For Sale: Motorcycle leathers and walking cane, slightly used…
He is one of the most famous motorcyclists ever, and now some of his well worn and equally famous collared leathers are up for auction at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas.
Described by the late Johnny Carson as “He’s probably the only man in history who has become wealthy by trying to kill himself…” He is of course the one and only Evel Knievel.
Going up for auction this month is possible one of the most instantly recognizable garments on the face of the Earth, the flamboyant leather suit worn by the iconic stunt rider.
Between 1965 and 1977, Evel Knievel attempted one hundred seventy-five ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps, and an unsuccessful crossing of Snake River Canyon in a steam-powered rocket. It’s widely claimed that Knievel broke every bone in his body during the course of his perilous career, but the actual number is closer to thirty- five, still enough to earn a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
This leather suit, complete with outrageous ’70s inspired collar, was worn between 1972 and 1973 and used in his successful leap over fifty crushed cars at the Los Angeles Coliseum on February 18, 1973. With a current bid of $30,000 USD, they’re an expensive set of leathers that you’d never get to wear, but how good would it be to have them hanging in your man-cave?
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Also up for auction is Evel’s equally recognisable walking stick.
The gold and diamond studded (in the shape of a motorcyclist) cane was often seen with Knievel and used as both a physical, and pharmaceutical aid thanks to its hidden flask.
Knievel famously revealed the walking stick’s secondary function to a national television audience during a February 1973 appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, coincidentally filmed during the same visit to Los Angeles for the Coliseum fifty-car jump in which he wore the same motorcycle leathers above.
The auction for both Knievel’s leathers and flask ends on February 26th. If you’ve got the means to big on these incredible pieces of motorcycling history you can bid online at the Heritage Auctions website until the 25th of February.
