Before Captain America, There Was the Dragon

Grand Chopper

Before Easy Rider and the iconic star-spangled 'Captain America' motorcycle, Peter Fonda rode the 'Dragon' to infamy. Not the bike-eating eleven miles of Deals Gap along the North Carolina/Tennessee state line, but an un-dated Harley-Davidson Panhead. Appearing in The Wild Angels, Roger Corman's controversial 1966 biker film, the 'Dragon' is considered to be the “granddaddy of all choppers.” 

Hidden Display

The 'Dragon' earns its name from a set of awkward creature-like tank graphics, reportedly painted by artist Kenny Howard, better known as 'Von Dutch.' Following Peter Fonda's death in August 2019, the Dragon was put on display at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa. According to the museum, the bike had been “sitting as a basket case” for decades, but now has been “pulled out of hiding.”

Photo courtesy of National Motorcycle Museum.

>>Join in the conversation about the Dragon right here in Harley-Davidson Forums.

Wild Authenticity

Very little is known about the origins of the infamous chopper, and replicas of the Dragon have surfaced over the years. Attempting to quell speculation, the National Motorcycle Museum's exhibit was accompanied by movie memorabilia and a statement from Mil Blair — Easyriders magazine co-founder and American Pickers' cast-member. Dating from 2008, the 'Letter of Authenticity' attempts to lend credo to the Dragon's provenance. 

Photo courtesy of National Motorcycle Museum.

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Exact Replica

In an interview with custom bike builder Jack R. Lepler about the Dragon's significance, Hot Bike magazine claims that it was assembled in 1957. Something of an expert, former Harley-Davidson Service manager, Lepler has built over a dozen Captain America clones, bikes for the dismal 2012 sequel, Easy Rider: The Ride Back, along with an exact replica of the Dragon.

Photo courtesy of Hot Bike

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Cool Something

The Dragon is essentially a stock motorcycle with custom accessories. It also handles well, with a pre-1954 'wish bone' frame, an original frontend, and an undated, 74 cubic-inch OHV 'Panhead' motor. Lepler discussed the build comparatively, “The Captain is very cool, but let’s say a challenge to ride, but there’s just something about the Dragon that makes me want to build one for myself.”

Photo courtesy of Hot Bike

>>Join in the conversation about the Dragon right here in Harley-Davidson Forums.

Stock Geometry

Lepler said about the replica build, “It had to have a Harley-Davidson title, and this is extremely hard to find.” The Dragon captures a point in custom motorcycle building when the frame and steering geometry was left as factory stock. Customization included the addition of ape hanger handlebars, up swept fishtail exhaust, chopped rear fenders sprouting tall sissy bars and a liberal dose of chrome.

Photo courtesy of Hot Bike

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Film Release

The Wild Angels starred Peter Fonda as 'Heavenly Blues,' and Nancy Sinatra as his girlfriend 'Mike.' Released three years before Easy Rider, it never reached the same acclaim, but served to inspire the counterculture biker film genre. Considered offensive, it received a tepid response when it opened at the Venice Film Festival in 1966. Labeled as un-American, the U.S. State Department tried to ban the film's release. 

>>Join in the conversation about the Dragon right here in Harley-Davidson Forums.

Nowhere Machines

The Wild Angels could easily be filed in the B-movie trash bin, save for Peter Fonda's monologue during Joe 'Loser' Kearns' funeral, where he utters the timeless phrase, “We wanna be free to ride our machines.” Yet, it is Fonda's last line that is perhaps even more poignant. Left alone to bury his friend, with the Dragon in the background, Fonda states, “There's nowhere to go.” 

>>Join in the conversation about the Dragon right here in Harley-Davidson Forums.

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