Guy Martin’s jump
The road racing hero and TV star tries to finish what Steve McQueen started
Steve McQueen, Guy Martin and Triumph – all in one story?
Steve McQueen made a big impression on bike riders all over the world when he jumped a Triumph over a barbed wire fence in The Great Escape. His air force leather jacket, chinos and blue sweatshirt with cut-off sleeves added to the ‘King of Cool’ legend. But McQueen didn’t make the jump. That was his close mate, Bud Ekins.
So North One Television, who make Guy Martin’s programmes, along with Triumph Motorcycles and Dick Shepherd came about the idea to not only recreate the famous jump, but to clear both barbed wire fences – a feat not managed in the film.
As with many things in TV, it’s big business. Working with North One Television, Guy’s TV programmes typically attract four million viewers in the UK and another 20 million in about 50 other countries. He set a world record for the fastest speed inside a wall of death when he lapped at 78mph on a Rob North-framed T160 Trident; made the fastest speed in a soapbox down Mont Ventoux; and lapped the Nürburgring in 9.28mins – in his Ford Transit.
And a couple of months ago he clocked 153.76mph in a JCB on the way to a 135.18mph world speed record for a tractor.
THE ORIGINAL MACHINE
Nearly 58 years later, Guy Martin is in the same Bavarian field with a modern, lightly modified Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE and the original bike that Bud rode for the film.
It took seven years for Triumph collector Dick Shepherd, who has helped furnish the Triumph Experience at the Hinckley factory with some of his many bikes, to track down the original Great Escape Triumph. Built by ISDT gold medallist Ken Heanes, for his friend Ekins, the bike started life as a TR6S/S Trophy that was an insurance write-off. Shipped back to England after the jump, it was later sold to a dairy farmer before being passed on to his cowman. Dick finally found the retired cowman at a residential caravan park in Norfolk, where the bike was hidden away in a garden shed.
With the original Great Escape bike restored and running, Guy’s next challenge would be to finish the jump that stunt double Ekins started. In the film, ‘Cooler King’ McQueen clears the first fence but doesn’t make the second and ends up tangled in the barbed wire. There was no way that 1962 Trophy was going to clear both fences in one leap. But it might be possible on the latest Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE.
Long-time Triumph staffers Nick
Wilson and Dean Arnott prepared the bike, shedding 18kg in the process. “We removed the indicators, mirrors, knuckle guards and front fork protectors and
fitted a high clearance front mudguard,” says Dean.
“The standard rear tyre was swapped for a more aggressive Pirelli Scorpion, which I recut by hand.” The silencer and exhaust pipes were replaced by a pair of stubby slash cut pipes. Ditching the silencer would make the engine run lean so the fuelling was tweaked. Because the catalytic converter is still there, exhaust emissions are legal and it doesn’t sound too loud.
There are five rider modes on the Scrambler 1200 XC version (Sport, Street, Rain, Off-Road, and Rider) which alter the bike’s throttle response as well as the levels of ABS and traction control. Only the XE comes with an Off-Road Pro setting, which completely disables ABS, and the Great Escape Scrambler was locked in this mode.
Stunt coordinator Andy Godbold (he’s doubled for Ewan McGregor and Tomb Raider Angelina Jolie in motorcycle chases) set up a practice ramp at his Norfolk location. “The field in Germany will have the landing area higher than the takeoff, and that will make it more difficult,” he says.
But before Guy could learn to jump, he had to learn how to ride motocross. “Jumping is a completely different technique,” explains Andy. “Road racers ride with the balls of their feet on the footpegs – almost on tip-toes. Motocrossers ride on the soles of their feet. Freestyle jumpers ride with the foot arch on the pegs, almost back to their heels.”
There was a lot to learn but Andy describes Guy as a good listener and fast learner. “He practiced motocross on a Honda CRF450 for a couple of months so that he could react to the bike in a split second.” When Guy got the hang of jumping the 84kg Honda, he was ready to follow Andy’s technique with the slimmed-down 187kg Triumph Scrambler.
The XE’s fully-adjustable Showa fork has 47mm fork tubes with 250mm of travel up front, with Ohlins shocks and a 32mm longer swingarm than the XC (45mm tubes and 200mm travel). Nick spent a day-and-a-half playing with suspension, adjusting the preload, compression and rebound damping on the forks and rear shocks.
