time that one day, I probably wouldn’t be typing this now. I had spent the whole day building a large ramp up to the roof of the garage and was about to jump my Yamaha Gt 60 over it. Thanks mom, miss you.
Back in those days we lived in the real world and did it all! I for one am glad there were no iPads, iPhones, social media to keep us from actually having real experiences vs. virtual experiences while growing up.
In '22, my neighbors kid thought about jumping a piece of plywood with a couple of bricks underneath it on either side. They immediately took him to a psychiatrist and he was put on pharmaceuticals
With his technique he'd be dead. I think he just had balls of solid rock. Every fiber in his body screaming, "don't do this!". While his two testies are telling him, "let's go break a bunch of bones.".
@@jasonlacroix6083 NOT TRUE........HE WAS A EARLY PIONEER IN MOTORCYCLE JUMPING/STUNTS....NOT MUCH OF A BLUE PRINT IN THOSE DAYS.........THE MX MOTORCYCLES OF THIS ERA WERE NOT MUCH BETTER,,,,HE RODE THE STRET BIKES BECAUSE HE NEEDED THE SPEED THAT THE MX BIKES DIDNT HAVE............EVEL WAS SCARED ONLY ONCE DURING HIS JUMPING DAYS I CANT REMEBER WHICH JUMP IT WAS BUT HE TOOK A DOULBLE TURKEY OUT OF THE CANE THAT DAY
I was 5 years old and lived about 45 minutes from Kings Island. I've been there probably more than 100 times over the years. But I still wish I was there to see that jump.
ya and evel did it on a sportster . (a monster of a bike) . not a tiny little dirt bike .and practice wasn`t jumping into a big pile of foam .practice was trying not to hit the ground .
Progress is incredible. At my local MX track there are multiple 100' plus jumps. It's literally nothing for the skilled riders to hit them lap after lap. Although it would be more difficult if you added 250 lbs to the bike and removed the suspension. I always wondered why he chose the worst possible bikes. MX was a thing. There were machines that were WAY more capable than the junk he rode. He was brave, but not bright lol
I loved him back then, but I also wondered why he jumped a flat track bike. He could have had someone build him some long travel shocks for the back of a Harley 250, so he could still fly the colors. Maybe a longer swingarm and longer travel forks. He could have been part of that innovation. I don't think anyone ever told him about stabbing the back brake when he was too high up front. I bet he thought that he was going to loop it on this jump and really didn't want to have that happen at speed on wood and pavement, not that dirt would make a difference.
@@techs1smh13 Yeah that fits well with the narrative of Evel the American Hero, but it's just not true. He rode Harleys for several years, but he jumped Triumphs, Nortons, even a Honda. Ironically Harley turfed his sponsorship in the late 70's. However, all of the bikes he chose were basically crap for his intended purpose. He was known as a motorcycle jumper, but mostly he was a motorcycle crasher that just didn't have the sense to either quit or actually figure out the right way to jump a motorcycle.
I think with the extremely limited suspension travel of that bike, a rear wheel touchdown was the best option. On several jumps where he landed squarely the suspension bottomed hard and bounced him out of control.
@@donaldculp3759 - Watch more modern jumpers on better equipment. They don't land NEARLY as front wheel high as Evel did. Much closer to flat. Of course, they have much better suspended bikes today, but even back then, if Evel wasn't so hung up on using a Harley, he could've ridden a much better bike with any of the MX bikes of the day, and beginning in I think 1975, I think is when the longer travel mono-shocks came out. Better still.
@@NoelKerns I'm not disagreeing, but you can't compare today's bike - this was 50 years ago - Yamaha had barely come out with the first mono-shock. As a dirt racer myself, on a regular Yamaha, trust me, you had the front wheel up - ok, not as much perhaps as Evel, but you had to rely on your back suspension then bring the front down - just like an airliner even today. It was about weight ratio back then and the back was simply stronger AND the last thing you wanted was the front fork twisting on you (Caesar Palace jump).
@@donaldculp3759 - Oh, I know...I had a first-year YZ-80 in 1974 or so. We ALL landed much more back wheel then, when the suspension travel was so short. But he could've helped himself out a LOT with a better bike, and not have HAD to land as extremely nose up as he did in this video, for example.
As a kid we all built bike ramps and would come home with knots on our heads, big bruises on our stomachs from twisted handlebars jamming into us, loose teeth, and trashed bikes. But we also had big ole smiles on our faces too!
