The Triumph Bonneville Bud Ekins Desert Scrambler Special is one of only three models made to celebrate the life of Steve McQueen’s former stunt double, and is estimated to fetch between £20,000 and £30,000 at auction.
Ekins, after whom the bike is named, worked with McQueen on films such as Bullitt and The Great Escape. The latter of those two films earned him a place in the Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame for his 65-foot jump over a barbed wire barrier.
Additionally, Ekins was also a successful off-road motorcycle racer in events such as motocross and enduro. He earned spots in the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame and the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. He passed away in Los Angeles in 2007, aged 77.
The bike is a modern version of the racing motorcycles that McQueen and Ekins used to race together in the 1960s. The original model was built by Brad Holstein on behalf of Triumph.
The new special-edition motorcycle was originally given to Pitt as a birthday present from Oceans 11 producer Jerry Weintaub.
An engraved message from the occasion can be found on the fuel filler cap.
The bike is in all-round good condition, having only been used once by its previous owner. It still has the original number plates from when Pitt owned it.
