

"But once it sunk in that I actually had it, then I realized how important it was." He had for years inquired about buying the bike from Haggerty and then the museum. When the museum decided to sell it last year, Eisenberg jumped at the chance to buy it.Īn "Easy Rider" fan since childhood, Eisenberg ran the Thunder Road House in West Hollywood with Fonda and Hopper in the 1990s until it burned down due to an electrical fire. That new life was at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa, run by a friend of Haggerty's. Haggerty rode it often, an experience he likened to "going out with Marilyn Monroe." Parting with it was like having a "child finally getting married and moving away and starting a new life on their own." "They were never recovered."Īfter the film was finished, Hopper told Haggerty to keep it.
PETER FONDA CHOPPER MOVIE MOVIE
"Three of the motorcycles were stolen, even before the movie was released, which was a sign of the overwhelming power that these motorcycles had," said Haggerty. It was used in the climactic crash scene in which Fonda is thrown off the bike.

"Easy Rider" is a classic road film about two drug-using, long-haired bikers, Wyatt (Fonda) and Billy (Hopper), who go on a cross-country odyssey to New Orleans in search of personal freedom and easy money.įour motorcycles were created for the movie, but only one is known to have survived. It was designed with input from Fonda who insisted on it being decorated with the American flag. The bike features a forward-angled front wheel and handlebars, fishtail exhaust pipes and a teardrop-shaped gas tank where the protagonists stashed their cash. Another is from Fonda and a third from Haggerty. One is signed by the National Motorcycle Museum, where it was displayed for 12 years. The gleaming stars-and-stripes panhead chopper with chromed hardtail frame is accompanied by three letters of authenticity.
PETER FONDA CHOPPER MOVIE TV
Eisenberg bought it last year from Dan Haggerty, perhaps best known for his roles in the "Grizzly Adams" TV show and movies, who was in charge of keeping the custom-designed bike humming during the 1969 movie's filming. The seller is Michael Eisenberg, a California businessman who once co-owned a Los Angeles motorcycle-themed restaurant with Fonda and "Easy Rider" co-star Dennis Hopper. 18 sale being held online and at its galleries in Calabasas, California. The auction house Profiles in History told The Associated Press that it estimates the Harley-Davidson will bring $1 million to $1.2 million at its Oct. (Dan Kruse Classics, Jin Midland, Texas, website: cordandkruse.NEW YORK - The customized Captain America chopper Peter Fonda rode in "Easy Rider" has come to symbolize the counterculture of the 1960s.
PETER FONDA CHOPPER MOVIE SERIES
Also noteworthy in this sale is a replica of the famous “General Lee” Dodge from the series “The Dukes of Hazzard.” This selection includes, for example, several Rolls-Royces from the 1920s and 1930s, a 1954 Jaguar XK120 Roadster and a 1964 Ford Mustang convertible.


In addition to Captain America, about 20 other vehicles from Gordon Granger’s collection will also be offered at auction on June 5, all without reserve prices. In 2014, one of them was sold for 1.3 million dollars. For the record, two bikes were used for the shoot. The authenticity of this model for sale is nevertheless debated among some aficionados. The movie is a cult road movie about two bikers leaving California to reach Louisiana. Easy Rider (1969) Connections Showing all 512 items Jump to: Followed by (1) Remade as (1) References (5) Referenced in (384) Featured in (89) Spoofed in (32) Followed by Easy Rider 2: The Ride Home (2012) Remade as Easy Rider (2012) References I Havent Got a Hat (1935) (Short) Porky Pig is mentioned in dialogue. Since then, the bike has resided in Austin, Texas, where it even survived a fire in December 2010.įor anyone who needs a reminder, the film “Easy Rider” was directed by Dennis Hopper and released in 1969. In 1996, the bike’s owner at the time, collector Gary Graham, sold the Captain America bike at the Dan Kruse Classic Car Productions auction to Gordon Granger. This exceptional model, famous across the world, was built from an old 1952 Harley-Davidson bike bought for a pittance at the time. The motorcycle in question, symbol of freedom and the hippie movement of the era, will be sold without a reserve price.