“Then, as Guy began making higher and longer jumps, we realised we needed uprated springs front and rear, which were supplied by K-Tech Suspension,” says Nick. “Now he could go a bit quicker and fly a bit further but we needed to upgrade the compression damping. So K-Tech helped us out again by internally modifying the Ohlins dampers.”
So that he could get in even more practice time, Guy built a full-size earth ramp in the field behind his house. “I must have done over 1000 jumps,” he says. “Every night I would get home from work at 7pm and practice for a half-an-hour before I had my dinner.”
Guy started with the ramp at a 26-degree angle. “But I was coming down almost vertically and – bang! I was landing like a sack of shit,” he tells me. Reducing the angle by only three degrees meant that he flew further and carried the momentum forward, making the landing
“There was no way that 1962 Trophy was going to clear both fences in one leap. But it might be possible on the latest Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE.”
much more bearable. “That’s a lot of bike,” he says looking at the Scrambler. “It has twice as much power as the Honda, but the power is much more usable. There’s so much low down torque, it’s almost like riding an old plodder!”
Just days before driving to Germany in his Ford Transit, Guy decided to give it one more practice. “There was torrential rain the night before and the bike was sliding all over the place in the mud,” recalls
Andy. “I had to lay down old carpets to give him any chance of getting it right.” As he started his last run the rear of the Scrambler slid out and Guy reacted instinctively. “He clicked into road racer mode and rode on his toes,” recalls Andy. “When he landed badly he wrenched his left ankle. We didn’t realise how bad it was, but Guy isn’t one to moan.”
ON LOCATION
The original jump scene in The Great Escape film was shot in a Bavarian meadow near Füssen. While Ekins, McQueen and second stuntman Tim
Gibbes dug a ramp up the side of a bomb crater, Steve joked: “I would be the world’s highest paid ditch digger!”
That huge hole has been filled in and the bumps flattened. At least the mountains in the background are unmistakable, and about 5km away is the barn that McQueen hid behind when he took off the German uniform to reveal his chinos and blue sweatshirt. Today, the field is owned by Josef Seppy. He was 16 years old when his father rented it for the 1962 film shoot. “Yes, I saw Steve McQueen jump over the fence,” he says, “I’m sure of it!” Bud Ekins made a very convincing double when he put on a blonde wig.
The man in charge of building the new ramp was Paul Bickers, whose father Dave was 250cc European Motocross Champion in 1960-61 for Greeves, before starting Bickers Action (credits include Mission: Impossible and Fast and Furious 6). His team carefully removed Josef’s precious turf before scraping out a deep ditch and pushed their steel ramp into position.
Guy had brought along his Honda and
“Guy started with the ramp at a 26-degree angle. ‘But I was coming down almost vertically and – bang!
I was landing like a sack of shit,’ he tells me”
was jumping it over the lower fence to get his eye in. Because there was more space in the Bavarian meadow than at his practice ground he was taking longer and faster run-ups to the ramp, jumping higher and further than ever before... and landing harder. Again. And again.
And again.
I catch up with him while he is having his signature mug of tea. “I was landing like a sack of shit,” he tells me. “Nobody is dying here, but this isn’t sustainable.” He’d had enough of the Honda. His ankle was hurting like hell, so he was going to get it strapped up by the medic. The original plan was for him to do a couple of warm-up jumps over the low fence with the Triumph, and then go for the big one as soon as Paul’s team had finished erecting it.
Andy had a quiet word. “Just get a feel for the bike. Then a short run-up, third gear.” Guy Martin’s eyes narrowed. He was focusing on what he had to do. “It’s time for shit or bust,” he says as he fires up the Scrambler. “I’m only doing this once.”
Guy rode across the Bavarian field, aimed at the ramp and accelerated. “He’s not going fast enough!” shouted Andy. “He’s not going fast enough!” echoed Paul. And then the Triumph soared up into the crisp fresh Alpine air, and over the fence. The spinning rear wheel just clipped the wire as he came down, but although it vibrated like the bass string on a guitar it didn’t break. Whump! The Scrambler landed and the TV crew cheered. Job done. A couple of hours later, Guy was driving his Transit home to England – there was a gearbox waiting to be fitted to a truck.