Doug Danger to Recreate Evel Knievel's 22-Car Jump on a Harley-Davidson

Doug Danger is looking to succeed where Evel Knievel failed, even if he knows that a mistake can mean his own death. ”I know it’s dangerous, but death has had me by the throat twice in my life, and I spit in its face. When God's ready, he'll take me,” Danger tells MCN. However, in order to be able to compare the two stunts, the conditions must be as close as possible, so this is why Doug Danger will use a retro bike.

Doug Danger will ride an 1971 Harley-Davidson XR-750

On September 1, 1972, Evel Knievel attempted to jump his Harley over 22 cars in Monroe, Washington. However, his crew tried to convince him that the bike was unable to build enough speed to clear the whole gap, but Knievel insisted that the jump take place.

As a precautionary measure, the crew extended the landing ramp over the last three cars. Knievel’s bike was indeed unable to reach across the 22-car gap, and cleared only 21 cars, landing on the safety ramp. However, since the landing surface was different from the intended one and because of the bike’s suspensions, the Harley literally bounced off the ramp, with Knievel crashing to the ground and missing the record-breaking feature.

Doug Danger will use a Harley-Davidson XR-750 manufactured in 1971, which is exactly the same piece of machinery Knievel rode in ’72. He says the bike is in the same condition as Knievel’s was. While this introduces a good level of equity between the two stunts, this also brings the same fears Lee Ratliff, Evel Knievel’s Crew Chief had back in the day.

That is, the bike is one of the heaviest which have been used in such jumps and the suspensions are not good enough for the job, with insufficient travel to absorb the landing shock. Anyway, Doug Danger seems to be as determined to try the stunt as Knievel was in ’72. Whether he is better at jumping 22 cars aboard a Harley, the 6th of August will have things cleared out. The best of luck, Danger!