close
close

Evel Knievel sends his regards | Shots Magazine

Evel Knievel sends his regards | Shots Magazine

Listen to article:

Voiced by Amazon Polly

With a limited edition of the Rocket 3, still the largest-displacement production motorcycle, Triumph is remembering the stuntman legend Evel Knievel. The special model is available as an R and a GT in 250 copies each.

The Rocket 3 Evel Knievel Limited Edition features a chrome tank with exclusive paint and special graphic design based on the famous rider’s white jumpsuit and cape decorated with stars and stripes.

Evel Knievel Limited Edition

The Rocket’s 2.5 liter three-cylinder is finished in matt black and has a numbered black and gold camshaft cover.

The leather seats are decorated with a gold-embroidered Evel Knievel logo, and the cockpit start screen has an exclusive start animation.

Every buyer of a Triumph Rocket 3 R or GT Evel Knievel LE will receive an exclusive collector’s book that tells the story of the stuntman and his Triumph motorcycles.

The 3 R Evel Knievel costs 28,595 euros plus additional costs, the GT is available for 29,395 euros. The edition models will be available from February 2025.

Photo: Triumph Evel Knievel Limited Edition.

Evel Knievel’s career

During his first television appearance in 1967, Evel Knievel showed himself with a Triumph Bonneville T 120 after he “flew” the machine over 15 cars in California.

In the same year he completed a legendary jump over the fountain at the Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, which made him world famous – even though it ended in a crash landing and a 29-day coma.

The show star, who died at the end of November 2007, has more than 175 spectacular motorcycle jumps in stadiums, at fairs and folk festivals.

But there is another reason for his entry in the Guinness Book of Records: he is said to have broken his bones more times than any other person in his life.

Photo: Evel Knievel.

background

In 1967 and 1968, Robert Craig Knievel – as his real name was – drove exclusively Triumph models. He also chose a Bonneville for his last public appearance at the end of the 1970s.

Due to his numerous injuries, he ended his career as a wheelie acrobat and presenter for other stunt riders. Evel Knievel made his last public appearance in March 1980 in Puerto Rico.

Knievel got his stage name Evel from a prison sentence he had to serve in 1956 for a motorcycle chase with the police.

The guard there called him “evil” Knievel because of the rhyme. After he was released, he picked up the nickname – and changed the spelling because of the original meaning.

Sierks Media / © Photos: Triumph via Authors’ Union Mobility (2), Wikimedia Commons (1) / Source: aum