Ditto
Yep...split my 20 inch Huffy in half doing jumps!
😂 Uncompensated Stunter 🚲 😎👍
Same here brotha! 👍🏼
now they sit on top of E bikes. don't even pedal anymore. how is that saving anything?
1966 here. The Evel generation. The first generation that brought you today's extreme sports and x type games.
We lived the life!!
Extreme sports are not new but Evel made it Mainstream
And what exactly was your contribution to it all?
@proodjjuice-hz5sn Yeah man, I'm tired of Boomers thinking they did everything when in reality it's their generation that gave birth to capitalism, racism, intolerance, reckless progress, sugar in everything.
And while the 1% who truly adopted these means to serve their agendas are living in their old money castles, the 99% who were indoctrinated to believe in ideas that were only detrimental to them would end up like this guy right here who's only claim to fame is that he's from the generation that 'did it all'. Yeah, working 9 to 5 being someone else's passive income, paying mortgages and car insurance for 40 years, sure sounds like the OG gen.
@@AjayBagga9 they made extreme sports mainstream
My toy Evel Knievel I had for a week at Christmas then it went missing. I knew the dog had taken it, it wasn't until 12 years later when moving home that my mum said (having dug up her roses in the garden) John, I've found your Evel Knievel (I was 18), I said it's too bloody late now. The dog had taken it and obviously buried it, the little blighter. 😂
The Godfather of extreme sports.
Man when I was kid I never missed one of his jumps on TV
53 years old -- Back when Evel Knievel was making these jumps my heroes were Ultraman, Muhammad Ali, and Evel Knievel. BEST HEROES A KID COULD GROW UP WITH EVER!!!! Love the 1970's.
Wish I was around back then.
@@billystink4611 no you don't, you'd be 3/4 dead right now
@@mikehoncho9344 True, but I don’t know if the future is bright enough that I would care all that much if I was old.
@@billystink4611 that's exactly what I've been talking to myself about
Late 70s were good times. Before Reaganomics and pissing on all of US took ahold.
I was there. Nine years old. Seems like another world now. He and Roger Staubach were my heroes. Thanks for posting and allowing that little walk down memory lane this morning.
Sure we believe you. Your mother was there too. Right behind the stands and she was gobbling on man sausage for a few bucks.
Yes! I have an autographed photo of Roger Staubach in my office and will never forget watching Evil Knievel as a kid. Man, things sure have changed since then...
Ole Roger the Dodger " Capt.America. The older I get the more I respect him. Just came up short against that Steel Curtain!
That’s cool I remember watching Eddie the kid on tv with my late father … I miss the good old days. Ride safe lads ✊🏻
as others have commented...the jump is VERY impressive....the fact that he did it on pretty much a super heavy street bike is INSANE. Love it.
That is a xr750 not a street HD. But it still weighs around 300 lbs.
@@TedMeyer-us6uk thanks for clarification..but, yea, thats a H@LL of a jump with that kind of bike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now that I'm older I was wondering why he did those jumps on Harleys???? They must of been his sponsor..Fuking Insane Suicide mission jumping on those. His son & modern day jumpers use lightweight dirtbikes made for that...
@@rosstempletonogskater they also do backflips front flips double backflips 360s and all kind of tricks he could never dream of although he was a revolutionary for the sport.
That bike had a custom aluminum frame. I recall the wet weight being 360 lbs.
Such a badass! I remember having his action figure and motorcycle that you wound up with the crank back in the 70s.
YUP I HAD THEM ALSO...WORTH A SMALL FORTUNE TODAY...........
Did you try to jump your garage with it like Red Forman? xD
I had the Snake Canyon rocket set. So cool. Seventies toys were the best.
No love for GI Joe with the Kung fo grip?
I wanted that toy so bad for Christmas back in the day, but it was always sold out everywhere
My dad took my friend Dave and me to see this jump it was rainy and windy but he jumped anyway and nailed it! He was the world's greatest showman.
The world's greatest Snowman was Frosty.
I saw that live on TV when I was growing up in Willoughby Ohio USA . It was very exciting time !!! We were getting closer to 200 years of freedom we were proud to be Americans . I still am I just don't like our politicians
You stopped in Willoughby? I heard it's a place for a good long rest... in the twighlight zone
@@grantyentis5507 ha, my first thought too
@@grantyentis5507 What's wrong with Willoughby?
