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Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle
by Ideal
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Read memories from others. |
This memory was added on: December 20,2003
All time favorite toy! We had a great steep asphalt drive way that lead into a dirt road with a ditch on the other side... my brother and I would crank up our stunt cycles have the ramp at the end of the drive way and see who could clear the road and the ditch. My older sister's friends (around 16 at the time) would come over just to play with our stunt cycles. We were the coolest 7 and 8 year olds in town!
John Cutright
1965
JohnDCutright@cox.net
This memory was added on: November 24,2003
THAT WAS THE BEST. I BROKE SO MUCH STUFF AROUND THE HOUSE, THEY USED TO TELL ME THAT WAS MY LAST ONE. BUT I DID GO THROUGH A FEW OF THEM EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE PRETTY TOUGH
jimmy march
1967
jimmy.marchisotto@verizon.net
This memory was added on: November 7,2003
I´m so happy. I found this evel knievel stunt cycle on a fleemarket in munich. It´s the best birthday present to Andy grünwald, who celebrates today his 35. birthday. I will take this picture for a birthday card. Thanks a lot. greetings,martina
martina Wilhelm
1964
m.wilhelm@serviceplan.de
This memory was added on: October 25,2003
Evel WAS, and STILL is, a true "bad-ass" in my book. This was a good toy for the rebellious types. My younger brother had this toy and I think I played with it more than he did. He had the van with the tools and gear in it also. Very cool, indeed. This Evel figure was known to hang out together with The Mego Riddler in biker bars on Saturday nights, boozing it up, hustling pool, getting into fights and picking up loose women, and getting arrested. Riddler rode a modified Hog himself....said to be the ORIGINAL Bat-cycle that was stolen and made into a chopper with a question mark painted on the gas tank.
HeyJoe
1964
This memory was added on: October 24,2003
love the site!! I wanted one of these things for years, from seeing them on t.v. When I turned 8, I got one for Christmas. I promptly crashed it into my mother's leg in the kitchen on Chritmas afternoon. She took it away for about a week (until the scabs and bruises healed). Moments after having it returned, I ran it into my bother's head as he lay on the floor of the den watching t.v. it cut his head open and the back wheel got CRAZY knotted up in his hair. we had to cut the thing out of his hair. Never saw it again. I'm trying to replace it from ebay, or another source. Keep the faith, huh.
Shannon Janssen
1972
janssen1991@cox.net
This memory was added on: October 1,2003
Boy reading all these stories brings back memories. I'm also glad to see that I'm not the only girl who thought Evel was cool!!!!! I got the van 1st for Christmas, but Santa was out of Evel Knievels so my Mom said. Man was I one upset 8 year old. I agree that he took a beating like a Timex watch, virtually undistroyable. Lots of scraped knuckles on cement from trying to crank it as fast as you could. Had it for quite awhile but lost track of it some how moving alot over the years.
Pam
6-3-1965
pamehul@aol.com
This memory was added on: September 30,2003
there was nothing like strappin' a wad of firecrackers to Evel and the cycle and then sending him down the driveway at full speed- what a riot!!
mark
1966
marks@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: September 30,2003
I second that- or strapping Evel to a kite several hundred feet in the air, strategically locating him over someone's house and then shaking the bejesus out of the thing so that he crash lands on their cat. now that's a riot!!
mike
1971
mikebaby@eaton.com
This memory was added on: September 20,2003
When I was 7, I was at the park w/ my mom. I noticed a line began to form somewhere near the monkey bars. About 20 kids were lined up to try this kid's Evel Knievel toy. So I got in line, too. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Well let me tell you, it was worth the wait! That Christmas, I got Evel's groovy girlfriend, Derry Daring. Since I lived in Harlem, NY, my mom wouldn't let me play w/ it outside, (lest it would get stolen). But I had a blast playing w/ it in the hallway of our apartment. I'd make it do wheelies, make ramps outta books and jump over Matchbox cars, crash it into piles of dominoes. Sometimes I would take it to my friend's house. My friend Aaron had an Evel Knievel and we'd race 'em in his apartment. Then later my other friend Michelle got Derry w/ the Wheelie car and we'd all compete against one another.
Today, I have Evel and his stunt bike and Dragster, and Derry and her stunt bike. I also have the Playing Mantis version too, which I'm not that happy with. I take these to school w/ me (I'm a teacher) and show my kids what great toys these were and still are!
Sharry A.
1966
Hardygirl66@aol.com
This memory was added on: September 3,2003
I played for hours with my SSP and Evel cycles. Setting up ramps and crashing into things, Evel Knievel was and is still is my Hero. He set the standards.. If you have a stunt cycle boxed or not you can get $$$.$$ on Ebay. I did.
