Cool Bike: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

So you've got a [[Badass]]. Or a [[The Drifter|loner]]. Or an [[Action Hero]] or [[Action Girl]]. Now (s)he needs a suitable way to get from Point A to Point B. Because walking isn't very impressive unless you're [[Unflinching Walk|calmly walking away from the carnage you just caused]], or [[Power Walk|power walking]] toward the carnage you intend to cause.

 

Oh, and remember that you don't ''drive'' a bike; you ''ride'' it.

{{examples}}

* Most of ''[[Go Nagai]]'''s main characters ride and have cool bikes. Some examples are:

** Kouji and Sayaka from ''[[Mazinger Z]]''.

* The first time we saw Kenichi Go from ''[[Voltes V]]'' he was practicing in a firing range by shooting AND riding at once.

* Kaneda's red motorbike in ''[[Akira]]'' most definitely qualifies.

* Soul from ''Soul Eater'' too believes in the power of cool bikes, which is why he has one.

* The Garland units in ''[[Megazone 23]]'' combine Cool Bikes with [[Transforming Mecha]].

* ''[[Genesis Climber Mospeada]]'' (AKA, the third series of ''[[Robotech]]'') has motorcycles that transform into [[Powered Armor]].

* The Motoslaves of ''[[Bubblegum Crisis]]'' also serve as small [[Transforming Mecha]]. Priss and Sylvie also ride cool regular motorcycles. And there's the Highway Star.

* Beelzemon of ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'' has a cool, living bike called Behemoth. And if you aren't Beelzemon, it will possess you and drive all across the landscape.

** And better, ''it wasn't made for him'' or anything like that. Beelzey was just the only one powerful enough to tame the cursed bike that had terrorized a town with its original rider (''and'' then Guilmon, who knocked the original rider off only to become possessed himself.)

* The vehicles in ''[[Rideback]]'' are essentially Cool Bike meets [[Transforming Mecha]]. Ditto the mecha in ''[[Vipers Creed]]''.

* In ''[[Devil May Cry: The Animated Series]]'', Lady has a red 1974 Ducati 750 Supersport.

* Jiggy Pepper from ''[[Tegami Bachi]]'' has one that runs on the power of [[Heart Is an Awesome Power|heart]].

* Jun the Swan's G3 from ''[[Science Ninja Team Gatchaman]]''. It has portable buoys that when lowered under the bike can allow it to ride on water surfaces. Later in the series, it gets a missile launcher.

 

* ''[[Judge Dredd]]'' has his Lawmaster, equipped with bulletproof tyres, [[Nitro Boost]], [[Automated Automobiles|on-board AI]] and [[Weaponized Car|bike cannon]].

** Johnny and Danny's bikes represent two distinct types - Johnny's is a chopper, while Danny's is a speed bike.

* Hot Pursuit, an [[Alternate Universe]] [[The Flash|Barry Allen]] who lacks his [[Super Speed]], drives a bike that is powered by the [[Meta Origin|Speed Force]]. Its wheels appear to be made of pure [[Lightning Can Do Anything|speed energy]].

* The Spy Cycle from ''[[Spy Boy]]''.

 

 

* In the 2007 ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)|TMNT]]'' CGI movie, in his Nightwatcher guise, Raphael rides a motorcycle covered with plate steel. Michelangelo himself comments on how awesome this is.

* ''[[Aachi and Ssipak]]'' loves this trope seeing as how every character has a cool motorcycle or at least motorcycle-like vehicles. Special mention goes to the character of Geko, a [[Badass]] cyborg who has a bike with plenty of weapons.

* The BMW R 1150R Rockster used by Ben Affleck's character in ''[[Paycheck]]''.

* Marlon Brando riding a Triumph Bonneville in ''[[The Wild One]]'' is one of the events that started this trope.

* Will Smith's character's Black MV Augusta F4 in ''[[I, Robot (film)|I Robot]]''.

* The green Harley-Davidson WLA Liberator that Captain America rides in ''[[Captain America: The First Avenger]]''. It even comes with machine guns, and a rope-launcher.<ref>Which Cap uses to great effect against motorcycle-ridng HYDRA mooks late in the movie.</ref>

* Young Boris's rather satanic looking bike from [[Men in Black]] 3

 

== Literature ==

* In ''[[Snow Crash]]'', Hiro Protagonist's smart bike has ''its own operating system''. And Raven's bike. You know, the one with a ''hydrogen bomb'' built into its sidecar.

* In Robert Asprin's ''[[Phule's Company]]'', CH (Chocolate Harry) gets official permission to use his personal hoverbike instead of a Legion vehicle.

