Motorcycle daredevil to attempt record jump in Oklahoma

Saturday, July 8th 2006, 11:22 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ After setting the official world record for the longest motorcycle jump -- 277-and-a-half feet on May 14th, 2005 at the Queensland Raceway in Australia -- Trigger Gumm has earned the title of daredevil.

The 38-year-old San Clemente, California, native -- dubbed Evel Knievel on steroids by a fellow extreme motorcyclist -- now has set his sights on an even longer leap.

Atop a custom-built, 450 c-c Service Honda, Gumm will attempt a 315-foot jump at the Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma, later this month. He'll says he'll be traveling about 90 miles per hour when he hits the ramp and will be launched about 70 or 80 feet in the air.

A representative of the organization plans to attend the July 23rd event to certify the jump as an official world record.

Gumm likes being compared to Knievel, whom he calls a boyhood hero. He credits Knievel's stunt-jumping in the 1970s with blazing a trail for extreme motorcycle sports.

After returning from his feat Down Under, Gumm got a pleasant surprise.

On his answering machine was a message from Knievel congratulating him on the new world record.