M. Rapid
1959
This memory was added on: August 10,2003
I just visited my mother and my sister told me about our toy box she still has. Well, of course, I pulled out the Stunt Cycle, added a little WD-40 and VROOM VROOM it went. Indestructible for soooo many years. I have two of them and fun they still are.
Ciro Vela III
1970
katajutsu@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: August 5,2003
I LOVED my Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle!!!
I am a girl, but it was still one of my favorite toys!!! I still talk about to to friends about how fun it was!!! It was so freaking TOUGH!
We had a big dirt hill in the park by my house and I used to sail that bike right over the side - 30 feet or so to the ground and it would still keep going! (most times Evel would fall off - more broken bonez!!)
whatta great thing... :)
Xoe
4-24-64
darkxoe@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: August 4,2003
There were several "motorcycle" type bikes that came out during that time. There were the bmx models by Kawasaki, Yamaha and the ever popular Rampar "motobike". This of course, mixed with fantasies of being Evel Knieval, spelled many Evel type spills and chills for kids across the nation. I was stricken by many an Evel Knieval crash on my Rampar "motobike". I still have the scars on my forehead to prove it. I would build take-off and landing ramps just like my idol and boy oh boy, I would eventually crash. We would also play CHiPs, taking turns pulling each other over on our bicycles.
Anyone else play Evel Knieval or CHiPs?
Brian
1965
progcop@comcast.net
This memory was added on: July 11,2003
I got this toy for Christmas when I was 7. I remember Evil's body was rubber over wire. That was the year (I think) that Huffy came out with the bike that looked like Evil's motorcycle. Man I wanted one of those.
Bill
1967
billb@luminaredesign.com
This memory was added on: July 8,2003
it's a shame the real evel knievel couldn't bend like that one did without ever breaking, i remember reving mine up real fast and running over my sisters dumb old barbies
homer
5-23-64
homerhh3@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: June 25,2003
This was one of my favorite toys when i was a kid this toy was almost bullitproof but after a couple years I was able to break the front fork and by then you couldnt find them anymore and I had the stunt truck,so much fun back then,wish i could go back in time I know where i would go early 70s for sure.
Dave
1966
dshend1911@aol.com
This memory was added on: June 24,2003
awesome, i broke the handle bars somehow, but i would wind it up as much as i could take (man i loved that sound) and jump it off everything i had..stairs, windows, cement walls, water, anything, really a favorite of mine thats for SURE it was burnt, scraped, scratched and beaten and still kept on running, AWESOME!
DR
1968
nh156@Yahoo.com
This memory was added on: June 22,2003
I had about three of these with the little wind up wheel and the cane he carried. I remember his hands would pull off. The last I remember my dog got a hold of one and tore it up. Too Bad. Was a favorite amongs others.
dennis swing
1968
dswing1999@aol.com
This memory was added on: June 20,2003
I had one of these bad boys when I was six years old in Arizona. Used to run him off the roof into my nieghbors pool. Had the rocket as well. Took one of my Evels and made him a parachute from an old bandana, he came off the bike mid flight and floated into some electrical lines that went over the pool. We couldn't get him downhe just got more tangled. He hung there for ten years at least.
Erick D.
1969
erick@heinzen.com
This memory was added on: June 17,2003
The Evel Knievel stunt cycle was one of the few toys that lived up to the TV commercials.It worked just like the ad showed. To this day it was one of my favorite toys.
Jim Looney
1969
yenool@charter.net
This memory was added on: June 11,2003
I remember one christmas at my father's house. He got me the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle. I was only 6 or 7 years old. My father was a machinist for General Dynamics and he worked with sheet metal. He built me two 20 inch jump ramps for my stunt cycle,at his job. I remember when he brought them home one day. He gave them to me after he picked me up from school. I was so excited and spent hours jumping my stunt cycle. I can remember the sound as I cranked it up on the stand. Then pressing the release button and watching Evel speed down the hallway as he made his way to the top of the first ramp. I found it mind blowing that a toy could actually jump from one ramp to another like a real motor cycle! That is one of my fondest memories as a young boy.
George K.
1971
Phantom_Legion@Hotmail.Com
This memory was added on: June 10,2003
a classic I played with for hours.. I have one now, got it on Ebay, my original, well, we doused him with lighter fluid and let him go ablaze.. my mom said everything we had we either blew it up or burnt it. I have had my Zippo sincer 1976
Rick
1967
This memory was added on: June 9,2003
Stumbled upon this site and could'nt believe my eyes!! This was one of my favorite toys. At my school, you werent anyone unless you had Evel and all the accessories. I remember cranking him up and launching him off my barn roof and various other high places. They just dont make them like this any more. Wish I had him now to show my kids what real toys looked like. Love the site!! Keep up the great work!
