Viva Knievel!

I was playing around a bit with YouTube today and I found this cool video of Evel Knievel at the Gardena, CA, racetrack way back in 1967!

Very cool stuff, folks!   I didn’t know that Evel rode a Triumph in those days (I remember him on Harley flat trackers).  In the video above, Mr. Knievel is on a 1967 Triumph TT Special (Triumph’s hot rod in the late ’60s).   A few lucky guys bought TT Specials, added lights, and used them on the street.  The Triumph TT Special was the ultimate bike back then…it had all of 54 hp and nothing could touch it! 

My Dad had a 1966 Bonneville, and we actually saw Evel Knievel perform at the East Windsor Speedway in Hightstown, NJ in ’67 (Evel had switched to a Harley by then).   He put on quite a show, and when I think about what it cost to see him (and a full night of racing), I realize just how much the world has changed.  That night, my Dad and I saw stock car races, 250cc flat track motorcycle races, open class flat track motorcycle races (think Gary Nixon, Bart Markel, and others), Evel Knievel jumping over a bunch of cars, and a fireworks show…all for a $2 admission fee!