Like father, like son: Robbie Knievel to ride over Evel's legacy at Kings Island
Thursday, May 15, 2008
MASON — It's rare for a roller coaster to be upstaged as the most thrilling aspect of an amusement park, but on Saturday, May 24, Robbie Knievel will do just that.
The motorcycle daredevil plans to follow in the tread marks of one of his daredevil father's most famous leaps.
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In October 1975, Evel Knievel successfully leapt over 14 Greyhound buses and landed without harm in the parking lot of Kings Island in Mason. Landing safely was not always the norm for Evel, who once held the world record for most broken bones.
Next weekend, Robbie Knievel will attempt to jump his motorcycle over 24 Coke Zero trucks in the same parking lot.
"Robbie is an old-school daredevil. He puts on a total show," said Kings Island spokesman Don Helbig said. "He wants to replicate and surpass his father. He's always looking for a bigger, better jump. It's going to be a really spectacular event that we're all excited about."
If Robbie is successful, he will more than double the distance covered by his father in 1975, and potentially break his own world record for ramp-to-ramp jumps. Evel traveled 112 feet in the air; and, Robbie will need to clear at least 224 feet. The world record is 231 feet.
The jump will take place at 7 p.m. The event is free with a Kings Island ticket.
Helbig said that Robbie Kneival wants to duplicate every one of his father's major jumps before he retires and he only had two left, Wembely Stadium in London and Kings Island.
When Evel Kneival jumped at Kings Island, he rode a Harley Davidson motorcycle and hit a top speed of nearly 80 mph. Robbie Kneival plans to be going more than 90 mph when he leaves the ramp.
The jump style is essentially unchanged, but Robbie will use a third ramp at the start of his jump to build speed and the landing ramp will be wider than the one his father used to compensate for any weather conditions.
"People around Robbie told me they haven't seen him this excited about a jump in a long time," Helbig said.
Robbie was present during his father's 1975 jump and performed in the preshow.
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4544 or jmcclelland@coxohio.com.
