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| Robbie "Kaptain" Knievel | |
|---|---|
 Doing a wheelie at Texas Motor Speedway in June 2008 |
|
| Born | May 7, 1962 Butte, Montana |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | daredevil |
| Known for | motorcycle jumping |
| Parents | Robert and Linda Knievel |
Robert Edward "Kaptain" Knievel (born May 7, 1962 in Butte, Montana) is an American daredevil and son of the legendary daredevil Evel Knievel.
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Early life
Robbie Knievel began jumping his bicycle at age 4 and rode motorcycles at age 7. At age 8 he performed his first show with his father at Madison Square Garden. At age 12 he was on tour with his father where he would perform in the pre-jump shows. Robbie attended South Central Catholic Jr. High School in Butte, Montana between 1975-76, but never graduated. He wanted to lengthen his jumps, but his father disapproved. Robbie then went solo after his dad's approval.[1]
Family
Robbie Knievel is the son of the late famous stuntman Evel Knievel and his first wife Linda. Robbie is the third child from his parents and is named after his father's father. Robbie has three siblings (one brother and two sisters). Robbie has two daughters, Krysten and Karmen. In a addition to being a father, he is also a grandfather to his granddaughter, Analise, and grandson Kane.
Bikes
Robbie Knievel's jumping career is markedly different from his father's, in that Robbie used high-performance Honda CR-500 motocross bikes that have been designed for jumping up until 2009. Evel Knievel made most of his record breaking jumps using a Harley-Davidson XR-750 motorcycle. The XR-750 is a significantly heavier and less agile motorcycle than the CR-500 because the Honda is a motocross bike and the Harley is a flat-track racing motorcycle.
Robbie claims he will attempt a record jump at Wembley Stadium in London England spring 2009. In an effort to silence the critics regarding the use of a CR-500, Robbie states he will use a Harley-Davidson XR-750, the same motorcycle that his father used at Wembley in 1975. Only Robbie will attempt to clear a record-breaking 16 buses, not 13 (the current record for jumping a Harley-Davidson XR-750 is 15 buses, currently held by Bubba Blackwell).
Records and jumps
Robbie has completed over 250 jumps, setting 20 world records. These include the Caesars Palace Fountain jump, the building to building jump and The Grand Canyon jump. The canyon jump was partially based on Robbie's father's radical and ill-fated attempt at jumping the Snake River Canyon in 1974 on a rocket "motorcycle" which was really much more rocket than motorcycle. In Robbie's jump he used a motorcycle and he jumped the canyon. However, while coming off the landing ramp Robbie the bike became uncontrollable, and Robbie broke his leg in a spectacular crash. While Robbie's jump was harrowing at a distance of 228 feet and a canyon depth of 2500 feet, it was quite a bit more thought out than his father's attempt in 1974 of jumping almost a mile over a canyon in an ill-conceived, makeshift rocket. The Grand Canyon jump was one of Robbie Knievel's most exciting and famous successful jumps on May 20, 1999[2]. He is considering a future attempt at jumping the Snake River Canyon on the Snake River near Twin Falls, Idaho, a feat his father had failed at in 1974. In 2003 Robbie had a spectacular jump at the Chinook Winds Casino where Robbie jumped 15 Diet Pepsi (TM) trucks.[1] During the summer of 2005, Robbie had his own TV show on A&E called Knievel's Wild Ride. Robbie also was to co-star with Lee Majors in a US pilot series called "Hollywood Stunts" that featured greats like, Spanky Spangler, Matthew Phillips, George Nelson and Ron Nix. In 2006, Robbie opened a new business called Knievel's Custom Cycles, based in Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. In late March 2006, Robbie Knievel jumped from one barge to another in Jacksonville, Florida and in late July 2006, he made a triple tribute jump to his father Evel Knievel at Evel Knievel Days in Butte, Montana by jumping the Batmobile, four huge flame throwers and a 1959 era Harley-Davidson motorcycle.[3]
On March 18, 2007, Robbie jumped an assortment of military vehicles at the North Carolina Auto Expo in Raleigh, North Carolina. Soon afterwards, he appeared in a nationally broadcast commercial for Holiday Inn Express. On June 9, 2007, he appeared in Wilmington, Delaware and successfully jumped $4.8 billion in bogus money representing the amount of interest paid to the customers of ING Direct. In August 2007, he was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Sturgis, South Dakota and made a jump at the world famous Buffalo Chip campground. Robbie successfully jumped over 24 Coca-Cola Zero (TM) truck cabs at The Kings Island Amusement Park outside Cincinnati, Ohio on May 24, 2008. [2] 33 years after his father Evel Knievel carved daredevil history in 1975 for jumping over 14 Greyhound buses at Kings Island. Robbie Knievel, 46, landed a few feet short on his safety deck over the 23rd truck, Evel's record for buses was 14 while jumping on a Harley-Davidson XR-750.
Knievel successfully jumped on June 7, 2008 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth, Texas. He cleared 21 Hummers on the front stretch of the speedway. He originally was going to jump 25 Hummers. However, there was a strong sustained headwind the evening of the jump.
While performing pre-jump wheelies at the LCO Casino near Hayward, Wisconsin on August 16, 2008, Robbie fell off the bike and slid into some hay bales, dislocating his shoulder. Despite his injury, he performed the jump clearing four small airplanes and a small helicopter.
On October 31, 2008, Robbie successfully performed two back-to-back jumps in Nashville, Tennessee to promote a glow-in-the-dark paint.
Robbie ended 2008 with a New Year's Eve jump at the newly renovated volcano at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The stunt was advertised as jumping over the top of the Mirage's volcano, however, Knievel limited the stunt to an approximately 200 foot ramp to ramp jump in front of the volcano[4]. Knievel claimed the false promotion of a jump over the volcano was decided by the Mirage Hotel, who did not want to tear down some palm trees or have their valet parking affected[5]. The live Fox television special marked the 8th live special in Robbie's career.
Although Wembley Stadium in England has not confirmed a jump[6], Robbie has announced that in the summer of 2009, he will travel to London and attempt to jump over 16 buses using a Harley Davidson XR-750, the same motorcycle that his father Evel Knievel used in his failed 1975 jump[7].
Business ventures
Robbie conducts business ventures through his company, Knievel Motorcycle Manufacturing Inc. Currently, Robbie sells four different categories of custom motorcycles and various Knievel clothing items. Additionally, Robbie states he will be developing the following Knievel-inspired companies showcasing memorabilia from the careers of both Evel and Robbie. The companies include various restaurants, retail stores, a hotel, and a sports bar. The sports bar in slated to be the first of the new Knievel-themed companies to open in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
References
- ^ Knievel, Evel (1999-05). EVEL*WAYS, A Daring Approach to Life. GraF X Publishing. ISBN 0966647106.
- ^ The Knievels - Motorcycle Jumping Grand Canyon 1968 1999
- ^ Absolute Evel: The Evel Knievel Story DVD
- ^ http://deseretnews.com/article/0,5143,705274431,00.html
- ^ http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/recipe_for_a_knievel_new_years_1_ramp_1_volcano/7476/
- ^ http://www.wembleystadium.com/events/
- ^ http://www.knieveltour.com/tour_dates.html
External links
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