Patric
1964
murphpad@net1plus.com
This memory was added on: June 7,2003
I loved this toy and I still have it in the box. i haven't looked at it in 25 years, but I know it is in good shape.
doug
1962
gollihuedouglas562@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: June 6,2003
awesome site! Great stories! I never got evel onto the roof but we did send him "...UP AND OVER THE FOUR FOOT DITCH!" regularly! I set up a long narrow piece of scrap aluminum against the clothes-line in the back yard. It had to be an 80 to 85 degree angle. Evel took it in stride. Straight up...Still waiting to see him land! I had the Snake River canyon Rocket and the Mobile Home too. All that is left is the steps into the Mobile Home. BEST TOY EVER!!!
brian
1965
bhealy36@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: June 5,2003
The clearest memory I have of this toy was turning the crank so hard and for such a long time that I ended up wearing a huge hole on the inside of my right index finger. It was worth it though-great toy!
Gary Zimmermann
1961
gzimmermann@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: June 4,2003
oooohhh man! reading all those stories makes me badly want to be living in the 70's again. My mates & I say it all the time - toys just aren't as good as when we were kids in the 70's. I was spoilt I had 2 Evil's - the 1st was the Chopper, then later on I got the Super Jet cycle. I cherished those toys - I even used to put them back in the boxes when I finished playing with them. I'm sure that they came with blue or red plastic ramps but I could be getting that part mixed up with some other cool toys like Kenners Smash up derby set - so cool!. I remember both my Evil dolls eventually falling apart - the bendible wires in their arms & wrists eventually poked out thru the rubber but that wasn't until I'd really put them thru some awesome stunts. Thanks for the really cool excellent memories, now where did I put my KISS makeup???......
Dave Oulaghan
1970
megooliedojo@aol.com
This memory was added on: June 4,2003
I forgot to add in my last message about how when I used to wind the handle as fast as I could on the block Evil's bike locked into, how my hand would cramp up
Dave
1970
megooliedojo@aol.com
This memory was added on: June 4,2003
great toy I had one and my sister had the girls version, I think it was called something like Darey Daring?
fred
66
fred124@aol.com
This memory was added on: May 30,2003
Bugger it. Didn't look like a text box at first. Pls. ignore previous non-post. :)
1976, Linton-On-Ouse, Yorkshire, England. The Evel Knievel stunt cycle. My cousin Brian. What felt like a third-degree burn as he held the wheel of the stuntcycle against my arm. Oh well, that was Dad's side of the family... what do you expect?
I still love that toy. What's funny is that my parents always disapproved of motorcycles [ uncle kenny blah blah blah... you bastards, you killed kenny, etc. etc. ] [no, seriously, Uncle Kenny died on two wheels. on a moped. because he slipped on ice. and his helmet came off... etc. etc.] anyway. now I design them (www.victory-usa.com), ride them (www.sv650.org), and the aforementioned parents have no problem with it.
There's nowt as queer as folk. Still, effin' cool toy. :)
James
1971
jholroyd@attbi.com
This memory was added on: May 28,2003
Not sure if this counts, but...
I am 18 now. About 2 years ago, I saw this toy in an op shop for a mere 50c AU. I bought it quickly, after seeing it in a Rick Morannis movie.
Anyways,I didn't actively play with it, but I did look after a 4 year old then who got hours of enjoyment from it. I still have it here, origional box and all. Sadly now, it's just collecting dust.
Tim
1984
timachee_the_great@hotmail.com
This memory was added on: May 26,2003
I used to get his rear wheel CRANKIN'... I mean, smokin' fast, then, while the cycle was gyrating in my hand, I'd lay the rear wheel assembly on my sleeping brother's hair and wait for the fireworks. My mom had to use peanutbutter to get the knots out of his hair. Classic days.
JJ
1969
blackhawkdowneyjr@yahoo.com
This memory was added on: May 20,2003
Ahhh....Evel Knievel....My childhood hero! The cause of so many stitches and bicycle crashes. Thanks to my mom for buying me the 1975 Raleigh Rampar "Motorbike" and all of the Evel Kneivel stuff a kid could want. The Stunt Cycle was a great toy! Set his motorcycle on the take off ramp, wind up the back wheel and let him rip! Man, I miss those days filled with magic.
Brian
1965
progcop@attbi.com
This memory was added on: May 19,2003
Hi
I took my Evel with me went I was taken to see the real man himself when he visited England in the mid 1970s. I was a little upset to see him crash at Wembley Stadium but I was kind of used to it as my own little King of the Stunt-men crashed mostly.
