Gary Rothwell is widely recognized as the man who launched the American sportbiker's current love affair with wheelies, stoppies and burnouts. From the streets of Cannery Row in Monterey, California, to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway, this straight-talking Brit and his wife, Joan, brought their "Wonder Wheels" motorcycle stunt show to the masses while the streetbike extreme scene was just gestating in the mid-1990s. It was these shows, not to mention Rothwell's seminal stunt video, Showtime, that directly inspired the Starboyz, Todd Colbert and countless other American riders to begin practicing the craft.
These days, the Rothwells divide their time among British and European shows, running their motorcycle dealership in Liverpool and scheming a grand return to the U.S. stunt scene. Rothwell, meanwhile, would love to break his fastest wheelie record (around 200 mph on a 500-horsepower Hayabusa) and have another go at the bike-skiing record (170-plus mph) Stateside.
Here's Part I of our conversation with this stunting legend. Super Streetbike: Is motorcycling in your blood?
Gary Rothwell: Me dad always had bikes, so I basically grew up on the back of them. I was always a bit mad on bicycles and skateboards, grating my teeth all the time. I could always find an old door or a piece of wood and prop it up with some bricks to do jumps--you know, just normal kid stuff. I used to jump off the tops of buildings and do all sorts of stupid stuff. I must have had some mental problems. Me mum and dad wouldn't get me a bike. They thought I'd just be mad on it straightaway.
SSB: When did you finally get a proper ride?
Rothwell: We went to a local racetrack called Aintree where this guy had an old CR80 motocrosser for a pit bike. He just started it and put it into second gear. I just let the clutch out slowly with them holding me up and took off on the straightaway. Me Dad said I took to it like a duck to water. The sensation of not having to pedal, just open the throttle and go, was tremendous.
SSB: What was your first bike?
Rothwell: I got my own bike at age 13. It was a Yamaha DT125 that was stuck in first gear, so all I could do was try wheelies and stuff going slow. I wasn't really allowed to ride on the street until I was 16. I used to sneak out to the garage every now and again when me mum and dad weren't looking. SSB: Where'd you get the idea to do bike stunts?
Rothwell: There was a program called Just Amazing on years ago; that's where I saw [Dutch stunt ace] Artie Nyquist doing bike tricks. I heard he was a real flunky, you know, heard he drank a bottle of vodka before he went on. I thought this was so cool. If Artie were alive today, he'd still be at it. That guy was the man. Anyway, I just went out on my dad's 1978 Kawasaki Z650 and started doing stuff.
I musta been just 17. I could do burnouts and wheelies on it; even third-gear wheelies, which was quite impressive at the time. After the 650, I had a Suzuki GS1000 and a Z1R Kawasaki and then a GSX-R1100, which was the '86 model. I used to be mad on the road and got stopped by the police every now and again and got tickets. And I lost my license once or twice. Well, maybe three times.
SSB: How'd you get "discovered"?
Rothwell: I first got noticed on a KZ1300 at the Isle of Man TT in 1992 doing wheelies and stuff, nothing too mad. That's what is on the opening of my first video, me doing burnouts outside this pub called The Hawthorn, which is actually on the TT course. On my third night there, big crowds turned up and a guy from Performance Bikes magazine got wind of what I was doing, so he came over and took some pictures. Then he asked me to do some burnouts in the pit lanes before the races started. We got a bollocking as soon as we'd done it. But the PB guys were like, "Ah, f**k 'em, we've got the pictures."
When the magazine came out, they basically said, "This is Gary Rothwell doing feet-off burnouts and feet-off donuts on a 1300. He will be a star in years to come. Remember: You saw him first in Performance Bikes." When I read this, I was like, "Wow, that's cool." I thought I was just a normal, mad toe-rag biker, not some star attraction.
Soon, people started saying, "Why don't you try stunt riding as a profession?" After I performed in the parking lot of West Coast Motorcycles, the shop owner, Nick Culton, offered to give me a bike to actually race, but only if I'd do some stunt shows. He gave me an FZR400 racer and an '89 GSX-R1100 to stunt on.
The 400 didn't last too long. It blew two engines and I cracked the frame jumping it. Then I went on to an RG250, which was really slow. Then, Nick went out and got a CBR600, got it all tuned straightaway and put me straight into the nationals. I got rid of me novice license and got a national license straightaway. I raced five nationals and did well, but crashed every now and again. Since Nick took care of the bills, racing wasn't costing me anything, but after crashing so many times I realized that there are hundreds of racers and only a few stunt riders, so I stuck with doing stunts, the first of which was a Riders for Health deal in 1992.
SSB: Racers or stunters, which have more talent?
Rothwell: Definitely racers, because they're on the edge every lap. My job is just to come and keep the crowd entertained. I'm only on there for 20 minutes. Stunting is not nearly as risky as roadracing. Every bend racers go 'round, they're on the edge; every time they brake, they're nearly locking up the front wheel; they can fall at any moment and other people can knock them off. I'm out there all by myself and I know my limits. So I stick within them.
SSB: What brought you to America?
Rothwell: At Daytona, I gave the NASB [roadracing sanctioning body] folks my video, Showtime. They liked it but wouldn't pay my way over or pay me to do a show. I said to myself, "I'll go over there, buy a bike and show them what I can do." I did the show for them, the crowds went mad and the organizers loved it and immediately booked me for more shows.
SSB: You said Artie Nyquist drank a bit of vodka before performing. What's your preshow vice?
Rothwell: I don't need none of that. When I'm out on the track I have different eyes on, not that I'm a different person, but when I put my helmet on, I'm in another world. That's my job. But before I go on a show, I'm all chilled out.
SSB: You used to ride and race with your wife's brother. How did you decide to pick Joan? Did you do tryouts with a bunch of women?
Rothwell: I had my eye on Joan because she was a babe. She came to the airport where I was practicing one day. You know, most people who get on the back with me usually get off shaking a bit. I done a bunch of 100-mph wheelies with her. When we got back, she jumped off, walked over, smiled and started talking to me. She didn't look nervous or anything. My kinda gal. So I started going out with her. Basically, her brother Tony got the boot and Joan got the back seat.
SSB: People call you a daredevil. Do you consider yourself a stuntman?
Rothwell: Well, there's always been Evel Knievel and people like him who jump. Evel was known for crashing all the time. People didn't know if he was going to live, die or whatever. I'm an entertainer, not a daredevil, because I don't really go over the top. I could probably go even madder and fall off more often, but I don't want to get a reputation as a crasher. The crowd would love it but the organizers don't want that.
SSB: Would you have given up your liver for Evel, just to let him live?
Rothwell: Me and thousands of other people would have. He's a true legend. People will probably remember me when I'm gone, but nowhere near as much as what they are going to remember about Evel Knievel.
SSB: Is that sort of recognition important to you?
Rothwell: Yeah, yeah, I obviously like all of the attention. I like people coming up to me. That's what I'm paid for, to entertain these people. I'm not one of those snobby ones. I'm no better than anyone else, but I can probably do better wheelies than most. Basically, I just go mad on a bike and have fun. I hope to do this for years to come.