Evel Knievel Museum review

[Lee 2002]

My team at work took a day offsite for team-building and planning.    Our afternoon activity was a trip through the Evel Knievel museum.   The museum does a really good job of explaining how all these artifacts ended up at the Harley Davidson dealership in Topeka, Kansas.

 

I don't want to spoil this for anyone that may choose to visit... but all the makes and models that Evel jumped are represented.    Some are original Evel-owned bikes that were painstakingly restored to original condition while others are like models that were returned to Evel-ridden condition via referencing period photos.

 

Yes, his first jump was made on a Honda... over a box of snakes that he crashed into .

 

 

 

 

This all started when Evel's original hauler was bought and completely restored to original condition by a collector with the intent of taking it and other artifacts on tour... sorta' a mobile museum.   He quickly discovered this wasn't economically feasible.    Through a series of local connections all the motorcycles and the hauler were restored locally and the museum began.

 

 

 

They have a large selection of Evel branded toys.... including this one that I'll bet nearly all of us owned.   I know I did.

 

 

They have one of the two original sky cycles (the other is still owned by the family).   This one is the one that flew in the test jump over the Snake River Canyon.   After that jump, Evel was sure he would be killed in the televised jump.  

 

 

The highlight of the museum is an opportunity to participate in a 4D VR motorcycle jump completed by Doug Danger on one of Evel's original bikes filmed for the virtual reality experience in downtown Topeka.

 

   

 

If your travels bring you through Topeka, it is well worth your time to stop and visit.   There is a lot more to the museum than these photos show.      Drop me a line on your way through and if my schedule permits, I'll join you as I did not have enough time to experience all the video clips and read all the information as I wanted.

[TimC]

That's great!  Thanks for sharing the photos and info here!