Triumph pays tribute to Evel Knievel
In September, 1974, Evel Knievel conducted his boldest stunt yet – jumping across Snake River Canyon in Idaho on the steam-powered ‘Skycycle X-2’ rocket bike. While Knievel’s attempt to clear the canyon’s 500-metre (approximate) width wasn’t successfully completed, it joined the Caesar’s Palace fountains jump and Wembley Stadium bus jump as one of the legendary stuntman’s most legendary moments.
To mark the 50th Anniversary of the Snake River Canyon ‘Rocket Jump,’ Knievel fans gathered at Twin Falls, Idaho, on 1 September for a day of festivities that included a motorcycle parade and live music from a band fronted by Robbie Knievel’s daughter, Krysten.
Triumph joined the party, bringing along two special creations - a modern Bonneville T120 and Rocket 3 – that had been customised in tribute to one of Knievel’s early bikes. Kelly Knievel, Evel’s eldest son, led the anniversary parade on the Bonnie, while the Rocket 3 was ridden by Australia’s own stunt legend, Robbie Maddison.
The Triumph Connection
Athough Knievel had been using Harley-Davidson XR-750s for his stunts since 1970, some of his early jumps were done on Triumphs, specifically the Bonneville T120. From March, 1967, to August, 1968, Knievel used Bonnevilles exclusively. Evel had originally planned to use a heavily-modified Triumph for the jump at Snake River Canyon; a location chosen because Knievel’s initial idea - to jump a section of the Grand Canyon - had been blocked by the US government.
To promote Knievel’s most ambitious jump, a Bonneville T120, fitted with wings and named the ‘Skycycle’, was shown to the press. Aeronautical engineer Doug Malewicki was then tasked with designing and building a real ‘rocket-powered’ motorcycle for the jump. The resulting ‘Skycycle X-1’ was based on a heavily-modified motorcycle frame and powered by a steam engine built by former NASA engineer Robert Truax.
After a test flight in April, 1972, which ended with the X-1 crashing into Snake River, the decision was made to remove the wheels entirely and make the creation much more like a rocket than a motorcycle.
Skycycle X-2
The next generation ‘Skycycle X-2’ was what Knievel strapped himself into for the heavily publicised and highly anticipated jump that finally took place on 8 September, 1974.
Upon launch, the drogue parachute intended to slow the Skycycle’s descent after completion of the jump deployed prematurely. Even though he technically crossed the canyon’s 527-metre width, Knievel was blown back into the canyon by wind, landing at the bottom on the river’s edge and receiving minor injuries.
Had it worked as intended, the Snake River Canyon jump would have been Knievel’s longest, as the furthest recorded distance he’d successfully jumped to that point was “only” 32 metres (the unsuccessful Caesar’s Palace jump was 43 metres).
Modern Tribute
Today, many of Knievel’s bikes are spread across museums and private collections in the USA, but the Bonneville T120 used for the Caesar’s Palace jump in 1967 was allegedly turned into a chopper afterward and has since disappeared. It’s this bike that inspired the one-off treatment on the modern Triumphs paraded at Idaho.
Both the Bonneville T120 and Rocket 3 featured metallic blue fuel tanks with red centre sections outlined in white and Evel’s ‘Color Me Lucky’ slogan in gold on top.
“This bike is painted up just like the ‘Color me Lucky’ Triumph, it looks great!” Kelly Knievel said of the modern tribute. “[Evel] always had a soft spot for his T120, said it flew ‘straight as a bullet’.
“Robbie’s Triumph Rocket, with the same custom paint scheme, feels a very appropriate way to celebrate the anniversary.”
Triumph Motorcycles Chief Operating Officer, Paul Stroud, added: “This was an uplifting celebration of one of Evel Knievel’s best-known stunts, and Triumph is thrilled to support his family and fans by creating these one-off custom bikes to lead the parade.
“Evel Knievel performed many stunts on Triumph motorcycles during the ’60s, securing the hearts of generations. It’s good to see the latest generation of the T120 that was used to first promote this notorious Snake Canyon jump now being ridden by the next generation of the Knievel family.”
