Travis Pastrana Is Carrying on the Legacy of Evel Knievel With Three Incredible Jumps
Words & photos by Sean MacDonald
Travis Pastrana is currently at a secret West Coast practice facility where he has a week to learn some new aerial stunts on a very different motorcycle. He’s ditching the dirt for the “Evel Live” event that will see him recreating three of Evel Knievel’s most famous stunts in Las Vegas.
Travis will complete a series of three jumps in the three-hour live event. The first is the famous 50 car jump Evel originally completed at the Los Angeles Coliseum in November of 1973. Pastrana is upping the ante two cars, making for a 144-foot, six-inch gap between the nine-foot-tall takeoff and six-foot-tall landing.
The second jump sees Pastrana recreating Evel’s bus jump, only he once again adds two to Evel’s 14 for a total of 16 greyhound buses. The 400-foot inrun on this jump culminates in an 11’11” takeoff, just four inches above the 11’7” tall buses. This jump puts Travis in the air for 155 feet before landing on the fairly short 147-foot offramp.
For this third act of the three-hour show, Pastrana will recreate the Caesar’s Palace fountain jump which left Evel Knievel in a coma for a month following the crash in his 1967 attempt. In this jump, the most difficulty comes from an Indian that doesn’t accelerate as quickly as the dirtbikes Pastrana and most guys use for distance jumps, and the inrun is only 203 feet long.
Travis will complete a series of three jumps in the three-hour live event. The first is the famous 50 car jump Evel originally completed at the Los Angeles Coliseum in November of 1973. Pastrana is upping the ante two cars, making for a 144-foot, six-inch gap between the nine-foot-tall takeoff and six-foot-tall landing.
The second jump sees Pastrana recreating Evel’s bus jump, only he once again adds two to Evel’s 14 for a total of 16 greyhound buses. The 400-foot inrun on this jump culminates in an 11’11” takeoff, just four inches above the 11’7” tall buses. This jump puts Travis in the air for 155 feet before landing on the fairly short 147-foot offramp.
For this third act of the three-hour show, Pastrana will recreate the Caesar’s Palace fountain jump which left Evel Knievel in a coma for a month following the crash in his 1967 attempt. In this jump, the most difficulty comes from an Indian that doesn’t accelerate as quickly as the dirtbikes Pastrana and most guys use for distance jumps, and the inrun is only 203 feet long.
Travis will be making these series of jumps on Indian’s flat track race bike, the FTR750, which has only received minor modifications to stiffen the suspension and make the bike more comfortable for Pastrana’s taller frame and the task of jumping rather than sliding around a dirt oval.
Travis and company only have a week to figure out the kinds of gearing, speeds, and distances they’ll need to complete the jump, which is then followed by a three-week break for other commitments where Travis won’t have any time on the bike. With such a short window, the team is focusing on training Travis’s muscle memory to make sure he’s comfortable when he gets on the bike in July. To do this, they’ve turned every day into a ritual with the same tasks and warm-up exercises and runs so that it all becomes routine.
The longest motorcycle jump is over 300 feet long, making this less about carrying on Evel’s legacy as much as it is paying homage - although he is jumping a bike with a third of the suspension travel and that weighs twice as much. Pastrana’s father Robert raised his son with a famous quote
“You aren’t a failure until you fail to get back up”
which originated with Evel himself.
Pastrana’s entire life has been a continuation of Evel’s legacy which is why the Evel Live event is all about focusing on Evel’s legacy. He’ll even be dressed in period correct riding gear, right down to the boots (though he’ll probably opt for some sort of eye protection this time).
Tune in July 8th at 8PM EST/5PM PST to the History Channel to see Pastrana and the Nitro Circus and Indian team tackle three of Evel’s most famed jumps and watch as Evel’s legacy continues on.
