The Fonz on his Motorcycle Henry Winkler

Did you know that initially they tried Henry Winkler “The Fonz” on a black Harley first and he fell off and damaged his leg ( couldn’t handle the size of it ). The original Fonz bike was a black chopped Knucklehead Harley or I think a Harley-Davidson Sportster that was waaaay cooler than the 2nd bike (grey gas tank we all know) they used. It was used up until Season 1 Episode 16. Only reason they changed the bike is because it was too much bike for Henry to handle. He can not ride a motorcycle at all. He has tried but his dyslexia is SO bad he can’t process how to operate the brake, clutch and gears. Hence why they switched to the smaller lighter Triumph (silver tank). Most people know him with this bike. Any time you see Fonz riding a motorcycle, it’s for only a few seconds then quickly they had to grab him off of it. Other times in the later episodes they had it strapped down while they pulled him and shot him from the waist up. Not to mention the stunt men and stunt doubles they used for him anytime an action scene or jumping scene was performed for obvious safety reasons.

It is SO RARE to see Henry Winkler as The Fonz actually ride his motorcycle on the Happy Day TV show. I went back and watched all the shows and it was SO rare but I did capture a few seconds total. Here are all those clips put together.

When?

- The intro of the show they show a few seconds

- Season 2 Episode titled “Cruisin” they show him coasting for a few seconds

- Season 2 Episode 24 “Not with my sister you DON’T”

- Season 3 Episode 47 “Howard’s 45th Fiasco” they show Fonz leaving down the street

It is TRUE Henry Winkler CAN NOT ride at all and it is really sad because he is the nicest guy too. He only coasts on the bike and can not work the gears, clutch, throttle or break because his dyslexia is so bad. I have seen him in a few interviews and he even said he wished he could learn but it was just too dangerous after the 1st accident he had on the show trying. In this interview with Henry Winkler excerpt Fonzie’s Motorcycle - Archive Interview Excerpts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6om6cg8HN8 Members of the cast of “Happy Days” reminisce about how Fonzie (Henry Winkler) never actually rode a motorcycle!

According to Henry Winkler himself: “I never knew how to ride a motorcycle. I don’t to this day know how to ride a motorcycle. As a matter of fact in the credits I ride up the driveway of the Cunningham home. That was the only time I ever rode the motorcycle uh, and I didn’t quite know how to stop it so that I kept going and nearly killed the director of photography and completely smashed into the sound truck.”

I saw a few interviews with Henry Winkler in which he said he never learned how to ride a motorcycle. The only time he was ever feet-up on a bike was in the scene used in the opening credits of the show, where he rides up the street and makes a left turn into the Cunningham’s driveway. The part of that scene you don’t see is three stage hands giving him a running push-start holding the clutch in, then releasing it for him once he’s underway. At the end there are a dozen guys and several feet of foam padding to catch him before he hit the garage. Upon hearing this revelation, I was heartbroken. I grew up on Happy Days and thought The Fonz was the coolest thing to ever walk the earth (when I was ten). But he never learned to ride.