Travis Pastrana to use Indian FTR750 for Knievel-tribute jumps

BACK in March we brought news of Travis Pastrana’s intentions to replicate three of Evel Knievels most famous jumps for a three-hour televised special. Now it’s emerged that he’s doing them all on Indian’s new FTR750 flat-track race bike.

‘Evel Live’ will be shown on History in America, with three hours of coverage as Pastrana attempts first to jump a pile of 52 crushed cars, then 16 Greyhound buses and finally to clear the fountains at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Of course, each jump relies on the previous one being a success…

From the start, Pastrana has planned to do the jumps on bikes similar to those used by Knievel, but to go a little better each time. For his 50-car leap in Los Angeles in 1973 and the 14 Greyhound bus jump at Kings Island in 1975, Knievel used the Harley-Davidson XR750 flat tracker that he’s so famed for. But the most famous of all was his Caesars Palace leap, back in 1968, the one that made Knievel a household name, and for that he used a Triumph Bonneville T120.

By using Indian’s FTR750, Travis Pastrana might not be using exactly the same bike as Knievel, but it’s not far from the mark.

“It was extremely important to use a motorcycle similar to the ones Evel jumped. The Indian Scout FTR 750 is just that, a modern-day evolution of the flat track motorcycles of the past,” said Pastrana. “It has the power I need and handles well, but I’m only going to have a few days to get comfortable on it, not to mention I’ve never jumped a V-twin before. I’ve got my work cut out, but we’re used to going big at Nitro Circus, so we’ll make it happen.”

“We couldn’t be more excited for Travis to be piloting the Scout FTR750 as he looks to make history by recreating three of Evel Knievel’s most historic jumps in a single evening,” said Reid Wilson, Senior Director, Marketing and Product Development for Indian Motorcycle. “Evel Knievel is truly a global icon, and we’re proud to be a part of this incredible event that pays homage to his legacy in such grand fashion.”

The event is scheduled for the evening of 8 July. In America, the History special will be televised from 8pm ET (5pm PT). That’s midnight in the UK, although at the moment it’s not known whether we’ll also be able to watch it happen live over here.