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Peter Fonda’s Easy Rider Chopper Auctioned For USD 1.35 Million
One of the most influential movies of the 1960s, ‘Easy Rider', saw Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper riding Harley Davidson choppers on their ‘road to freedom', and sparked a huge movement of motorcycle fans in the US. The film grossed an impressive USD 60 million at the box office, and was one of the most successful movies of 1969.
The very chopper that Peter Fonda rode recently went under the hammer for an incredible USD 1.35 million. This was the second of two choppers made for Peter Fonda in the movie, and was the one used in the crash sequence at the end of the film. Two Captain America-themed motorcycles were created for Fonda's role, so that shooting would not be interrupted even in the case of a breakdown.
The chopper was created by two African-American bike builders, Cliff Vaughs and Ben Hardy, with design suggestions from Fonda himself, and was sold as part of a sale of Hollywood memorabilia at Profile in History's auction rooms at Calabalas, near Los Angeles. Sadly, the second of the Captain America machines and both of Dennis Hopper's motorcycles were stolen post-filming, and interestingly rumoured to have been chopped down by Hells Angels outlaw bikers.
The Captain America chopper was described as the most famous motorcycle in history by auctioneer boss Joseph Maddalena, which sparked the beginning of the anti-war rebellious era. People across the world were influenced by the counterculture bikers that were Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, and their disdain for the ‘Man' proved to be extremely popular at the time.
If you haven't caught this flick as yet, don't wait any longer, especially if you grew up in the 1960s and know all about being a rebel on two wheels.