Link: Evel Knievel
It’s also been suggested that Evel’s throttle was setup by his mechanics to turn clockwise instead of counter-clockwise. That way when he landed the throttle would roll off to idle, instead of wide open– because the impact of landing made his wrists and hands roll in the counter-clockwise direction of the grip.
--Previous Message--
: The debate about Evel Knievel having his
: throttle turned clockwise on some of his
: jumps continues. Some background. I went to
: see Evel jump in person back in 1976. I rode
: a motorcycle back then so I knew what way to
: turn the throttle. When you turn the
: motorcycle throttle to gas it you turn it
: counter clockwise. I can't remember who I
: talked to back then but I remember someone
: noticing that the XR-750 throttle turned
: clockwise on his jump bike. Robbie had a
: motorcycle at the Holy Cross jump and it
: turned counter clockwise like every throttle
: does. At the time I didn't think much about
: it. Later I watched the movie Evel Knievel
: and noticed during the slow motion sequence
: George Hamilton is turning the throttle
: clockwise . I thought that might just be a
: mistake that the movie made and wasn't
: enough evidence to back up my claim. Now
: look at this image from the 14 bus jump. If
: you watch this in slow motion you see Evel
: throttles the motorcycle as he goes towards
: the ramp and indeed turns it clockwise.I
: believe Evel didn't always have the throttle
: turning the opposite way but in this case he
: did. If memory serves me I was told he did
: this because the Motorcycle was heavy and
: when he landed he wanted to roll off the
: throttle at the landing ramp and this made
: it easier on his wrist .
:
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