![]() I mean, suddenly people were building choppers in Czechoslovakia, or Russia, or China, or Japan. They did more to popularize choppers around the world than any other film or any other motorcycle. And the man who designed and coordinated the building of the motorcycles, Clifford Vaughs, says he and the other bike builders have not received proper credit for their work. (The three other bikes used in the production were stolen prior to the film's release.)Īccording to Brian Chanes, acquisitions manager for the auction house, the bike's estimated value is between $1 million and $1.2 million.īut despite the bike's fame, the history of the creation of the bikes used in Easy Rider has for many years been largely unknown. The bike currently for sale was partially destroyed in the film's finale, the auction house says, and then rebuilt by actor Dan Haggerty. ![]() Peter Fonda, who played Wyatt in the Dennis Hopper-directed film, rode the so-called "Captain America" bike, named for its distinctive American flag color scheme and known for its sharply-angled long front end. 18, the Calabasas, Calif.-based auction house Profiles In History will auction off what it says is the last authentic motorcycle used in the filming of 1969's Easy Rider, and what some consider the most famous motorcycle in the world. “I mean, it’s real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace.Peter Fonda rides the "Captain America" chopper in Easy Rider. Inevitably, the final word on the sale of these bikes must go to George Hanson, the feckless Southern lawyer played in the film by Jack Nicholson: I made ’em for Otis for $15,000 a copy,” he said. “I heard that Otis sold them both to the Guggenheim for $200,000 - an unbelievable amount of money. ![]() They will then be shipped to California, where they will be auctioned, along with other vintage motorcycles,īonhams estimates the value of the Billy Bike to range from $15,000 to $20,000 and the Captain America bike from $20,000 to $30,000. The machines are on display at Bonhams & Butterfields’ New York auction house through March 30. Instance - were made by the same craftsmen, using the same materials as the movie bikes. Some of the parts in the replicas - the distinctive seat on the Fonda bike, for The movie bikes were based on used Harley-Davidson FL police bikes which the filmmakers bought, so the legend goes, for $500 each. “I bought a VHS tape of the movie and watched it overĪnd over and over again, to get the fine nuances of the bikes,” said Mr. Bator, who had restored other vintage Harley-Davidsons for his client’s collection, to recreate both movie bikes. The remaining three - one Captain America and the two orange-and-yellow “Billy Bikes” ridden by Dennis Hopper - were stolen at the end of shooting. The bike can be seen in midair, in pieces, and then engulfed in flames Was known as the Captain America, reportedly crashed and burned while shooting the final scene, in which Peter Fonda’s character is shot. One of the red, white and blue bikes, which Why are these replicas credited with such significance?ĭepending on whom you ask, none of the original machines, ridden by Peter Fonda and the film’s co-star and director, the late Dennis Hopper, still exist.Īccording to Glenn Bator, the Ojai, Calif., motorcycle builder and restorer who crafted the Chandler replicas, two copies of each original machine were built for the movie. The machines were built at the behest of the late Otis Chandler, a respected collector of autos and motorcycles and one-time publisher of The Los Angeles Times. The bikes were highlights of the museum’s “Art of the Motorcycle” exhibit, which played to large crowds at the Guggenheim in 1998, followed by runs at the museum’s Bilbao, Spain, and Las The Guggenheim Museum in New York is selling, without reserve, its two exact replicas of the Harley-Davidson-based choppers ridden by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in the 1969 film “Easy Rider.” Two emblems of restless American freedom are being offered for sale to the public for the first time. Randy Leffingwell A replica of the so-called Captain America bike ridden by Peter Fonda in “Easy Rider.” The bike and its Dennis Hopper “Billy Bike” companion replica are being auctioned in May.
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