STEVE MCQUEEN: The king of Cool

Every time I start thinking the world is all bad, then I start seeing people out there having a good time on motorcycles and it makes me take another look.’ Steve McQueen’s passion for motorcycles and motorcycling was genuine. Many Hollywood stars have been pictured on bikes but usually just cruising around Beverley Hills on mega-expensive customs designed to improve their image. Not McQueen. He much preferred riding a dirt bike in the desert, far away from the paparazzi, not seeking attention and not trying to impress anyone. He didn’t need to: he was world class on a bike, as his place on the American team for the 1964 International Six Days Trial proved.

THE INTERNATIONAL SIX DAYS TRIAL

Thanks to the massive success of films like ‘The Magnificent Seven’ and ‘The Great Escape’, Steve McQueen was the biggest movie star in the world by 1964. It speaks volumes about the man that, given his position, he was still prepared to risk injury or humiliating defeat in an international motorcycle event in front of the world's Press.

It also speaks volumes about his confidence in his own riding abilities.