Fonzie's 1947 Knucklehead

[panhead_jim]

Fonzie may have been best know for riding a silver Triumph, but that's not the only motorcycle he rode on the show. He actually started out with a '47 Harley Knucklehead Bobber. It also turns out that our own Chris Hayne's worked on the set of Happy Days during that first season and was the motorcycle wrangler in charge of said Knucklehead.



Aaaaeeeyyy, What Happened to Fonzie's Knucklehead?

Disclaimer: If Fonzie is your personal hero, you may not want to read this article.

[sirhrmechanic]

Actually, along w. Ron Howard, Winkler went on to a successful career after Happy Days... which I think speaks a lot about the man. And he made motorcycle riders not only 'cool' but acceptable to parents. If not for Fonzie, I would probably never have had my first motorcycle at 16. The hood with the heart of gold made MC riding a lot more acceptable than dozens of stupid Bikexploitation movies like Born Loser, Hells Angels go to Mars and the dozens of other stupid biker flix that tried to 'capture' a culture that Roger Corman and his MC Bollywood essentially made up.

Winkler's dyslexia is interesting... never thought of that as making MC riding hard, but I could see how it might be an issue for someone who was an actor, not a rider. He should have tried an Indian ;-) Probably gonna burn for that one...

As always, Jim, interesting stuff. Looking forward to hear Chris' comments... If he has any more. His name came up this weekend at the Vermont Road Run. Folks were speculating on where in the wide-wide-world of sports did he get all the cool stuff he keeps enlightening us with. C'mon Chris, how about posting a 'bio? I suspect you have BTDT and got more T-shirts than the rest of us will ever earn.

Cheers,

Sirhr

[exeric]

You sure have a different take on the movie biker culture Sirhr. When I saw the Fonz, I thought of a delusional nerd. Now the biker flics about the Hell's Angels were super cool. I remember a movie with Bruce Dern where he identified his stolen bike because it had a VL brake pedal. . . Of course violence soon followed. The Fonz would have been the first to be knocked unconsious

[sirhrmechanic]

I didn't say I wanted to emulate him... Just that he did make MC's ok with a generation of parents that had a pretty wrong impression of motorcycle enthusiasts. That said, I never signed up for the whole 'biker' thing. I am a MC enthusiast. Have no use for 'Biker' culture... either the real 1 percent thing or the Faux "I am an orthodontist and dress up as Sonny Barger on weekends because he is dreamy" side of things.

I am also a big believer in 'to each his own.' So if being a biker is your thing, Hail to You! If riding a vintage machine is your thing... awesome. If you want to dress up in Formula GP gear and ride a Honda Repsol. I am not worthy. As long as you have a good time on two wheels or with an Internal Combustion Engine in near proximity. I'll be your best friend and biggest fan.

When you tell me I should live in a Yurt, eat nothing but Kale, and that the dead dinosaurs I put in my gas tank are immoral... you can stick your views where the sun don't shine.

Remember, that South of the Mason Dixon line, lots of people think Easyriders had a happy ending ;-)

Cheers and have an awesome Fourth everyone! Those really loud explosions you hear coming from my farm... are the sound of freedom.

Sirhr

[Robert Luland]

I think Easyrider had a happy ending and I live in Hoboken NJ across from NYC. I grew up in the ghetto. I have no feelings what so ever for a dope dealer and even less for the scum in Hollywood that glorify them. Bob L

[Chris Haynes]

I suspect you have BTDT and got more T-shirts than the rest of us will ever earn.

Cheers,

Sirhr

I do have photos of me on my bike in front of the "Welcome To" signs of 46 states.
I spoke with Henry Winkler a couple of years ago when we were working on another project. We laughed about the Happy Days adventures we had. I started out by sayin that I once had to teach this kid from New York how to ride a Knuck on the back lot of Paramount. He laughed and said, "I remember. I was scared to death.".

[Rubone]

If not for Fonzie, I would probably never have had my first motorcycle at 16. The hood with the heart of gold made MC riding a lot more acceptable than dozens of stupid Bikexploitation movies like Born Loser, Hells Angels go to Mars and the dozens of other stupid biker flix that tried to 'capture' a culture that Roger Corman and his MC Bollywood essentially made up.

I got my first bike at 12 with my mother's help (co-signer!) and she never saw Happy Days, or any of the stupid biker movies of the day. She was a very proper Church going lady. Still is in fact...

[Tom Lovejoy]

Very cool, I never knew - right on Chris. They should have stuck with the HD.

[c.o.]

I keep saying that Chris Haynes fellow outta write a book!

Henry in his own words....



I guess Chris wasn't on the set for this scene!