From Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper riding through America to Marlon Brando and his motorbike gang terrorising the locals, the movie industry has created some of the most iconic motorbikes. So what are the most iconic motorbike moments in movie history?
The first movie that has to be mentioned is Easy Rider, the custom bikes that were built by chopper builders Cliff Vaughs and Ben Hardy created a truly iconic motorbike. Using former police Harley Davidson Hydra-Glide’s they were custom built with Peter Fondas bike decorated with the iconic ‘Stars and Stripes’.
Before Marlon Brando got old and overweight he was the star of the classic motorbike movie. The Triumph Thunderbird 650cc belonged to Brando himself. Brando and the other members of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club terrorised a small town. The town was based on Hollister riots where a biker gang invaded the small town of Hollister in California. The movie poster of Brand resting on his Triumph is a truly iconic picture.
Quadrophenia , based on The Who rock opera of the same name, was set in 1964 when the mods and the rockers were waging wars against one another. ‘Proper’ bikers may baulk at the puny Lambretta scooter. However an iconic film on British Culture presented an iconic ‘motorbike’. When the ‘scooter for sale’ sign went up the famous Lambretta it sold for £36,000.
The Great Escape did not feature motorbikes heavily but the scene where Steve McQueen races to the Swiss border in his TT Special 650 Triumph is a fantastic moment. The pursuit by the German soldiers is a heart-racing scene and the glorious jump over the fence is certainly one of the great motorbike movie moments. McQueen actually attempted the jump over the fence himself but crashed. Luckily they had motorcycle spares and McQueens stunt double succeeded.
Film has provided the most famous of motorbikes moments in memory and greatly improved the sales of particular models.
The first movie that has to be mentioned is Easy Rider, the custom bikes that were built by chopper builders Cliff Vaughs and Ben Hardy created a truly iconic motorbike. Using former police Harley Davidson Hydra-Glide’s they were custom built with Peter Fondas bike decorated with the iconic ‘Stars and Stripes’.
Before Marlon Brando got old and overweight he was the star of the classic motorbike movie. The Triumph Thunderbird 650cc belonged to Brando himself. Brando and the other members of the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club terrorised a small town. The town was based on Hollister riots where a biker gang invaded the small town of Hollister in California. The movie poster of Brand resting on his Triumph is a truly iconic picture.
Quadrophenia , based on The Who rock opera of the same name, was set in 1964 when the mods and the rockers were waging wars against one another. ‘Proper’ bikers may baulk at the puny Lambretta scooter. However an iconic film on British Culture presented an iconic ‘motorbike’. When the ‘scooter for sale’ sign went up the famous Lambretta it sold for £36,000.
The Great Escape did not feature motorbikes heavily but the scene where Steve McQueen races to the Swiss border in his TT Special 650 Triumph is a fantastic moment. The pursuit by the German soldiers is a heart-racing scene and the glorious jump over the fence is certainly one of the great motorbike movie moments. McQueen actually attempted the jump over the fence himself but crashed. Luckily they had motorcycle spares and McQueens stunt double succeeded.
Film has provided the most famous of motorbikes moments in memory and greatly improved the sales of particular models.