I watched the TV progam when Evil Knievel jumped Snake River Canyon...and when he set longer and longer records for jumping over vehicles. :nod: He was fearless...and had the broken bones to show for his actions. :jaw: :insane:
How bout the time he jumped the fountain at Ceasers Palace on Jan 1
1968 and landed bad? He was in a coma for 29-days with a shattered pelvis, fractured hip, and smashed right femur. Surgeons rebuilt his leg with a two foot long, three inch wide strip of steel......That was a bad one one.
His son Robby isn't doing too shabby either.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Colt! The original point and click interface.
Me and my buddies in high school survived the 'Evel Years', when we emulated him with our motorcycles. I found that my Honda CB175 was perfectly balanced for jumping!
Luckily, we saw the light, after a friend landed bad and ran a pine tree limb into his leg. :insane:
I don't know if I'd consider Evel a 'hero', but he is a consumate showman and one of the premier daredevils of all time.
And Lord help me - I just bought my first motorcycle in 29 years.
Years back, a motorcycle dealer friend of mine, and a close personal friend of Bob "Evel" Knievel, picked up his trucking rig and all of his "Jumping Equipment", after a really bad tumble, and stored it for Evel. He was fortunate enough to also help Evel pay some of the medical bills, too. This happened, 10 or more years before Knievel became known all over the USA. Bob Knievel was from Montana, and my friend had raced motor cycles with him for a few years, out of Spokane, Washington (the Spokane Valley, really).
I never saw him as a hero, just someone willing to sacrifice his body to put on a show!
I know he's busted a lot of bones and has some serious medical problems but that doesnt make him a hero.
He is very prejudiced, and just an all around nasty guy. He can also be very violent. He busted up a reporter with a baseball bat because he didnt like what the reporter wrote about him. He said "some people need killin" and meant it.
He's familiar with jail cells, court fines and probation. That isnt a hero in my book.
He rode Harleys for most of his jumps and H/D gave him a custom bike. Then he bad mouthed Harley saying their bikes were junk and thats the reason some of his jumps failed. The reason is (and this a known proven fact) that he just wasnt that good. He just goosed the throttle and held on and hoped for the best.
The Original Daredevil............. 