@@willybones3890 you have to be a Twilight Zone fan to understand.
I’m thinking, given the type of politicians that have consistently been elected and re-elected since those days, that the US of A may not be around to celebrate the tricentennial.
I remember looking forward to watching his jumps on Wide World of Sports on Sundays on ABC.
Wide world of sports was great in the 60&70s w/ Chris Schenkel. Miss that show, Howard Coselle & Ali ,it was great. Don't forget the demolition derby from Islip NY!!
I Was 17 When He Did This & Don't Forget The Movie (1971). It Was A Great Time To Be In To Motorcycles & Thanks For The Upload!
Born in 71, this guy was my hero. To this day I love jumping dirt bikes and bicycles. My son loves jumping bicycles as well and has been all over the world competing with the best in the sport. Basically because of a seed Evel planted in my head almost 50 years ago with the stunt cycle toys!!! LEGEND!!
Motorcycle crash when I was 13. Stunt cycle got me through 3 months in body cast
My childhood hero.. Loved the evil stunt bike.. And black Marauder that popped a wheelie. Rest in peace mr Knievel
@@respectall333
_"Evel"_
This could easily be done on a modern MX bike but to do it on that lead sled is impressive
Don't know why he used it
@@melgrant7404 $$$$
Not on that approach, BMX Bike would need a steep take off ramp for that distance.
BMX bike? Yea ok someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about shouldn’t speak.
@1122reyes the statement was 'Modern BMX Bike' hun
Lame to comment but not read the thread hun
Loved this guy growing up in the 1970's. I knew and hung out with him in the mid 1990's. I first met him while working at Castle Keep guns in Largo, Florida. He wasn't supposed to own guns but he still came in to check them out. Cool guy but rather grumpy at times. He told me he was in a lot of pain. He told me about some of the crazy stuff he did. He used to keep all his motorcycles and rocket cycle from Snake River Canyon and his touring tractor trailer truck at Jerry's Custom Cars in Clearwater, Florida. I got to check out all his toys. He gave me a tour of his RV just before he left Florida for good. I was lucky to meet my childhood hero. R.I.P. Evel.
great story! thanks for sharing!
Man, thanks for sharing that. So cool. I remember reading in a biography that he suffered a lot of pain. A true hero indeed
Take your meds
I would see him at the golf course in early 90’s in Clearwater. Like you said, he was grumpy. I remember he had a really cool black car and a very pretty wife. He was the coolest thing growing up as a kid
The rear suspension must have at least 2 inches of travel!!
You were the man evil
an 1" on both sides.
he was actually a huge POS as a person, in real life. Which of course as kids back then, we had no idea, nor did America, more than likely, or they'd have not propelled him to fame. Times were WAY, different back then. Which is why these pols hate todays new methods. It blew their cover
@@frez777 POS? ANY FACTS ON THAT?NEVER BACKED OF A DEAL,NEVER BACKED OUT OF A JUMP...HE BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF ONE MAN BECAUSE THE MAN WROTE A BOOK WITHOUT HIS CONSENT......PLEASE POST YOUR WISDOM ABOUT A MAN YOU DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT........AND KEEP POLITICS OUT OF A DISCUSSION ABOUT EVEL...IT SHOWS YOUR IGNORANCE...............
@@frez777 Can you elaborate? I'm lazy and don't like doing research, lol.
The jump bike is actually Strutted. Unbelievably this modification eliminates ANY rear suspension action. 0 " suspension travel. Probably because that 600 pound motorcycle coming down would totally collapse any spring/ shock assembly available at the time for a Harley Davidson XR. Unbelievable but true. Look at the video. Those are solid bar stocks where the shocks should be. Truly the man was insane and fearless. RIP Godfather of extreme sports.
Growing up in the 70s was the best
you got that right...everything was better , music, movies, women....let me go back, just for one day
@@EzraStyles-b6n And lead poisoning!
@@EzraStyles-b6n there was way more violence in the past in USA
@@borntoclimb7116 are you being sarcastic or do you actually believe that
@@EzraStyles-b6n i just read police Reports, in the 70s and 80s there was lot of violence in many big cities, even in whole states, Florida for a example, the numbers of murdercases was 3 times higher in the 80s. Another example,
70s NYC was a pretty bad shi*hole. Chicago, La and more cities, Since the 90s the numbers of murdercases got lower.
Evel was the original “hold my beer” man.
