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CAHOKIA, IL – A favorite wheelie bike belonging to record-holding stunt rider Doug Danger (real name Doug Senecal) was stolen off a trailer overnight. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to replace it even as police here search for the missing 450cc Honda dirt bike that Senecal has owned since 2004.
“He’s absolutely devastated,” Senecal’s wife, Maria, said this afternoon. “It’s a bike he’s ultra comfortable on. We had cables in place and the cables were cut right off.”
The couple, who live in Wales, MA, were staying in this Illinois town outside of St. Louis on Wednesday night after having done a personal appearance in East St. Louis. On Saturday, Senecal jumped over 13 police department SUVs in downtown Topeka, KS and spoke to hundreds of kids at the Boys and Girls Club of Topeka.
The bike that Senecal used for the jump, a 1972 Harley-Davidson XR750 once owned by Evel Knievel and valued at $350,000, was not with them and wasn’t taken. It was on the XR750 that Senecal sent a Guinness World Record in August 2015 jumping over 22 cars at the Sturgis motorcycle rally.
Maria reported that police are investigating the theft, adding that the local police chief had been on hand Wednesday night for Senecal’s appearance. “He’s going door to door looking (for the missing bike,)” she said.
Besides jumping motorcycles, the 64-year-old Senecal is a motivational speaker who gives upbeat, anti-drug talks to young people. His message, Maria said, is that “you’re never too old to be who you should have been.”
The GoFundMe campaign seeks $15,000 for a new bike.
Here’s video of Senecal’s jump in Topeka:
