Stories from the set

In many scenes of the film, the actors smoked real marijuana, but powdered sugar was used as a stand-in for cocaine.

The Captain America motorcycle was very difficult to handle. During the filming of one scene, Jack Nicholson (who was sitting on the back seat) pressed his knees so hard against Fonda to keep his balance that he broke one of his ribs.

The Captain America chopper became the most expensive motorcycle in the world. In October 2014, after very heated bidding, the motorcycle was sold at auction for a staggering $1.35 million.

In 1998, the Library of Congress added the film to the National Film Registry for being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.

The role of the lawyer was originally written with Terry Southern's friend, actor Rip Torn, in mind. During a meeting between Torn, Fonda, and Hopper, the latter made unflattering remarks about the rednecks he had encountered while traveling through the South, which greatly offended the Southerner Torn. The confrontation nearly escalated into a fight. As a result, Torn left the project, and his role went to Nicholson.