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If you happened to be watching Super Bowl VIII back
on January 13, 1974, or revisited the game more
recently via some nostalgia TV channel, you might
remember that the game, played at Houston’s Rice
Stadium, pitted AFC champion Miami Dolphins and
the previous Super Bowl VII champs against the NFC
champion Minnesota Vikings.
It was a lopsided 24-7 victory for the Dolphins and
their second Super Bowl win in a row. It was a good
day to be a Floridian.
I remember because I grew up in South Florida, ate lunch
frequently in a barbecue place plastered with Dolphin
memorabilia, plus I was still having childhood flashbacks
about a dolphin named Flipper.
Bob and the truck rental company he made famous.
Bob jumps 17 cars at New York National Raceway in July,
1972. He used no landing ramp.
Maybe you don’t remember any of that, but chances are
you might remember a TV commercial aired during that
Super Bowl. It showed a guy on a motorcycle flying over a
fleet of Ryder trucks. It was such a hit that it made Ryder
the number-one rental truck company. Ryder then aired it
during the Super Bowl (a 30-second commercial cost
$103,000 in 1974 money!), and some 140,000,000 people
saw it, that is, saw daredevil Bob Gill successfully complete
the jump.
'Gill was also the first motorcycle jumper
to actually jump a canyon on a real
motorcycle – 152 feet across the 60-foot-
deep.'
Maybe you’re saying, who’s Bob Gill? When most young
people think death-defying motorcycle stunts, they think
Evel Knievel, of whom Bob Gill was a contemporary. Those
that go back a while know about Bob Gill. He began flying
bikes through the air in 1970, starting with five cars at a
time, that number rapidly increasing.
He also established many firsts. For example, he was the
first to jump without a landing ramp. Now think about that for
a moment and remember what you may have seen lately
when people are jumping bikes. The first ramp is for launch,
the second launch is to ease the landing. Bob did not ease
the landing. He came down directly on terra firma,
sometimes terror infirma. And he was jumping early-1970s
streetbikes without the benefit of the modern suspension
modifications seen on today’s highly modified and tricked
out X bikes. Bob flew far and landed hard, but he always
came up grinning.
| Bob Gill Jet Bike Project Move Over Speed Racer, Here Comes The Gill-a-Monster! By Paul Garson, Aug. 18, 2008, Photography by Paul Garson, Bob Gill Foundation |
| Bob and the truck rental company he made famous. |
Gill was also the first motorcycle jumper to actually jump a canyon on a real motorcycle – 152 feet across the
60-foot-deep Cajun Canyon near New Orleans back in 1972 while riding a 400cc Suzuki. He also held the
World Record for the longest motorcycle jump: 171 feet over 22 cars, the event taking place in Seattle,
Washington in front of 20,000 fans.
Then fate, gravity and a premonition came true. The year, 1973. The place, Appalachia Lake. His wife who
had never flinched from any of his previous jumps had one of those feelings and asked him to call it off, to
walk away. Wanting to fulfill his contract and not leave his friend the promoter in a lurch by canceling, he went
ahead with the attempt to clear a 200-foot gap over the lake. The bike came up short by a couple feet. Bob
slammed hard into the lip of the lake bank. That was the sudden end to his bike-jumping career.
60-foot-deep Cajun Canyon near New Orleans back in 1972 while riding a 400cc Suzuki. He also held the
World Record for the longest motorcycle jump: 171 feet over 22 cars, the event taking place in Seattle,
Washington in front of 20,000 fans.
Then fate, gravity and a premonition came true. The year, 1973. The place, Appalachia Lake. His wife who
had never flinched from any of his previous jumps had one of those feelings and asked him to call it off, to
walk away. Wanting to fulfill his contract and not leave his friend the promoter in a lurch by canceling, he went
ahead with the attempt to clear a 200-foot gap over the lake. The bike came up short by a couple feet. Bob
slammed hard into the lip of the lake bank. That was the sudden end to his bike-jumping career.
Not quite.
While he’s been in a wheelchair from more than 30 years,
he’s kept in shape and recently set his sights on breaking
new records, but this time not on a streetbike but a
uniquely designed, and propelled, Jet Bike. He’s also never
relinquished his commitment to remedy his spinal injury
and walk again and to help thousands of others to benefit
from a laser-based course of treatment being conducted in
France.
