Knievel’s Jumps
Evel Knievel, the most renowned daredevil the world has ever known, is deserving of this honor not just for his daring jumps but also for his incredible foresight, vision, and bravery. American daredevil Evel Knievel was known for his motorcycle jumps.
His career began with him jumping rattlesnakes and through fire rings before progressing to jumping vehicles and trucks. Knievel completed numerous tricks on a variety of bikes throughout his 15-year career as a daredevil, particularly with the Triumph Bonneville T120 and Harley Davidson XR-750.
Knievel attempted a variety of feats that helped him become famous, some of which were enormous successes and others not so much. The 141-foot Caesars Palace fountain, one of his many stunts, comes in second when Knievel tried to jump the fountain on his Triumph Bonneville T120 and crashed upon landing, spending 29 days in the hospital with shattered ribs, a broken hip, and a crushed pelvis.
You must be unique and audaciously brave to be considered daring. On September 8, 1974, Knievel performed a stunt that had never been attempted before, leaving his audience mesmerized. Knievel was prepared to amaze his audience by jumping Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls, Idaho, after months of preparation and lots of financial investment.
In this stunt, Knievel would have been launched into the air using a rocket-powered cycle off a ramp, then would have opened his parachute to safely land on the other side of the canyon. The enormous Snake River Canyon measured 1600 feet wide and 800 feet deep. For this performance, Knievel hired a team of engineers to build a motorcycle powered by rockets that he called the Skycycle X-2.
The Skycycle X-2 Stunt
On the day of the jump, Knievel was safely lowered from a crane onto the Skycycle X-2 while sporting his trademark leather jumpsuit. As his crew helped to secure him into the rocket, his audience watched with anticipation. On the countdown, the Skycycle X-2 was launched from a ramp, leaving behind a trail of white smoke as it rocketed into the sky. Onlookers gasped in amazement as they watched Knievel pull off one of his most risky tricks to date. Shortly after the stunt began, though, the parachute unintentionally deployed and significantly delayed the rocket. As a result, the rocket lost momentum and began to softly drift onto the riverbank while Knievel was still inside.
Any stuntman would have run for cover after the anticlimactic stunt, but not Knievel. He continued to entertain sizable crowds, winning their hearts and capturing their minds. Evel Knievel said, “Because I want to because I’m Evel Knievel, that’s my life,” in a 2013 interview when asked why. It was, in fact, true. A historical legend who accomplished feats that most people could only imagine and lived to tell the tale. Stuntman Eddie Braun employed technology comparable to what his hero did in 1974 to successfully accomplish the risky stunt 42 years after the original attempt.
A Daring Daredevil
Stunts are risky business, but Evil Knievel took the risks necessary to pave the way for future successful stunts. He won the people’s hearts and kept them hooked and amazed by his bravery and bold risks. With so many years in the business and so many unbelievable stunts under his belt, it’s no wonder he is revered as the most renowned daredevil.