Iconic 'Easy Rider' chopper auctioned for $1.35 mn

The chopper-style motorbike, complete with authenticating documents including a letter from Fonda, was sold at entertainment industry auction house Profiles in History for $ 1.35 million. The Harley-Davidson panhead, ridden by actor Peter Fonda in the ground-breaking movie directed by his co-star Dennis Hopper, was owned by Los Angeles Realtor and movie memorabilia collector Michael Eisenberg.

A total of four motorcycles were reportedly made for the movie – two each for Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper’s characters. One of the four bikes was crashed in shooting the film’s finale, and the three others were stolen prior to the premiere.

But questions have been raised over the auctioned bike’s authenticity. Dan Haggerty, an actor with a bit part in Easy Rider, reportedly restored the crashed bike from the movie and sold it. But recent reports suggested that he has authenticated and sold not just one, but two Captain America bikes.

Gordon Granger of Texas says he bought the original Easy Rider motorcycle in 1996 from Haggerty. Both the red, white and blue bikes have certificates of authenticity signed by Haggerty. Eisenberg, a Los Angeles real estate agent and collector of Hollywood memorabilia, bought his chopper earlier this year from John Parham, a motorcycle parts magnate who had originally purchased the bike from Haggerty 12 years ago.

Captain America, the iconic Harley-Davidson chopper, features a forward angled front wheel and high handlebars, fishtail exhaust pipes and a teardrop shaped fuel tank where the movie’s protagonists stashed their cash. It was reported to have been designed with inputs from Fonda himself who insisted on it being decorated with the American flag.

Easy Rider is considered a cult classic, and is a road film about two drug-using, long-haired bikers who go on a cross country ride in search of personal freedom and easy money. Fonda has authenticated the bike sold off at the auction, but now even he says he isn’t sure which one of the bikes is the genuine one used in the movie. Even Fona acknowledges that it’s only Haggerty who restored the original crashed bike, who will know the actual original Captain America from the movie.