‘Easy Rider’ Harley-Davidson Chopper Set To Be Auctioned

The Harley-Davidson chopper from the cult classic ‘Easy Rider’ is set to go up for auction. But controversy remains over claims to its authenticity.

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Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson in the 1969 cult classic film ‘Easy Rider’

A Harley-Davidson motorcycle from the iconic film ‘Easy Rider’ is getting ready to go up for auction. ‘Easy Rider’ starred Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson as bikers traversing the United States on Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The chopper, called Captain America, ridden by Peter Fonda’s character in the 1969 movie, is expected to become the most valuable motorcycle in the world, estimated to fetch over $500,000. The amount though is much less than the $1.35 million that another Captain America bike sold at auction fetched in 2014.

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The Captain America chopper ridden by Fonda is instantly recognisable. It’s a Harley-Davidson Panhead with an American flag paint motif on the fuel tank, a long extended front end and covered with lots of chrome. Four bikes were reportedly created for ‘Easy Rider,’ two identical Captain Americas and two “Billy” Harleys to be ridden by actor and director Dennis Hopper.

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The first Captain America sold in 2014 at a Los Angeles movie-memorabilia auction called Profiles in History was controversial, when questions were raised about the authenticity of the bike as the genuine Captain America. The other remaining Captain America was the one that crashed and burned in the final scene of the movie. It was later reconstructed by actor and motorcycle enthusiast Dan Haggerty, who played a small role in the movie. Apparently, Fonda had gifted the bike to Haggerty after the film. And once restored, it was bought by Texas realtor and collector Gordon Granger in 1996 for $63,500, whose death has prompted the latest auction.

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Haggerty had also authenticated the other Captain America sold in 2014, but questions arose when the owner of an identical motorcycle declared that his was the actual sole-surviving ‘Easy Rider’ bike. That owner also had a signed authentication from Haggerty. Even Fonda himself had questioned the authenticity of the bike auctioned in 2014.

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The bike to be sold in the upcoming auction on June 5, 2021, by Dan Kruse Classics, is now said to be the one that was built after the crash, and the only surviving bike of the four originally purchased for the film. The three other bikes are said to have been sold for their parts after filming for ‘Easy Rider’ was over. The chances of establishing which was the genuine bike from ‘Easy Rider’ further diminished after the deaths of Haggerty in 2016, and both Granger and Fonda in 2019. Regardless of if this one is the authentic bike, it’s supposed to fetch a hefty price when it goes up for auction on June 5.

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