Far from being used simply as a vehicle to get a character from place to place, the role motorcycles have played in Hollywood films, like cars, has evolved significantly over the years.
The early days
Motorcycles were often used to demonstrate a rebellious side to the main character in films such as The Wild One, or to show a carefree bohemian attitude as in Easy Rider. They weren’t just a prop, but a way to reveal and express the rider’s character. But this rebellious side was backed up by a hint of darkness as bikes were also the favoured transport of the dreaded biker gang, a popular Hollywood menace to the leading star as used to great effect in the iconic Mad Max films.
Things changed in the 80s
Richard Gere made many a housewife swoon with his appearance on a Triumph Bonneville in An Officer And A Gentleman. The motorcycle was now the modern-day stallion for the heroic knight in shining armour – or in Gere’s case, a white naval uniform (a brave move considering the British bike’s tendency to shed oil).
No longer the sole transport of the baddie, in the 90s as motorcycle sales worldwide saw a massive resurgence, Hollywood jumped on the bandwagon and bikes were now far more commonly used as the hero’s transport.
Trinity rode a Ducati in the blockbusting The Matrix Reloaded, the Batcycle reappeared in The Dark Knight, James Bond took to two wheels multiple times, as did Lara Croft - and Jason Bourne.
And, most recently, Tom Cruise rode (minus a helmet it has to be said) a BMW S1000RR in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, repeating his famous Top Gun two-wheeled appearance. There have been one or two slip-ups, notably Vanilla Ice riding a bike in the dreadful Cool As Ice and the appalling Biker Boyz, but on the whole, if you want to increase the testosterone level of your main character, give him (or her as Angelina Jolie proved) a boost of sex appeal and throw in a exhilarating chase sequence, bikes are the best way of doing this.
But there are risks…
Casting a bike needs careful research as stereotypes are rife. If your main character is a middle-aged office worker, giving him a Harley-Davidson to ride is Hollywood talk for him plunging into a midlife crisis, as the film Wild Hogs demonstrates. Japanese bikes generally don’t cut it as the hero’s transport as they aren’t as cool or exotic as European brands. While the baddies can chase the goodie on a Japanese bike, the leading actor needs a sporting bike with a similar level of sex appeal, hence Italian bikes such as Ducatis are so popular in chase sequences.
That said, if you want rugged looks, Triumphs are popular as Chris Pratt demonstrated in Jurassic World. So, if you’re going to cast a bike, think about exactly what you are trying to say about the lead actor and choose a bike appropriately. Get this sorted and then your headaches will really start.
Unlike cars, motorcycles have an inherent instability due to the fact they only have two wheels and that means accidents. Insuring a “normal” rider for general road riding is easy, but can you imagine the premium for someone like Tom Cruise to do a high-speed action sequence on a bike? And then add in the fact he won’t be wearing a helmet...
That’s why bike action sequences take a staggering amount of planning, despite the fact some leading actors such as Tom Cruise are actually accomplished riders.
Plan and prepare
The chase scene in Mission: Impossible took over a month to film (and many more to research) and involved closing several roads, as well as a huge number of stunt riders including former GP riders, top level motocrossers and current racers. The rooftop bike chase in Skyfall was even more time intensive as it involved cameras being attached to a chase bike.
The logistics involved in this kind of activity are staggering as the local police, councils, tourist boards, emergency services and just about everyone else you can think of need to know what is happening. Add to this weather conditions, permits and insurance as well as cast and crew and the costs soon skyrocket. And did we mention that the bikes themselves often need to be custom built too?
Silhouette motorbikes
When a director wants a bike to do something it physically isn’t capable of, crews will build a special motorcycle that looks like the standard one in silhouette but is in fact very different. Generally, this is a case of adding longer suspension to deal with big jumps (the steps sequence in MI) or mounting points to allow wires to be attached so the bike can be winched as happened in Terminator 2.
If a Harley had been jumped off that bridge without support it would have destroyed itself on impact. And if you are using a bike to film the sequence (which is a great way of getting close to the action) that bike will also need to be modified to carry cameras and ridden by a very skilled rider. Achieve all that and you still have one final hurdle to get over…
The devil is in post-productio****n
It is in post-production that most films spectacularly drop the ball when it comes to two wheels. Motorcycles have lots of different engines and a V-twin sounds very different to an inline four cylinder, something a biker will spot immediately and it will ruin a film for them when a soundman simply dubs in a generic engine sound. Just pulling the clutch in doesn’t mean a bike will go faster and bikes have six gears, not twenty as some films think, which is another bugbear.
We all know there needs to be a degree of artistic licence, but bikes are considerably faster accelerating than cars and there is no way a mundane car can out accelerate a sportsbike, as happened in Speed 2 and countless other films that involve a bike chase.
And we can’t mention errors without noting the magical tyre changes that happened in the original Mission: Impossible, where the Triumphs changed from road to off-road tyres between camera cuts!
But when it’s all done correctly, using a bike in a film can create a truly iconic slice of cinematography, as Steve McQueen failing to jump that fence in The Great Escape proves.
And as it is such an iconic image, even bikers let slip the glaring error that McQueen is riding a Triumph in the sequence, a British bike that he apparently stole from a German soldier who, if we are talking historic accuracy, should really have been riding a BMW!
*About **Lee Carnihan, Writer and blogger *
Lee Carnihan blogs about art, design, photography, travel and technology, especially the future of technology and what it means for business, culture, people and the planet.