Videos like this is what UA-cam is made for. This definitely deserves millions upon millions of views
I am 67 and remember Evil Knievel well. NOBODY has duplicated and done what he did. Absolutely the best!
Actually his son Robbie repeated his father's Caesars Palace jump, the one Evel crashed, only Robbie thru in a full 360 loop in the process.
Robbie ? Remember
People here saying Robbie did it. BS. Robbie did it on a modern Motocross bike. Evil did it on a street bike with barely any suspension travel. No comparison
@@craigcomfry4645 he did it so stop the crap
@@craigcomfry4645 Robby and more recent daredevils had the advantage of far more modern equipment suited to what they were doing and I'm sure a lot of careful computer aided research & planning. Evel probably didn't do a whole lot more than get on the bike and give it hell.
I was 10 when he made this jump and I’m still amazed that he did his jumps on a Harley!! It was modified, but still a frickin’ Harley!!!! Today they use dirt bikes, you don’t see anyone doing jumps like this on street bikes. AWESOME!!!
I was thinking the same thing!
Unreal...
Not sure but, I think it was a Triumph??
@@stevehamman4465 Evil switched to Harley. He wanted to use an American made motorcycle.
He had used both but that bike appears to be a flat track Harley Davidson Sportster.
@@mickangio16 XR750 - The Sportster street bike was styled after the XR750 which was a competition only dirt track bike. Evel jumped XR750s.
When I was a kid evel was the man. All us kids would pretend to be evel knievel on our bikes. All the evel knievel toys wre out and we all had them. When he had a jump it was always a big deal and would be on tv and we would always watch it. I wish I still had my evel knievel toys and cards. I wish I could have got to see him jump in person. Would have cool to do a meet and greet but never got the opportunity. There were only a few guys that did a few jumps after evel quit. The only one who really kept it alive was his son Robbie. Never see it anymore now. RIP evel.
Nitrocircus is all about keeping it alive evel would be proud.
Haha. My brother called me Idiot K'nidiot!
Skycycle!!!!
133' on a Harley Davidson XR- 750
sportster
is still pretty damn impressive !
That's no light weight bike either !
Even on a modern-day motocross bike 80' 100' jumps aren't easy taken lightly jumps for most riders !
Broke my back and wrist
* knocked out* cold when I came up short and cased it hard on a 100' double !
I watched all his jumps as a kid in the 70's. Watching this now, the guy has no technique and just balls of steel. Plus, that bike certainly ain't made for flying.
@@jasonlacroix6083: I wouldn't say Evel didn't have any technique. Back in his time, he was experimenting with what he thought would work best. On the most part Evel was right on, sometimes he wasn't. Evel most definitely had balls of steel, and then some! lol. And he used a real mans bike.
@@MGB18 real man's bike? A f**king Harley? Are you for real?
@@mark675 they are still being used for flat-track racing... And there are few motorcycles that can recapture the resale value more, than a clean Original HD...
@PEACEFUL WARRIOR, Evil Knievel was amazing, nobody else did the things he did on a machine like that... One of the reasons that bike flew so well, was because of the heavy weight of the machine... The kinetic energy it built at high speeds enabled it to sail through the air with a flatter trajectory than a lighter and dirtier aerodynamic drag form of a typical motocross machine.... But it was the landing that caused the damage to his bones & back... Much less energy was absorbed with that 5" travel swing-arm, and 7" travel forks.... IMPACT!!!! Even when he didn't crash the tremendous force of landing was intense... These people really did take their lives into their hands, by doing what they did for a living... Tremendous courage....
What people don’t talk about was that landing ramp actually broke structurally in several places but he still held on.I was there in the bleachers at the age of 9 was lucky enough to get his autograph on the side of my Evil Knievel Scramble Van which I still have along with my stunt bike several of those,chopper,and the sky cycle jet bike.
Was there too. Didn't he do a shorter practice jump?
He successfully jumped on 10 buses twice that day in warmups.
@@denniswalter3920 Glad you confirmed as that's what I too recall. Love thinking back to that day. I had perfect seats!
@@chuckg6039 Chuck look up today in history, October 25, 1975 Cincinnati enquirer on UA-cam. It has a picture of Evel Knievel jumping the Greyhound buses in practice. He wore the dark blue leathers and shows the buses. Big jump of course was in classic white leathers. Great picture!! I've never seen a video of the practice jumps..