His jet bike will be used to focus attention on those efforts
and raise sponsorship funding to further develop the
treatment and make it available in cities around the world.
The Bob Gill Foundation was organized and incorporated
in 2007 in the state of Nevada with a non-profit status.
Their goal is to bring the treatment presently available only
in France to American Hospitals through Shriners Children
Hospitals.
At this point I should mention there are several reasons we
are joining in this effort. Those would include meeting Bob
Gill in person, knowing Eddie Paul, the talent behind the
building of the Jet Bike, and learning the story of Travis
Robinson, a 22-year-old who also is confined to a
wheelchair after a swimming pool accident. Also, there’s
the fact that all of us are into bikes.
We also share another common tie: paralysis. Bob and
Travis have had years dealing with the condition, while
Eddie, after falling several hundred feet in a hang-gliding
mishap, lay in a hospital where doctors told him he would
never walk again, which he refused to accept. In a few
months he was not only back on his feet but quickly
becoming one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stuntmen.
As for myself, I was the most fortunate of the group. On my
very first bike and learning my ass from my throttle, I did a
head-first dive into a parked car wearing a used $12 gold
metal-flake helmet. I found myself in a hospital bed unable
to move anything but my eyelashes. I think I found out what
being buried alive feels like. Fortunately the effects of what
the docs call “spinal shock” quickly faded and I made a fast
recovery.
Bob, Eddie and I are around the same age, which means
we remember black-and-white TV, and for most of those
years we’ve been riding motorcycles of all kinds and for all
reasons. Travis, only 17 at the time of his accident, was an
avid ATV rider.
'Eddie’s list of achievements would fill a
book.'
Eddie, who knew Travis’ father Jocko Robinson through his
scuba diving activities, brought us all together for a brain
storming session at Eddie’s E.P. Industries facility in El
Segundo, CA. Eddie himself had been recommended to
Bob by Chip Foose, car and bike designer extraordinaire.
Chip knew Eddie was the man for the job of building a
radical jet bike.
Eddie’s list of achievements would fill a book. He’s built
cars for most of the famous car flicks including Stallone,
Vin Diesel (XXX), Fast and The Furious and a wild array of
other specialty vehicles for numerous TV shows and
movies. He’s also worked on projects for the Department of
Defense as well as the Cousteau organization which
included life-sized Great White mechanical sharks that you
climbed inside in order to swim with the real sharks.
We spoke with Eddie about the design and construction
going into the Jet Bike concept, as seen here via the
computer-generated images he’s conjured up. Measuring
about 25 feet long and eight feet wide and five feet tall, it
will be what they call a “Tadpole” design as opposed to a
delta configuration that has one wheel up front and two in
the back. A tadpole has two wheels in front, one drive-
wheel in back. A steel- and carbon-fiber body with angular
panels similar in design to the Stealth fighter will be placed
over the Y-shaped frame, itself welded from tubular steel.
The design allows for Bob to clamp a special wheelchair
directly into the jet bike, the position set back about 10 feet
from the front wheels. The wheels themselves are
connected together for steering while the powerplant is a
supercharged Chevy V-8 making about 850 hp, which in
turn is connected to a Boss Hoss transmission. The
massive rear drive wheel will lay down a quarter mile’s
worth of rubber. “Just the Chevy motor alone will get us
past 100 mph,” says Eddie. “Then factor in the two pulse
jet engines.”
We asked where does one get pulse-jet engines? Hadn’t
seen one in the Drag Specialties – or even J.C. Whitney –
catalogs. Eddie replies, "One makes them. They’re not off
the shelf."
“Just the Chevy motor alone will get us
past 100 mph,” says Eddie. “Then factor
in the two pulse jet engines.”
While he’s been in a wheelchair from more than 30 years,
he’s kept in shape and recently set his sights on breaking
new records, but this time not on a streetbike but a
uniquely designed, and propelled, Jet Bike. He’s also never
relinquished his commitment to remedy his spinal injury
and walk again and to help thousands of others to benefit
from a laser-based course of treatment being conducted in
France.
