Editing Easy Rider (section)

==Motorcycles==
[[File:Bultaco Pursang MK2 250cc 1967 b.JPG|thumb|[[Bultaco]] Pursang]]
[[File:Norton Matchless P11 3394595146 2abbb7629d o.jpg|thumb|[[Norton P11]] Ranger]]
[[File:Harley-Davidson Museum Easy Rider Captain America Bike.JPG|thumb|Replicas of the Captain America bike and Billy Bike at the [[Harley-Davidson Museum]] in [[Milwaukee]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Content/Pages/HD_Museum/explore/exhibits/custom-culture.html |website=[[Harley-Davidson Museum]] |title=Custom Culture |year=2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415200111/http://www.harley-davidson.com/en_US/Content/Pages/HD_Museum/explore/exhibits/custom-culture.html |archive-date=2012-04-15 }}</ref> ]]

While ''Easy Rider'' is famous for the Harley-Davidson choppers, the movie actually begins with the characters riding two European-made [[dirt bikes]], Fonda on a red [[Bultaco]] Pursang, Hopper on [[Norton P11]] Ranger. In total, two [[dirt bike]]s, and four former police bikes were used in the film. The 1949, 1950 and 1952 [[Harley-Davidson FL]] ''Hydra-Glide'' bikes were purchased at an auction for $500,<ref name=Wasef2007/> equivalent to about ${{Inflation|US|500|1967|r=-2}} in {{currentyear}}. Each bike had a backup to make sure that shooting could continue in case one of the old machines failed or got wrecked accidentally. The main motorcycles for the film, based on [[Suspension (motorcycle)#Rear suspension|hardtail]] [[motorcycle frame|frames]] and [[Harley-Davidson Panhead engine|panhead engines]], were designed and built by two African American [[Chopper (motorcycle)|chopper]] builders—[[Clifford Vaughs|Cliff Vaughs]] and [[Ben Hardy (motorcycle builder)|Ben Hardy]]—reflecting chopper designs popular among Black motorcyclists at the time, and following ideas of Peter Fonda, and were handled by Tex Hall and [[Dan Haggerty]] during shooting.<ref name=Wasef2007>{{Citation |title= Legendary Motorcycles: The Stories and Bikes Made Famous by Elvis, Peter Fonda, Kenny Roberts and Other Motorcycling Greats |first1= Basem |last1= Wasef |first2= Jay |last2= Leno |author-link2= Jay Leno |publisher= MotorBooks International |year= 2007 |isbn= 978-0-7603-3070-8 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jxWweoxJrxMC&pg=PA47 |pages= 47–52 |access-date= 2011-08-29 }}</ref> Cliff Vaughs and Ben Hardy were not mentioned in the movie credits.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://brothermoto.com/blogs/the-manual/the-builder-you-never-heard-about | title=The builder you never heard about | date=June 15, 2020 }}</ref>

One "Captain America" was demolished in the final scene, while the other three were stolen and probably taken apart before their significance as movie [[Theatrical property|props]] became known.<ref name=Wasef2007/> The demolished bike was rebuilt by [[Dan Haggerty]] and offered for auction in October 2014 by Profiles in History, a [[Calabasas, California]]-based auction house with an estimated value of $1–1.2 million. The provenance of existing Captain America motorcycles is unclear, and has been the subject of much litigation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maxim.com/entertainment/battle-over-captain-america-chopper-easy-rider|title=The Battle Over Captain America, the Chopper from "Easy Rider" |date=10 April 2015 |website=Maxim}}</ref> The [[EMP Museum]] in [[Seattle]] identified a Captain America chopper displayed there as a rebuilt original movie prop. Many replicas have been made since the film's release, including examples at the [[Deutsches Zweirad- und NSU-Museum]] (Germany), [[National Motorcycle Museum (Anamosa, Iowa)|National Motorcycle Museum]] (Iowa), [[Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum]] (Alabama), and [[Harley-Davidson Museum]] (Milwaukee).<ref name=Wasef2007/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barbermuseum.org/|title=The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum |website=barbermuseum.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalmcmuseum.org/captain-america-tribute-harley-davidson/|title="Captain America" Tribute Harley-Davidson|website=www.nationalmcmuseum.org|date=8 July 2016}}</ref>

Hopper and Fonda hosted a [[wrap party]] for the movie and then realized they had not yet shot the final campfire scene. Thus, it was shot after the bikes had already been stolen, which is why they are not visible in the background as in the other campfire scenes.<ref name=biskind>{{cite book|title=[[Easy Riders, Raging Bulls]]|last=Biskind |first=Peter|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|year=1998|author-link=Peter Biskind|isbn=978-0-684-80996-0}}</ref><ref name=Wasef2007/>