@@denniswalter3920 I found a video of Evil's son Robbie in a blue suit. They did some wheelies. That was a cool car like vehicle he drove around. I don't recall that when I was there. Also enjoyed listening to Evil address the crowd before hand about helmets and safety.
No doubt the undisputed King! RIP Evel....
king of crash
@@vart7767: How many successful jumps have you made on heavy bikes? LOL.
@@MGB18
The same number I felt comfortable trying to make!!
*ZERO!!!!!*
@@vart7767And you’re the king of safe spaces.
I was there with my mom, dad and my brother. My dad worked for ABC so we got in for free to a lot of stuff like this.
I was 15 at the time cool as hell long live the king
He was a really bad person ngl
He always had time for the kids. Always.
You're now 62
Cool video. Was only 2 years old when he made this jump, but I love watching all of his jumps and his son's, as well.
Aussie Robbie Maddison riding a modern jumping suspension type bike, flew 390’-4” and before his jump had dedicated it to his hero Evil Knievel!
Cool.
Im your 3rd like
Yeah, that was awesome
I saw that jump too, on YT.... Just amazing...
Twice the power and torque crap loads for suspension play and approximately 150 lbs less motorcycle... but still absolutely incredible
He made it look so easy. Viva Evel.
He was my hero as a kid in the 70s. I have the scars to prove it. #onlyinamerica 🇺🇸❤️🇺🇸❤️
Getting ready for neck surgery from being a 70s kids, 60s baby but 70s kid
@@whiskeywhiskeyromeo3730 Well a speedy recovery to you WWR.. Yeah I’d say we’re lucky to still be here. Lol. I still ride every week. 🤠👊🏼🇺🇸
@@mr.roaddogwade7107 thanks buddy had to stop long time ago....be careful but enjoy life....peace out!
EVEL was ahead of his time , as. A kid I remember watching all his jumps on ABC wide world of sports , and I had all his cool toys ,,,,
EVEL was the GOAT 🏍🏍👑
" The thrill of Victory the agony of defeat" & then that poor ski jumper bit it!
I reckon he was my hero back then. What do we have now?
Evel was the original and that’s what makes him badasss.
Pride. About what, I dont know.
He was a prick in real life........
I saw Evil at a custom car/bike show, at an indoor colosseum, as a teenager. He preached to the crowd a bit, & then said; “I got something to show you”, & walked off stage behind the curtains. The building sound of a turbine was heard, & getting louder by the seconds. Everyone was covering their ears. Slowly Evil rode out on stage on a turbine jet trike! As he IDLED by, the scorching exhaust heat had the crowd moving back. Truly a rare & unforgettable moment in my youth. I never heard any news about his jet trike afterwards. Evil certainly BLEW us all away!🏆😎.
Hero.. American hero...could not wait for wide world of sports to show the next jump.
Did it all on a Harley Davidson.
Some would say 'in spite of'
The mighty XR.
An instant hit would be these guys today replicating these jumps on the exact same bikes.. zero mods.
Let's see how tough they are..
I have a mint free ( hardly ever used, no rust at all ) metal Lunch Box of Evel Knievel
How much would it cost ( under auction) ?
Apart from Norton’s in the early years
I use to work with Gene Romero on his flat track racing series he promoted in the 2000s. In the 70s Evel use to sponsor Genes race efforts. So I got to meet Evel at a couple of races we ran where he was Genes guest. It was quite a thrill having watched both these guy’s in the 70s as a kid then as an adult hang out with them at the racetrack.
Godspeed to both of these men , will always remember.
People just would not DO this these days. Not on a heavy ass Harley with no balance. Its hard to believe he didn't die doing these stunts.
Check the rear suspension or lack of,
Balls of granite
He was seriously injured on many occasions and ended his life a drooling paralysed vegetable, simpleton.
@@DavidKing-jx3sg Now you know why the back of the bike drops when he would jump! The weight of those kahunas!
@@markfox1545 But he didn't die doing the stunts, as Randy specifically mentioned in the original comment, simpleton.
I was 9 years old and man such a big fan of his. I had the wind up toy and played with that all the time.
The crazy thing is that people only remember his crashes. Nobody ever talks about all the jumps he landed. Just another example that shows that people only remember the things you screw up on, or fail at most of the time.
Richard Nixon, OJ Simpson, Edward VIII, Dennis Connor, Harry S Truman, & Harold Holt, to name but a few.
