The Great Escape 2 from Wes Siler on Vimeo.

In the words of motorcycle stunt rider, Steve Colley, in attempting to recreate Bud Ekins’ (or Steve McQueen’s) famous motorcycle jump from the Great Escape: “What they lacked in equipment, they sure made up for with balls. Wow!” (Colley could have tried it with a helmet, though).

The Times newspaper of the UK decided to recreate the jump using a similar machine to the Triumph apparently used in the film: in this case a Metisse Desert Racer. It all appears to be in the name of resolving a controversy over whether the jump was attempted with a standard factory-built Triumph as Bud Ekins claimed.

But what’s there to prove, anyway? As one reader on Hell for Leather Magazine says, “If Bud said they got a Triumph Bonneville to run on salad dressing and walk on water I would be inclined to believe him.”

Source | Hell for leather magazine, from The Times

Video | Vimeo.com

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Debate on Fireblades forum includes many rider and motorcycle topics, one of which is a classic: the best motorcycle movie ever. Opinions range from the beauty of the South American scenery in “Motorcycle Diaries”, to the hilarity of “Wild Hogs” and 1969 cult film “Easy Rider”.

But my favourite that came up was “The Great Escape” with Steve McQueen jumping a fence on a motorcycle. Another classic film mentioned with McQueen was “On Any Sunday“. “The Great Escape” is perhaps not a “motorcycle movie” in the strictest terms, but above we give you the trailer with the closing scenes of McQueen’s famous jump.

Source | Fireblades Forum

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An commercial for Anchor butter that tributes the movie The Great Escape starring an Anchor felt cut out cow in one of Steve McQueen’s greatest roles, set to the famous theme, it reprises the scene where the hero makes his final break for freedom with a motorcycle.

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