#EASY RIDER MOTORCYCLE MOVIE#

#EASY RIDER MOTORCYCLE MOVIE#

Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill actor Michael Madsen was so outraged by the auction sale that he telephoned, from a movie set in Romania, to voice his concerns. 'There's a big rat stinking someplace in this,' the veteran actor said last week. Haggerty claimed to have built this 'Captain America' bike from the wreckage of the fourth bike, which was nearly destroyed in filming the movie's dramatic finale.Įisenberg and auction house Profiles in History cited Haggerty as their principal reference in authenticating the bike, even though Haggerty admitted to The LA Times that he had already sold and authenticated a different 'Captain America' bike, years before, and provided written assurances to its owner that it was the one true remaining Easy Rider chopper.įonda, who co-wrote the Easy Rider screenplay and drew the original sketch on which the iconic, stretched chopper was based, told The LA Times he was very concerned by Haggerty's previous authentication, and hoped the auction would be called off. Haggerty had confirmed for Eisenberg stories that three of the four Easy Rider bikes were stolen and sold for parts before the movie was released. Haggerty had a small part in Easy Rider, and helped work on the four motorcycles used in the filming of the druggy road movie. The chrome-heavy, star-spangled Harley Davidson panhead, ridden by actor Peter Fonda in the ground-breaking movie directed by his co-star Dennis Hopper, was owned by Los Angeles Realtor and movie memorabilia collector Michael Eisenberg.Įisenberg bought the 'Captain America' bike earlier this year, having become convinced it was the last remaining Easy Rider motorcycle by Dan Haggerty, the actor most known for his role as Grizzly Adams. The Billy Bike might not be as extreme as the Captain America, but stands as a reproduction snapshot of late-‘60s custom culture ready to head out on the highway.SOLD: The last remaining 'Captain America' chopper from the Easy Rider movie has sold for a reported world record price.ĭespite reports that cast doubt on its authenticity, a 'Captain America' chopper purported to be the last remaining motorcycle used in the filming of the 1969 movie Easy Rider has sold at auction for US$1.35 million (NZ$1.69m) - or just more than US$1.6m (NZ$2m), after auction fees are included.

A teardrop tank was fabricated and painted into a flame-job finish with the frame painted to match the original, featuring extensive use of chrome plating on components from headlight to fenders. This replica Billy Bike’s hardtail frame was altered and raked for installation of the elongated fork tubes and straight drag-bar handlebars. The former stockers were transformed into future chopper icons by Ben Hardy and Cliff Vaughs in Los Angeles for the movie. The introduction of hydraulic front forks on the 1949 Hydra-Glide was an improvement and proved so popular that the springer front fork was discontinued in 1950. Legend has it the motorcycles used to build the original movie choppers were purchased at a police auction. The replica Billy Bike is based on a 1950 Hydra-Glide, ironically a favorite of police officers and highway patrol. The Billy Bike and Captain America choppers were genuinely connected to the Southern California custom-motorcycle scene and representative of the counterculture era. This Billy Bike-replica chopper was constructed using the same techniques as the motorcycles used for filming the movie in order to duplicate then bleeding-edge chopper design. Duplicates of both choppers were built prior to filming, but after the movie was shot, the remaining motorcycles were stolen at gunpoint and sold for parts.

While the red, white and blue theme chopper ridden by Captain America may have gone onto greater fame over time, the custom chopper ridden by Hopper known as the “Billy Bike” played an equally pivotal part in the film and motorcycle history. Dennis Hopper directed the 1969 film classic “Easy Rider,” also starring as Billy alongside Captain America, or Wyatt, played by Peter Fonda.

Easy rider motorcycle