The crashes are way more entertaining though
It's the American way now. Second guess everything and micro scrutinize to make themselves look superior and to make others look like they're some sort of asshole. I don't remember this world being like this in the 20th century
@@monolithgeometry3221 that'll be because you're choosing not to
I remember them all....sadly nobody today cares about the successful jumps....
He was the biggest thing in the 1970s. There will never be a stunt man like him again.
Not only did America watch but he was very popular up here in Canada too 🇺🇸🇨🇦
The hand-crank Evel bike was probably the best toy ever.
Had one.
Still have one
Give the man his due. That bike was a dinosaur. Slow, heavy, barely any suspension, marginal brakes. Unreal he could pull off any jumps successfully
OMG, I used to love watching him do his stunts back then, it was such a huge family event at our house. Plus his action figure was a Must Have at Christmas!!
I really remember this stunt. I would have been 14 years 7 day old on the day of the stunt. My birthday is on October 18, my wife's birthday is 7 years younger, but the day before.
Despite what you see today, it is still exciting to see Evel jump.
I was there sitting in the grandstand directly to his right as he passed through. I was able to look directly down at him as he went by. A bridge of sorts was built to span a ditch that was behind the grandstand for him to cross as he slowed down after the jump. Awesome to witness this daredevil.
I was there too. As I recall, didn't he do a shorter practice jump?
@@chuckg6039 yes he did. I believe (from old memory 😆) it was 10 buses. Your the first I've had tell me they were there too. I'm from Upper Sandusky Ohio. Spent the night before in a Blazer in the field parking lot.
@@crmolnar1 I'm from Columbus. My next door neighbor friends Dad somehow got tickets. We arrived about 2 hours before. Had perfect seats! I think about that day often.
@@chuckg6039 👍 I couldn't miss that show. I've told a lot of people about that experience. Of course the younger crowd doesn't know who he was. It eas truly a great event to witness. After the jump Evel told the press the frame had gotten cracked. He was fortunate to have survived the jump.
@@crmolnar1 I was actually 19 years old. Born in 1956. I recall the practice jump. And yes I recall he broke his frame. I can't recall if after the jump we went into the park and ride rides. I believe we did. Might have been last day of their season. Or maybe they just opened for that event. Can anyone let me know if the park was open that day?
The Father of one of the all time classic 70's toys thats worth a lot of money now
I don't remember if Triumph, then Harley, ever advertised that "Evel has confidence in our motorcycles, you should too."
Some of us seen it, anyone born after 1980 only heard about it.
We had and lived the best years since civilization began.
1955 - 1990 Whata great ride!
Today millennials can’t even figure out directions, written or verbal let alone drive a stick.
Can't read face clocks either.
Millennials [1981-1996] are rocket scientists compared to the Generation Z kids [1997-2012]. ua-cam.com/video/g2oMv93EUpY/v-deo.html
old people always say stuff like that about young people
Can't change a spare tire or even know where it is!
A lot is true though,hey there's plenty young folks do that we cant. Its all in fun.
He was incredible.
Evel f'ing Knievel! Our hero for those that grew up in the 70's. We all tried to jump after watching him
Evel Knievel was so cool
So much fun to watch on live tv as a kid
I had the miniature bike with the zip cord.
Even as a kid back in the 70s I always thought it a little bizarre that so many people went to watch these jumps.
No you're only thinking that way because in 2022 we've lost our balls and our original way of thinking as Americans
Since he was riding a Harley-Davidson I'm surprised it didn't break down before he made the jump
Evel Knievel was the man.
My boyhood hero....Im 62 now.....Wide World of Sports and Howard Cosell🤩
That was one of his better days , he will always be the king
As a kid in the 70s there was nothing better than a Saturdays Wild World of Sports with Evel Kneivel jumping then right after that the Harlem Globetrotters
Can you imagine the stunts that he would’ve been doing if he had a bike with todays power and suspension?
They had big engine long suspension bikes. They werent "Hawgs"
Evel my first hero as a boy...RIP.
I just visited Evel’s grave site on the 4th of July 2022. You’d think this man deserves a whole lot more then what he got.
RIP RCK Buddy.
he got loads; he made a shedload of money, had anice life and then blew it. it happens.
