Knievel's Latest Leap Turns Out Just Grand

GRAND CANYON WEST, Ariz. - Motorcycle daredevil Robbie Knievel successfully cleared a sliver of the Grand Canyon, breaking his world record of 223 feet with room to spare.

Fireworks erupted and a crowd of about 500 cheered as Knievel soared 55 feet into the air over the 200-foot-wide gorge at 90 mph on an ordinary 500cc motorcycle.

Officials said Knievel traveled 228 feet yesterday, eclipsing the record he set in Panama City, Fla., in the early 1990s.

Knievel risked plunging 2,500 feet to the canyon floor on the Hualapai Indian Reservation, west of Grand Canyon National Park.

Knievel tumbled off the bike after clearing the landing ramp, coming to rest in a cloud of dust in hay bales set up to cushion a fall.

"I'm wiped out in the head a little," Knievel said.

He was examined by paramedics, then flown by helicopter to University Medical Center in Las Vegas for an examination.

Whether he was injured was unclear.

The hospital told Knievel's support group that he was alert and talking while undergoing X-rays and other tests to determine whether he was injured.

Knievel, 37, the son of daredevil Evel Knievel, attempted the same jump on April 29 but it was canceled at the last minute because of wind and cold weather. Conditions were much better this time, with clear skies, lighter wind and warm temperatures.

"You're talking about one of the seven wonders of the world, and I want to do it," Knievel said.

"Everyone has a calling, has to make a living. I'm not trying to kill myself. I don't have a death wish."

Knievel was paid an undisclosed fee by Fox television to make the jump in front of their cameras.

"If you make the jumps and stay alive, it's all worth it," he said.

Knievel refused to wear a parachute, saying it would weigh him down and push him off balance.

He achieved notoriety in April 1989 by jumping the fountains at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, a stunt that nearly killed Evel Knievel 21 years earlier.

Robbie Knievel said his father, who has been ailing since a recent liver transplant, had wanted to jump the Grand Canyon but never got the chance.