His jet bike will be used to focus attention on those efforts
and raise sponsorship funding to further develop the
treatment and make it available in cities around the world.
The Bob Gill Foundation was organized and incorporated
in 2007 in the state of Nevada with a non-profit status.
Their goal is to bring the treatment presently available only
in France to American Hospitals through Shriners Children
Hospitals.
At this point I should mention there are several reasons we
are joining in this effort. Those would include meeting Bob
Gill in person, knowing Eddie Paul, the talent behind the
building of the Jet Bike, and learning the story of Travis
Robinson, a 22-year-old who also is confined to a
wheelchair after a swimming pool accident. Also, there’s
the fact that all of us are into bikes.
We also share another common tie: paralysis. Bob and
Travis have had years dealing with the condition, while
Eddie, after falling several hundred feet in a hang-gliding
mishap, lay in a hospital where doctors told him he would
never walk again, which he refused to accept. In a few
months he was not only back on his feet but quickly
becoming one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stuntmen.
As for myself, I was the most fortunate of the group. On my
very first bike and learning my ass from my throttle, I did a
head-first dive into a parked car wearing a used $12 gold
metal-flake helmet. I found myself in a hospital bed unable
to move anything but my eyelashes. I think I found out what
being buried alive feels like. Fortunately the effects of what
the docs call “spinal shock” quickly faded and I made a fast
recovery.
Bob, Eddie and I are around the same age, which means
we remember black-and-white TV, and for most of those
years we’ve been riding motorcycles of all kinds and for all
reasons. Travis, only 17 at the time of his accident, was an
avid ATV rider.
'Eddie’s list of achievements would fill a
book.'
Eddie, who knew Travis’ father Jocko Robinson through his
scuba diving activities, brought us all together for a brain
storming session at Eddie’s E.P. Industries facility in El
Segundo, CA. Eddie himself had been recommended to
Bob by Chip Foose, car and bike designer extraordinaire.
Chip knew Eddie was the man for the job of building a
radical jet bike.
Eddie’s list of achievements would fill a book. He’s built
cars for most of the famous car flicks including Stallone,
Vin Diesel (XXX), Fast and The Furious and a wild array of
other specialty vehicles for numerous TV shows and
movies. He’s also worked on projects for the Department of
Defense as well as the Cousteau organization which
included life-sized Great White mechanical sharks that you
climbed inside in order to swim with the real sharks.
We spoke with Eddie about the design and construction
going into the Jet Bike concept, as seen here via the
computer-generated images he’s conjured up. Measuring
about 25 feet long and eight feet wide and five feet tall, it
will be what they call a “Tadpole” design as opposed to a
delta configuration that has one wheel up front and two in
the back. A tadpole has two wheels in front, one drive-
wheel in back. A steel- and carbon-fiber body with angular
panels similar in design to the Stealth fighter will be placed
over the Y-shaped frame, itself welded from tubular steel.
The design allows for Bob to clamp a special wheelchair
directly into the jet bike, the position set back about 10 feet
from the front wheels. The wheels themselves are
connected together for steering while the powerplant is a
supercharged Chevy V-8 making about 850 hp, which in
turn is connected to a Boss Hoss transmission. The
massive rear drive wheel will lay down a quarter mile’s
worth of rubber. “Just the Chevy motor alone will get us
past 100 mph,” says Eddie. “Then factor in the two pulse
jet engines.”
We asked where does one get pulse-jet engines? Hadn’t
seen one in the Drag Specialties – or even J.C. Whitney –
catalogs. Eddie replies, "One makes them. They’re not off
the shelf."
“Just the Chevy motor alone will get us
past 100 mph,” says Eddie. “Then factor
in the two pulse jet engines.”
| Bob jumps 17 cars at New York National Raceway in July, 1972. He used no landing ramp. |
Are you making them from recycled Bud and Heineken aluminum cans? “I wish it were that simple. We’re
making them from scratch,” says Eddie. “We’ll form them from flat sheets of stainless steel. The pulse-jet
design is pretty simple and has been around since WWII. They just take in a fuel, like propane or kerosene,
you ignite it and it explodes, flame shooting out the back. They pulse. At rest it sounds like a Chrysler Hemi.”
