Robbie Knievel
| Robbie Knievel | |
|---|---|
Doing a wheelie at Texas Motor Speedway in June 2008
|
|
| Born |
May 7, 1962 Butte, Montana |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | stunt performer |
| Known for | motorcycle jumping |
| Parent(s) | Evel and Linda Knievel |
Robert Edward "Robbie" Knievel (born May 7, 1962 in Butte, Montana) is an American daredevil and son of stunt performer Evel Knievel.
Robbie Knievel is the son of the late famous stuntman Robert (Evel) Knievel and his first wife, Linda. The third of four children (two boys and two girls), Knievel is named after his paternal grandfather. Knievel has two daughters, Krysten and Karmen. He also has a granddaughter and grandson, Analise and Kane.
Knievel began jumping his bicycle at age 4 and rode motorcycles at age 7. At age 8, he performed his first show with his father at Madison Square Garden. At age 12 he was on tour with his father where he would perform in the pre-jump shows. Knievel attended Central Catholic High School in Butte, Montana between 1975–76, but never graduated. He wanted to lengthen his jumps, but his father disapproved. Knievel then went solo after his dad's approval.
Knievel's jumping career is markedly different from his father's, in that Robbie, up until 2009, used high-performance Honda CR500 bikes that have been designed for jumping. Evel made most of his record breaking jumps using a Harley-Davidson XR-750 motorcycle. The XR-750 is a significantly heavier and less agile motorcycle than the CR500 because the Honda is a motocross bike whereas the Harley is a flat-track racing motorcycle.
Robbie has made and often replicated Evel's jumps (including Evel's 1967 Caesars Palace crash) with the exception of two of his father's major accomplishments: a Harley-Davidson XR-750 jump and the Snake River Canyon jump using the X-2 Skycycle. Although never attempted, Robbie stated that he would use a XR-750 to clear a record-breaking 16 buses, three more buses than his father attempted at Wembley Stadium in 1975 (the current record for jumping a Harley-Davidson XR-750 is 15 buses, currently held by Bubba Blackwell). Additionally, Robbie stated that he would attempt to re-create his father's 1974 failed rocket jump over the Snake River Canyon near Twin Falls, Idaho.
...
Wikipedia