"Captain America" Easy Rider bike for sale at auction

[AKsuited]

For all the easy riders out there with means:

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/...ce-at-auction/

Harry

[RandyBailey]

I remember wearing a red-white-blue Easy Rider helmet for a couple years in the '60s. No Snell or any other kind Of safety rating, but I looked really cool on my 1962 Honda C110 (50cc) bike. Rode that 50cc bike til the wheels fell off!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9DLL4G4gudM

[lmo1131]

The article says that, "it is the one used in the climactic scene". If that's the case it sure wouldn't look like this.



You may recall how that film ended.

[20774]

According to the Vintagent:

"The 'Captain America' and 'Billy' bikes were the brainchild of 'Easy Rider' Associate Producer Cliff Vaughs, and the first pair (the 'hero' or 'A' bikes) were built by Ben Hardy in LA, while a second pair (the substitute or 'B' bikes) were built by mechanic Larry Marcus at his and Cliff Vaugh's house in Santa Monica. The full story of the origin of these remarkable motorcycle will appear in October in my book 'The Chopper: the Real Story' (published by Gestalten, who also published 'The Ride'), and it's a long, complicated, and controversial saga."

and

"The machine at auction was apparently built from the remains of the 'B' Captain America bike by Dan Haggerty, who was the 'chopper handler' for 'Easy Rider' after Associate Producer Cliff Vaughs, along with most of the initial crew on the film (including this bike's builder, Larry Marcus), was fired as Columbia Pictures took control of the film's budget and production. The 'B' bike was partially destroyed at the end of the film, and Haggerty apparently kept the parts. The remaining 3 film bikes were stolen before the end of production, and never recovered, although pieces of these bikes have circulated through the bike collector crowd (and the rumor mill) in the 46 years since the film was made."

http://thevintagent.blogspot.com/201...e+Vintagent%29

[jdubick]

Is this a replica or the real thing?



https://www.google.com/search?q=easy...2F%3B720%3B540

[BC1100S]

Is this a replica or the real thing?

The "real thing" hasn't existed for 46 years.

[ka5ysy]

AP (Associate Press) article here:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/apnew...-going-auction


Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum has a nice replica bike:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7032/6...805491dd_z.jpg

[ricochetrider]

AP (Associate Press) article here:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/apnew...-going-auction


Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum has a nice replica bike:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7032/6...805491dd_z.jpg

Yes they do, and the story they tell about the "original" seems to match -at least loosely- what the Vintagent has said.
All in all, interesting stuff! Say what you want about any other motorcycle in the history of film, and/or American culture... but this bike is perhaps the single most iconic machine EVER.

Thanks to the OP for bringing this to light.

[lkchris]

Is this the one that was in the Guggenheim show?

[20774]

Something of a follow-on...The Vintagent has written a book about choppers, and the Capt. America bike is part of the book...but it's much more than that, going back to the early 1900s. He has a short video of the writing of the book:

http://thevintagent.blogspot.com/201...e+Vintagent%29

In it was this picture...a two into three exhaust!!

[BC1100S]

In it was this picture...a two into three exhaust!!

Now that's what I call high performance.

[barryg]

Beale Sreet 07-16-14 156.jpg
I have a real panhead chopper. It's as radical as the Captain America bike and looks a little more like the Billy bike. But This 2007? Superglide would be my Captain America bike of choice. "Get your motor runnin, get out on the hiway......" Born to be Wild" In my case Mild.

[robsryder]

Beale Sreet 07-16-14 156.jpg
I have a real panhead chopper. It's as radical as the Captain America bike and looks a little more like the Billy bike. But This 2007? Superglide would be my Captain America bike of choice. "Get your motor runnin, get out on the hiway......" Born to be Wild" In my case Mild.

I saw one of these Superglides for sale this past weekend at the local BMW dealer... wonder what the HD was traded in on???

http://www.motohio.com/new_vehicle_d...54&pov=3891200

[barryg]

Yeah, I saw this HD at MotoOhio about a month back. Like the looks, retro. Looks like a bike to ride to Beale Sreet bike nite. I like bikes that look like the bikes of the 60's and 70's. I'm fortunate or not to own a '72 HD FL. Anyway that Superglide looks cool.