The first internationally known stuntman daredevil of our time, and did it with bikes that were way too heavy and never designed for what he put them through. He did it by feel. No Speedometer, call him crazy but you kinda had to be to do that, and back then he had very few competitors for his crown. There were a few but never got his adoration. In the 1970’s this was what I looked forward to on Wide world of Sports whenever he jumped. A true peoples entertainer, put up with no BS did what he said he was gonna do crash or no crash. One of a kind best describes EK.
Evel Knievel was responsible for the majority of the bumps and bruises on my body throughout my early years as a kid. Who among us didn't build ramps and jump with our bicycles pretending to be Evel Knievel. We all managed to crash like he did most of the time too. Life was good.
Me and my friends would watch Evel on tv and go watch stunt shows at the county fair. The announcers would always say , “ kids , don’t try this at home.” We couldn’t wait to get home lol.
54 YEARS OLD HERE,STILL LIMPING FROM MANY FAILED CANYON JUMPS IN MY DAY!!! LOL STILL RIDING AND STILL JUMPING.....JUST LEARNED TO TUCK N ROLL BETTER!!!
@@jeffcherry1643 I am 56 and fucked up today bad spine problems because of Evel....but damn good days
@@whiskeywhiskeyromeo3730 59 yrs, old, Been a 2 wheel guy for life. My wife and I were riding our Harley Road King when a man decided to take a nap while meeting us in his car. We are now below the knee amputees on our left side. That was 2016. Still ride and love it. Call us crazy...
Like so many other boys of this era, I still have the scars to prove that I wanted to be just like him! If mom hadn’t come home at the right time that one day, I probably wouldn’t be typing this now. I had spent the whole day building a large ramp up to the roof of the garage and was about to jump my Yamaha Gt 60 over it. Thanks mom, miss you.
Lendário !!
The best Evel..
Rj Brasil.
Back in those days we lived in the real world and did it all! I for one am glad there were no iPads, iPhones, social media to keep us from actually having real experiences vs. virtual experiences while growing up.
In 1978, I died jumping my Schwinn over the creek in my backyard. My dad made me walk it off and try again.
In '22, my neighbors kid thought about jumping a piece of plywood with a couple of bricks underneath it on either side. They immediately took him to a psychiatrist and he was put on pharmaceuticals
Looks so real, like a real man. This was such a great toy. I loved mine.
I had a wind up evel knievel toy in the 70s loved it
Can you imagine what this guy would have done on a bike from today?
With his technique he'd be dead. I think he just had balls of solid rock. Every fiber in his body screaming, "don't do this!". While his two testies are telling him, "let's go break a bunch of bones.".
ua-cam.com/video/irzkkmlMNqA/v-deo.html
@@jasonlacroix6083 NOT TRUE........HE WAS A EARLY PIONEER IN MOTORCYCLE JUMPING/STUNTS....NOT MUCH OF A BLUE PRINT IN THOSE DAYS.........THE MX MOTORCYCLES OF THIS ERA WERE NOT MUCH BETTER,,,,HE RODE THE STRET BIKES BECAUSE HE NEEDED THE SPEED THAT THE MX BIKES DIDNT HAVE............EVEL WAS SCARED ONLY ONCE DURING HIS JUMPING DAYS I CANT REMEBER WHICH JUMP IT WAS BUT HE TOOK A DOULBLE TURKEY OUT OF THE CANE THAT DAY
That bike always seemed so heavy and cumbersome.
The most important part The Landing. Okay right when he goes to land switch camera angles so we don't get to see it!. Perfect
The one and only.
Balls of steel on old bikes like that. Real stud 🤘🏼
I was born in 1965 and I idolized this guy in the early to mid seventies. I had just about all of the EK merchandising. Even a EK vinyl LP album!
I was 5 years old and lived about 45 minutes from Kings Island. I've been there probably more than 100 times over the years. But I still wish I was there to see that jump.
Evel lives in all of us
Hey that's the guy on my lunchbox!
Knievel was crazy , but I loved watching him . Ain't nobody nowadays that would do what this man did . Whatever
Truth sad
@@brandonbell5357 TRUTH HAPPY
@@truthsaid2799 , I guess
how he did that on those lead-sleds back in the day is a thing of wonder.
Can't tell you how many bones I broke imitating EK on my bicycle. Good times!
Frank Gifford commentating. Evel and Frank were very close friends up until Knievel's death in 2007.
I'd like to see nitro circus jump a few old ass Harleys....see how they come out.
Travis Pastrana jumped a big Indian twin. I'm sure it had better suspension than this old XR 750.