Martin Gainsford
1964
martmax@jupiter2.fsnet.co.uk
This memory was added on: May 14,2003
Talk about my parents getting their moneys worth! This toy kept me out of their way for days. One better was the red, white and blue exploding car. It flew apart when it hit the wall. Nothing cooler for a kid than a toy that 'explodes'.
Chris Conner
1966
chris75056_1@lycos.com
This memory was added on: May 13,2003
I had this, or my brother did? Noetheless, I have fond memories of making Ol' Evil ramp up on his Winne-bago van and hurl across my moms green kitchen floor. What fun I had with him. I am gonna go on ebay and see if I cant find one of these for sale right now! I want my toys back! GReat SITE!
Steve Kaye
1971
steventkaye@msn.com
This memory was added on: May 9,2003
This site is cool. I just happened to stumble across it because I saw an old picture of me riding My marvel the mustang. then I saw the evel knievel stunt cycle. i wasn't quiete old enough to get on rooves at least i was led to believe I wasn't. But I do remember having one. I remember waiting to watch evel do a stunt on tv. But was usually disappointed because he always seemed to hurt himself doing a practice run earlier in the day. And the crash up derby cars. wow! I had them too. the thing I remember most about them was the shinny metalic colors.
AJ
1969
abetzel@msn.com
This memory was added on: May 8,2003
Remember the version that used to click into a wind up handle type starter, then you press a button on the top and off he went? I had a 'Mamod' steam engine as well, which ran on meths, I lit the damn thing after spilling meths all over the drive and Evil and me both burst into flames.Huh, Kids eh! Who'd ave em! Anyone remember a plastic aircraft carrier that had a long fishing line attached to it, the idea was to flick an airoplane up the line which was tied to the top of a doorframe or similar, then you had to guide the plane back down to land on the carrier?
steve
1965
williams.sd@bigpond.com.au
This memory was added on: May 8,2003
I had one when I was 6...the best present ever, my dad always had off cuts of wood lying about int he garage and I found myself a nice ramp shaped piece and set up in the hallway. Cranked eivel up let him go and whooosh straight up the ramp into a wheelie and "CRASH" out through the glass panel of our front door out down the front steps and accross the road past all the traffic. I got a hiding off my mum for breaking the glass but it was well worth it. Awesome toy. Am I right in remembering that they did different versions of the bike later on...I seem to vaguely remembering a scrambler version?
Paul
21-04-1975
This memory was added on: May 2,2003
I found this site to explain what the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle was to my wife. She had never seen it.
As stated above, indestructable! I had the luck of growing up in an old Victorian house with a huge open staircase :) I could not count the times Evel took the trip down the hallway and jump clean past those steps to the first floor... only to keep on going.
My mother hated it because the bike would just keep on going. Which resulted in me, the then five year-old, chasing it as fast as I could run throughout the house....day in and day out!
Ray
1971
theconnzzzz@aol.com
This memory was added on: May 2,2003
I agree!
I would climb onto our roof where it sloped downward to the driveway and I put a large wooden ramp at the end of the roof. Then I would climb to the top of the roof and fire Mr. Knievel down the roof, and onto the ramp. He launched skywards and almost cleared the driveway. He would hit the concrete hard and keep on going!!!
Sometimes I would put him on the pegs loosely (on purpose) so he would fly off the bike when he hit, and the bike would keep going. Gotta love the gyroscope/flywheel toys!!
Speaking of which, remember the Kenner SSP Smash Up Derby Cars with the flywheels & ripcords!!
Also an indestructible toy!!!!
They don't make 'em like that anymore.....
I saw some sort of "crash test dummy" toy a while back that I thought would be cool (like SSP) It was crap. Barely stayed together and would fly apart once it started rolling. The cool thing about SSP was that it was a solid car that could slam straight into a wall and just the parts that were design to come off, would come off. Nothing like the thrill of trying to time a perfect midair collision with two SSP cars and black ramps. I think we all damaged alot of baseboards and appliances with these babies. I recall trying to dig out the pieces from under the fridge, etc. after playing with them.
Ahhhh memories!
kirk
1968
kirk@azhorses.com
This memory was added on: March 8,2003
This toy was virtualy indestructible!! No really!! My buddy and I, in the mid 70's, would climb his garage roof, some 12 ft high or so, and crank this sucker up!!! Evil would shoot off the peak of the roof, land in the driveway and take off where it hit!!! With barely a scratch... whatta toy!!! Dont mak'em like that any more!!
Frank
3-3-64
fshaw1@cfl.rr.com
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