In the opening scene as the bikes come roaring down the road towards the camera and pass by either side of it,one of the rearmost riders in the gang locks his back wheel as he leans/steers and brakes to avoid hitting the camera.Theres no way he could have corrected the skid and stayed on the road at that speed,so presumably he crashes off the side of the road and ends up badly hurt.
Anyone else think the same? Did it happen?
Done quite deliberately I think and no doubt after several rehearsals.A quick dab on the rear brake will lock up the rear wheel and as I estimate they were only doing 40 mph a competent rider could easily manage it BUT i suspect it wasn't a ONE TAKE scene!
shareHmmm.....cant see why they would risk such a dangerous manouvere for only one second of film,the bike that skidded was a Harley,a very heavy bike to quickly correct a skid even if they were only doing 40mph,even if he didnt crash the other riders would have had difficulty avoiding hitting the skidding bike.
This scene also points to an innacuracy on the trivia page,it says that the Black Rebels all rode Triumphs or other british bikes,unless some of Chino's gang were used in the opening scene.
That could be the case...using another extra from Chino's...the thread above yours says that a quick tap of the rear brake locks up the rear tire...was that more likely to happen on those old bikes? because it never has happened to me...just curious thanks...
"I'm still here, you bastards."
I dunno 'bout Harleys & Indians but it's poss to lock the rear wheel of a vintage Triumph and so that 'stunt' whilist under control without crashing
Just did it -inadvertently -tonight !
Many years ago, I had had that happen on an '84 HD Softail in Hollywood. Morning traffic, still sleepy, headed to work, wet road, and the car in front of me decides to lock up his brakes. My rear wheel came out from behind me when I panicked and hit the rear brake hard. Pointed the front wheel to the median and eased up on the rear brake, and the bike straightened out.
I remember it so clearly because that was the first time that I nearly went down on that bike, and was scared to death that I was going to get nailed by the idiot behind me, who was following way too close for my liking.
My point is that it's entirely possible that the rider in question did not actually crash. But who knows?
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It's definitely possible for him to do it without crashing. As a matter of fact, the kind of crash that would have resulted from the back brake locking up is called a highside crash, and most stuntmen/women will not attempt it because of the high risk of the bike sliding over the rider in the fall. When the back brake locks up, you should just ride it out with what little control is left. It's sort of like when you're fishtailing on a dirt road in a car - you have a little control, and if you're a skilled rider, you can successfully ride it out. My bike weighs 530 lbs and I've locked the back brake up before when I first got it. It was before I had taken a safety course, so I didn't know I was supposed to ride it out - I let off the brake instead and almost crashed. Scary as hell.
shareDid anybody else notice there was at least two other scenes with pretty crazy drivingg? The other ones that come to mind are during the race near the start of the film, one of the racers goes down and hops up real quick only to walk right into another racer (who does pretty good not to end up on the ground by not slamming the brakes). Also the dude who flips the bike trying to do a take off wheelie. Both of the scenes look totally unplanned.
Some people have said this movie seems dated and corny by todays standards, but from a bike perspective it looks pretty raw and natural to me (except the stupid shots of Brando in the beginning, they could have done without those. It's totally obvious that he "riding" in front of a screen.)
Great movie though. Chino was a bad-ass.
Yes.yes,yes!I agree with your good piece of detective work especially regarding the racing scene.Suspect that the drag into Bleeker's Cafe scene was the work of a pretty skilled rider or stuntman who knew his stuff.A lot of people knock the opening close up shots of Brando but I've always thought they served a specific purpose.You're able to make out all the KOOL details of the biker look of 1953:the sideburns,the cap,the sunnies and jacket etc.Long live the ROCKER/GREASER image!Chino was OK but like the rest of his gang they were older saddle tramp types who didn't have much style.Can't remember many guys wanting to ride around on an old Indian or Harley looking like a bloody pirate!
shareI just watched this on You Tube and noticed the shot. I didn't think it was all that bad the first time, but I went back and replayed it. It's not much more than a little fish tail. And those weren't that big of bikes, Brando's was only a 650cc and weighed less than 400 lbs wet.
This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.