Even though they only weigh about 200 lbs each, one could put out as much as 2000 pounds of thrust. Also
they’ll be arranged so you can set them at different angles, including test-firing them high into the sky for a
spectacular effect to say the least. Eddie tells us that the body of the jet gets red hot, almost transparent, and
you can see the gases swirling around inside. The pilot, Bob, will accelerate using a motorcycle twist-grip that
activates both the Chevy engine and the pulse-jets.
When launching the Gill-a-Monster, Bob will be blasting through 13 “walls of fire” to establish a new world
record. Then we asked, how do you stop? Eddie simple says, “Parachutes. Deist parachutes. They’re also
making the special race suit for Bob.”
making them from scratch,” says Eddie. “We’ll form them from flat sheets of stainless steel. The pulse-jet
design is pretty simple and has been around since WWII. They just take in a fuel, like propane or kerosene,
you ignite it and it explodes, flame shooting out the back. They pulse. At rest it sounds like a Chrysler Hemi.”
Even though they only weigh about 200 lbs each, one could put out as much as 2000 pounds of thrust. Also
they’ll be arranged so you can set them at different angles, including test-firing them high into the sky for a
spectacular effect to say the least. Eddie tells us that the body of the jet gets red hot, almost transparent, and
you can see the gases swirling around inside. The pilot, Bob, will accelerate using a motorcycle twist-grip that
activates both the Chevy engine and the pulse-jets.
When launching the Gill-a-Monster, Bob will be blasting through 13 “walls of fire” to establish a new world
record. Then we asked, how do you stop? Eddie simple says, “Parachutes. Deist parachutes. They’re also
making the special race suit for Bob.”
Summing it up you can call the Gill-a-Monster a combination funnycar/rocket sled/tank. As far as its first
appearance, that’s still in the planning stages, but one idea for a location is the Las Vegas Strip. Place your
bets. It’s a sure one that Bob Gill will rocket into history once again, and in the process will launch an
international effort to remedy spinal injuries and get lots of good people back on two good feet.
Naturally, the project is made possible by sponsors who want to support the effort and in the bargain have
their name/logo seen on the Gill-a-Monster jet bike when it roars into action around the country. Stay tuned
for latest developments.
appearance, that’s still in the planning stages, but one idea for a location is the Las Vegas Strip. Place your
bets. It’s a sure one that Bob Gill will rocket into history once again, and in the process will launch an
international effort to remedy spinal injuries and get lots of good people back on two good feet.
Naturally, the project is made possible by sponsors who want to support the effort and in the bargain have
their name/logo seen on the Gill-a-Monster jet bike when it roars into action around the country. Stay tuned
for latest developments.
| Eddie Paul and Bob Gill contemplate construction plans for Gill-a-Monster jet bike. Both have flown high, fallen hard and kept on going. |
| Not long after his accident, Bob rode 8,000 miles in special sidecar rig through rain, snow, sleet and heat to bring attention to spinal injuries. |
| Travis was stellar athlete pre-accident, including football, surfing, scuba diving, ATVing. |
| Eddie is a big fan of Boss Hoss bikes. This one is supercharged and built in a theme of the presidential jet, a.k.a. Air Force One. |
| Eddie scuba dives with live sharks and creates mechanical Great Whites for movies. |
| Like a funnycar, the steel- and carbon-fiber body of Gill-a-Monster Jet Bike lifts up to allow Bob to roll in and attach his special wheelchair. |
| Twin pulse-jet engines produce up 2000 lbs of thrust each. Plus there’s the supercharged Chevy V-8 to add some extra punch. |
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Helping People Walk Again!
oundation
Articles
and
Interviews
________________
Motorcycle.com
Interview with Bob Gill
on Jet Trike Project
and the Foundation.
August 18,2008
Scientists Restore
Movement to Paralyzed
Limbs through Artificial
Brain-Muscle
Connections
Allen Institute Releases
Spinal Cord Map
July 17,2008
and
Interviews
________________
Motorcycle.com
Interview with Bob Gill
on Jet Trike Project
and the Foundation.
August 18,2008
Scientists Restore
Movement to Paralyzed
Limbs through Artificial
Brain-Muscle
Connections
Allen Institute Releases
Spinal Cord Map
July 17,2008
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