Here are the facts from Bud Ekins, NBC, and others I've contacted over the last 10+ years:
For the pilot movie, there were two late-model 1968 Sportsters (with the 2-into-1 muffler: see the Sportster manual and parts list manual for the late 1960s), purchased from Rich Budilier's dealership in L.A.
For the trick riding they used a CZ 250; it came from Bud Ekins's dealership and was modified to look (sort of) like the Sportster. You can see this especially in the hill climb sequences. In one shot of Bronson before he starts up, you can see the fake Sportster in the background.
The pilot movie was filmed in November and December 1968.
When the tv series began to be filmed, in June 1969 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the crew had the two 1968s and one 1969, along with one or more Aermacchi H-D Sprints (one was the ERS), which replace the CZ. The bikes were carried around in a large box truck which also had repair capabilities.
The bikes were repainted an orange-red color, a DuPont product. In the mid to late 60s it was called Poppy Red (1964), Flower Power Red (1968), Calypso Coral (1969-70), along with probably other names.
"Calypso Coral is identical to Ford's 1964 Poppy Red. Both are actually orange and share the same PPG formula code #60449."
The bikes were XLH Sportsters, not XLCH. Bud Ekins and the other mechanics bought kickstarter kits and added them to the Sportsters to make starting the bike look more manly. Michael Parks, who played Bronson, would use either the electric starter button on the handlebar or the kickstarter (if the engine was warm). The shots were always edited and spliced to hide the starter button use.
Sportsters were called 900s but were 883 cc engines from 1957 thru 1969.
http://mypage.iusb.edu/~bbryner/hrlypage.html
It is now 2009, 40 years since the movie aired and the series began. Perhaps fittingly, the pilot movie has just been released, on Warner Brothers Video. The price is $19.95, with free shipping for $30+ orders, so buy two! Give one as a gift, or keep it for yourself. When you wear out the first one, you might find out that the title is no longer available.
Here is a link to it. If the link doesn't work, just copy the link and paste it into a browser window.
http://www.wbshop.com/Then-Came-Bronson-1969-TVM/1000123523,default,pd.html?cgid=
<a href="http://www.wbshop.com/Then-Came-Bronson-1969-TVM/1000123523,default,pd.html?cgid=">;
Well, hang in there!
http://www.thencamebronson.com
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jhwilson9
15 years ago
The following comes from the Cycle magazine issue of February 1970. MGM-TV was producing the show for NBC.
"The Bronson Bike"
MGM Press Release
"For afficionados, the changes are as follows. The front wheel was replaced with a 21" aluminum rim carrying a 3.00 x 21 ribbed tire. The front fender was changed to a chromeplated, bobbed piece and the headlight nacelle, or housing, was removed and a chrome sports light(*) replaced it. A Harley-Davidson CH gas tank replaced the standard tank, and the oil tank and rear shock springs were chrome plated. A kickstarter was added although the Sportster carries an electric starter. (What the kickstarter does, is to enable the actor to look like he's turning over the big engine while the starter button is being pushed-Ed.)
The seat was replaced with a custom leather unit(**) and a short chrome hand-hold (***) was mounted behind the passenger seat. The chain guard cover and the voltage regulator cover were chrome plated. The rear fender was bobbed 5 inches and the tail light replaced with an old style English light. The motorcycle was repainted with a specially mixed formula which is called, from this point on, Bronson Red. The final touch was the addition of the Bronson "Eye" insignia to the gas tank."
As people got into the show and wanted to make their own "Bronson" motorcycles, they began to ask questions. It probably wouldn't do to call the paint "Calypso Coral", so DuPont renamed the color "Bronson Red". It appears as such in their catalogs and in the Harley-Davidson accessory catalogs.
http://www.thencamebronson.com
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