Evel Knievel commemorative bike

The life and achievements of Evel Knievel will be honored by a custom, one-off motorcycle commissioned by K&K Promotions, the Las Vegas-based firm that owns the Evel Knievel brand. The bike will be hand-built by Sledgehammer Bobbers, of Warren, Ohio.

Knievel, who the New York Times called "the quintessential daredevil performer," achieved global fame with death-defying motorcycle stunts and a larger-than-life personality. He was known both for making seemingly impossible jumps and for spectacular, bone-fracturing crashes -- and then getting up and jumping even further.

When the commemorative bike is finished it will be displayed at motorcycle shows around the U.S. and internationally, and then sold at a major auction of Knievel memorabilia in 2015, said Kelly Knievel, president of K&K Promotions and the oldest son of Evel.

Evel Knievel became a superstar when a first-ever attempted jump over the fountains at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas went horribly wrong, slamming his body  onto the concrete pavement. Hospitalised with a fractured skull, broken pelvis, hips and ribs, he was unconscious for a month. After recovering, Knievel put on his signature red-white-and-blue leathers, got back on a motorcycle, and jumped 50 stacked cars in the Los Angeles Coliseum.

During his career Knievel made hundreds of jumps, was hospitalised more than 30 times by violent crashes, made and spent millions, and served six months in jail for attacking the author of an unflattering book with a baseball bat. He died in 2007, at 69.

Information about the life and career of Evel Knievel is at www.evelknievel.com. Information about Sledgehammer Bobbers is at www.sledgehammerbobbers.com.