Evel Knievel 1972. On January 7 and 8, 1971, Knievel set the record by selling over 100,000 tickets to back-to-back performances at the Houston Astrodome. On February 28, he set a new world record by jumping 19 cars with his Harley-Davidson XR-750 at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California. The 19-car jump was filmed for the movie "Evel Knievel." Knievel held the record for 27 years until Bubba Blackwell jumped 20 cars in 1998 with an XR-750. In 2015, Doug Danger surpassed that number with 22 cars, accomplishing this feat on Evel Knievel's actual vintage 1972 Harley-Davidson XR-750. On May 10,
Motorcycle land-speed record The fastest record certified by the FIM is that set in 1964 by the jet-propelled tricycle, "Spirit of America". It set three absolute land speed records, the last at . While such records are usually validated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, the FIA only certifies vehicles with at least four wheels, while the FIM certifies two- and three-wheelers. Breedlove never intended "Spirit of America" to be classified as a motorcycle, despite its tricycle layout, and only approached the FIM after being rejected for record status by the FIA. "Spirit of America"s FIM-ratified record prompted the FIA to create a