Evel Knievel Stunt Game

Arguably, the 1970's knew no greater legend than Evel Knievel.  As a child, he fascinated me with his death-defying jumps and fearless attitude.  I never had his toys, but he was the closest to a real-life superhero I had ever seen.

Last Thursday during lunch I hit an estate sale in Sappington Acres subdivision.  There, I found this.

Every time I look at that kid, I think he's eating a nacho.  He's actually holding trophy cards.

The kid who owned this didn't apply the provided stickers to Evel, except for one near the foot pegs.

The object of the game is to perform 6 stunts for which you earn one trophy each.  The motor turns Evel around the track pretty fast, so it is difficult to achieve them.  They include stopping the bike on a particular section of the track labeled "Pit Stop". 

Another involves rolling the provided wheel down a ramp while Evel races around the track.  If the wheel makes it across the track without being struck, you've succeeded.  More a test of luck than skill.  

The third challenge is to jump the ramp, but stop the bike (using the "Brake" button) before hitting the barrels.  

The fourth stunt is to stop the motorcycle on the ramp, kind of like Evel did prior to making his jump.  This is particularly difficult because the motorcycle has a tendency to slide back down the ramp.  

The fifth stunt involves an incline that mounts on the motor that causes the motorcycle to do a "wheelie".  The challenge is to stop the motorcyle in the wheelie stance.

The final stunt involves the incline as well.  The goal is to perform a "loop the loop" off of the incline and stop in front of the grand stand.

The original instructions were still with it and detail the setup and required stunts.

I'm debating painting the motorcycle in Evel's #1 red, white and blues, but I haven't decided as that may affect the value.  I probably will eventually sell the game, but not until I'm done playing with it.

I had the opportunity to meet Evel in 2005 and I felt like a kid talking to him, starstruck and tongue tied.  He was still full of bluster, cursing a local St. Louis promoter who had cheated him out of money 40 years prior. Evel leaped that golden ramp into the afterlife just two years later (I was going to say "Heaven" instead of "afterlife", but given the life Evel lived, I'm not so sure he made that jump!).

The leap that made Evel a star as shot by Linda Evans, John Derek's then wife: