![]() More importantly, it has legend status, representing “a longing for a simpler life, one of adventure and the open road,” as Dan Kruse says. It has a Panhead engine (VTwin 74ci with 52 hp), paired to a manual 4-speed transmission, no odometer, and is not operational. Real or not, partly authentic or not at all, Captain America will be crossing the auction block on June 5, 2021, in Texas. ![]() Shortly after, Haggerty signed a letter that authenticated Granger’s bike, only to recant later and call it an honest mistake. Later, he admitted that Granger’s bike had only some parts from the original ( “a few bits and pieces, a chain or a fender, nothing more”), saying he’d kept the frame for himself. But, as noted above, Haggerty was never a reliable source: in 2008, he said he’d sold the original to the Guggenheim Museum. Still, if you yearn for that authentic Harley-Davidson chopper experience in a reliable factory package, theres only one choice. The bike comes with three letters of authenticity: from Graham, Haggerty, and Kruse. The bike has been in Texas since, and it’s now offered at auction, with an estimate between $300,000 and $500,000. He never did, so Graham sold the bike off to Gordon Granger, through the Daniel Kruse Classic Car Productions, in 1996, for $63,000. Graham funded the venture under the agreement that Haggerty would repay him the loan later on. Get your motor running, head out on the highway, and get yourself to Midland, Texas on June 5 for a chance to ride home on one of the Captain America Harley-Davidson choppers from the 1969 film Easy Rider. ![]() It’s the piece Haggerty and collector Gary Graham rebuilt from salvaged parts from the original, laying around in Haggerty’s garage. It’s supposedly one of two choppers designed by Cliff Vaughn and built by Ben Hardy for the film. One ended up at auction in 2014 and sold for a reported $1.35 million (before auction fees), even though its authenticity was challenged just days before. Years later, he would sell two different Captain Americas, both of them claiming to be original. What is known for a fact is that the Captain America used in the crash scene at the end of the film was not taken to the junkyard but handed over to the supposed original builder (and the most unreliable narrator in the entire story), Dan Haggerty. Their build history is equally muddled, with most of the people involved in the process telling different stories at different times-and no longer around to set the record straight. No one knows for a fact what happened with the original Captain America bikes built for the film (either two or four of them), but the most widespread story is that they were stolen at gunpoint right after production was completed. Adding to its value is the association with the counter-culture and anti-establishment movement, made possible through its appearance in the 1969 film Easy Rider, with Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Jack Nicholson. If the bike is in fact the real deal, that just might be a steal.Captain America, Easy Rider Captain America, or the Easy Rider chopper, is the world’s most expensive Harley-Davidson chopper and one of the most expensive bikes ever created and sold at auction. ![]() The bike, which is no longer operational, is expected to sell for between $300,000 and $500,000, according to autoevolution. “The motorcycle we are selling is the crash bike from the movie Easy Rider,” a spokesperson for the auction house said in no uncertain terms to FT.Īlthough its provenance is now up in the air, this version of Captain America is still expected to fetch top dollar when it goes up for bid on June 21. Granger’s bike, which is now being sold by his estate, comes with three certificates of authenticity, including one signed by Haggerty who died in 2016. It was another Captain America that Haggerty claimed was the true bike. ![]() Only a handful of the parts remain stock in this bike. The chassis remains original, but it has been slammed. The bobber rides on the original 16 tires. It was sold again in 2014 for $1.35 million, except that the bike that was sold wasn’t the one Granger had bought. The Harley Fat Bob is designed with the most distinctive styling from their factories, but most of it still got chopped down during the creation of the Harley-Davidson Fat Bob bobber. It was then sold at auction to Texas realtor Gordon Granger for $63,500 in 1996. Haggerty, who would go on to star in The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, restored the wrecked Captain America and would later display it at the Iowa State Fair. The other bikes? Those were all stolen shortly after production wrapped. Rather than be sent to the scrap yard following filming, it was returned to Dan Haggerty who had customized the four old, beat-up Harleys that were used for filming, according to the Financial Times. This particular bike is said to have been used for a fiery crash scene at the end of the movie. ![]()
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