Fonzie's famous Triumph bike to be sold at auction after being discovered hidden in a motorcycle
Bonhams Press Release - Oct 10, 2011

The motorbike famously straddled by The Fonz in classic TV show Happy Days is set to fetch $90,000+.

Fonzie was frequently shown on the Triumph Trophy TR5 surrounded by a gaggle of girls, and it quickly became iconic thanks to its association with the uber-cool character.

But for 15 years the bike has been languishing in a motorcycle shop, having been bought by an enthusiast who had no idea about its celebrity connections. 

The bike is not usable in its current condition, and has not been ridden since Happy Days ended in 1984. 

It was central to The Fonz's hip image - even though actor Henry Winkler was 'scared to death' of motorbikes and could not ride it.

Nick Smith, of auctioneers Bonhams, said the bike was as iconic as Fonzie's leather jacket. He said: “This is the coolest motorbike ever - you would be hard pushed to find a cooler one. The two things that represent The Fonz are his black leather jacket and his bike.”

'It was a bike that got an awful lot of people into motorcycling, because Happy Days was on prime-time TV and it obviously made the character look cool. 

“It would be quite something if you could say that you owned Fonzie's motorbike.”

Arthur Fonzarelli was meant to be a minor character on the 70s comedy Happy Days when it first started, and was given a Harley-Davidson to ride.

But when the audience gave The Fonz an immediate thumbs-up the producers made him a star of the show - and looked for a more suitable bike.

They plumped for a Triumph, like Marlon Brando's character in the 1953 film The Wild One, but put on taller handlebars.

Hollywood stuntman Bud Ekins, who was Steve McQueen’s body double in The Great Escape, supplied the bike. 

Ekins, who died in 2007, sold the Triumph to friend and bike enthusiast Marshall Ehlers in about 1995. 

Mr. Ehlers, from Oakland, California, said: "Most of these bikes were bought during the 1950s by racers and were crashed or exploded."

"When I saw one intact I bought it. It had nothing to do with television." 

Mr. Smith has warned that whoever buys the motorbike shouldn't expect to zip around on it.

He said: "The bike in its present condition couldn't pull the skin of a rice pudding. It has an unknown mileage because the speedometer is broken and it hasn't worked in years."

"Whoever buys it will need to get it reconditioned if they want to get it on the road again."

Mr. Winkler once told an interviewer: "I don't know how to ride a motorcycle. I am scared to death of motorcycles. If there is a wall I will hit it."