AWESOME man... Thanks for the video
Imagine what he could of done with the bikes we have today.
He would probably be Travis Pastrana.
@@popspille7124 steady on, TP one of the most talented riders ever on 2 wheels not just ballsy af
1961 here I saw all his jumps on television with my dad and brother.
ya and evel did it on a sportster . (a monster of a bike) . not a tiny little dirt bike .and practice wasn`t jumping into a big pile of foam .practice was trying not to hit the ground .
The days when a dirtbike weighed twice as much and has half the power of a modern bike...
Progress is incredible. At my local MX track there are multiple 100' plus jumps. It's literally nothing for the skilled riders to hit them lap after lap. Although it would be more difficult if you added 250 lbs to the bike and removed the suspension. I always wondered why he chose the worst possible bikes. MX was a thing. There were machines that were WAY more capable than the junk he rode. He was brave, but not bright lol
I loved him back then, but I also wondered why he jumped a flat track bike. He could have had someone build him some long travel shocks for the back of a Harley 250, so he could still fly the colors. Maybe a longer swingarm and longer travel forks. He could have been part of that innovation. I don't think anyone ever told him about stabbing the back brake when he was too high up front. I bet he thought that he was going to loop it on this jump and really didn't want to have that happen at speed on wood and pavement, not that dirt would make a difference.
He was all about the USA. Harley is made in USA.
@@techs1smh13 Yeah that fits well with the narrative of Evel the American Hero, but it's just not true. He rode Harleys for several years, but he jumped Triumphs, Nortons, even a Honda. Ironically Harley turfed his sponsorship in the late 70's. However, all of the bikes he chose were basically crap for his intended purpose. He was known as a motorcycle jumper, but mostly he was a motorcycle crasher that just didn't have the sense to either quit or actually figure out the right way to jump a motorcycle.
He grew up around Billings Montana running from the cops on a Harley... it's what was available at the time. And they were heavy. Evil was amazing
And how many people are doing those jumps on a Harley? Yeah that’s what I thought…
We need more men like Evel Knievel
Growing up in the 70's, I loved that guy. But it really did seem like he crashed more than he landed.
I felt the same way, me-from-the-past. Wasn't the last two years friggin' crazy???
He was a real life superhero when I was a child...R.I.P.
Successful for evil usually meant not dying that day lol legend 🙌
I giggled when I saw the successful part. What a tough guy
For days after watching Evel jump something, there'd be bicycle ramps all over the neighborhood, and boys with scabs a week after that 😅🤣😂
One word, “Bactine” .
In retrospect, it's amazing what he accomplished with a completely ill-suited motorcycle, and with that front-wheel-high landing technique.
I think with the extremely limited suspension travel of that bike, a rear wheel touchdown was the best option. On several jumps where he landed squarely the suspension bottomed hard and bounced him out of control.
The only way to land is with the front wheel high. Whatchu talking about Willis?
@@donaldculp3759 - Watch more modern jumpers on better equipment. They don't land NEARLY as front wheel high as Evel did. Much closer to flat. Of course, they have much better suspended bikes today, but even back then, if Evel wasn't so hung up on using a Harley, he could've ridden a much better bike with any of the MX bikes of the day, and beginning in I think 1975, I think is when the longer travel mono-shocks came out. Better still.
@@NoelKerns I'm not disagreeing, but you can't compare today's bike - this was 50 years ago - Yamaha had barely come out with the first mono-shock. As a dirt racer myself, on a regular Yamaha, trust me, you had the front wheel up - ok, not as much perhaps as Evel, but you had to rely on your back suspension then bring the front down - just like an airliner even today. It was about weight ratio back then and the back was simply stronger AND the last thing you wanted was the front fork twisting on you (Caesar Palace jump).
@@donaldculp3759 - Oh, I know...I had a first-year YZ-80 in 1974 or so. We ALL landed much more back wheel then, when the suspension travel was so short. But he could've helped himself out a LOT with a better bike, and not have HAD to land as extremely nose up as he did in this video, for example.
Evel deserved a ton of credit for jumping on those bulky street bikes. He would have had many more successful jumps on a modern dirt bike.
Evel was his own suspension system.
My brother and I probably watched that live. We used to really be into Evel Knievel. That was cool. I haven't thought about him in a long time.
It’s amazing how he was able to go into slow motion while in mid air like that . I doubt anyone has done that before or since …
😂
Those were the days my friend.