 

* [[Kamen Rider]]s, obviously (that's where the "Rider" comes from); while the main Rider always has a Cool Bike, more recent seasons have started to introduce [[Sixth Ranger|Second Riders]] who don't have them. In order:

** The Showa Riders' bikes typically just have custom cowlings, due to special effects limitations of the 1970s, though they're all faster and more powerful than standard bikes, sometimes allowing them to ride along walls and up cliff faces. [[Kamen Rider X|X-Rider's]] can be used as an underwater vehicle and [[Kamen Rider Super-1|Super-1's]] actually flies using rockets. The bikes were a much bigger part of the series in the earlier years; more recent seasons have it as [[The Artifact]] (how many times did we see [[Kamen Rider Kiva]]'s bike, three?) It may have something to do with [[Real Life Writes the Plot|the Rider helmets losing the eyeholes]].

* Reno Raines rides one in ''[[Renegade (TV series)|Renegade]]''.

* ''[[Tin Man (TV series)|Tin Man]]'' : DG's ride of choice appears to be a vintage 40's era motorcycle. It's also implied by her interaction with Officer Gulch that she [[Drives Like Crazy]] on it.

 

== Music ==

* Richard Thompson's song "1952 Vincent Black Lightning"

{{quote|''Said Red Molly to James that's a fine motorbike

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* ''[[Macho Women with Guns]]'' has only three character classes ... and one of them is basically Motorcycle Nun.

* Steve Jackson Games' catalog once contained a fictitious entry for ''Kung Fu CB Mamas on Wheels vs. the Motorcycle Aztec Wrestling Nuns''. Despite not actually being a real game, if it ''did'' exist, it would have had one side entirely on Cool Bikes.

 

== Video Games ==

* In ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]'', EVA's BMW R75 with optional [[Cool Sidecar]] is one hell of a bike, and the way she drives it would put Evel Knievel to shame.

* The Triumph Bonneville ridden by Eva/Big Mama and the Speed Triples ridden by her subordinates in Act 3 of ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 4''; it helps that they're also real world cool bikes.

* ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'', the bike chase after escaping the Shinra building

* Travis's bike, the "Schpeltiger", in ''[[No More Heroes]]''.

* ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]''. The Galbadian Army doesn't use paratroopers. They use ''[[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|motorcyclists who ride out of the tops of buildings, then deploy jetpacks in mid-air.]]''

* The Hoverbikes in ''[[X-COM]]: Apocalypse''. Nothing like watching massive [[Flying Saucer]]s fall down with ease before the might of a [[Zerg Rush|Hoverbike Swarm]].

* Trish in ''[[Devil May Cry]]'' and Lady in ''Devil May Cry 3'' both have very cool bikes.

* ''[[Mercenaries Playground of Destruction|Mercenaries 2]]'' introduces several motorcycles, including one with ''[[More Dakka|mounted miniguns]]''.

:: The bikes are, in fact, too souped-up for regular gameplay, but can be obtained from the beginning with a cheat device such as the Gameshark. In order to even hope to do well on most regular tracks with them, the player will have to lay off the throttle for most of the game. Jumping over a car at full speed may cause the bike to fly so far off the course that the player will not catch back up to the other racers.

* Yasha's Corvette from ''[[Asura's Wrath]]'' is a Jet Bike!

 

== Web Comics ==

** King Radical, the Doctor's nemesis, rides a cool dirtbike.

* ''[[Dawn of Time]]'': after our prehistoric heroine jumps through time to a post-apocalyptic future she swaps her triceratops companion Blue for a triceratops-styled motorbike, BLU 1.

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* In the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'', Battlecat rides a Cool Bike called the Battlecycle. It's tricked out like one of [[James Bond]]'s cars.

 

== Western Animation ==

* Robin in ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' rides one of these from time to time. He gets cool bikes [[Teen Titans (animation)|across the DC multiverse.]]

* ''[[Biker Mice From Mars]]'', where the Cool Bikes used by the protagonists were not only cool, and armed to the teeth, but sentient as well.

** Matrix gets his own Cool Bike later, which can perform a [[Macross Missile Massacre]].

* Most people only remember the short-lived 80s toon ''[[Spiral Zone]]'' for the numerous armed bikes belonging to both heroes and villains.

* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'': in the first draft Danny was supposed to ride a Harley and Johnny 13 does.

* The Tornado Z in ''[[Zorro: Generation Z]]''.

 

== Real Life ==

* The Can-Am Spyder built by BRP, one look at it will you why.

* "MV Augusta's" F4 and Brutale bikes. They only make a handful of these ''per year'', ''by hand''

* The modified "Indian" Scout used by burt munroe at the bonneville salt flats; it ''still'' holds the land speed record for motorcycles under 1000cc.

* The "Vincent" Black Shadow

* The Y2K bike, due to it being powered by a ''jet turbine from a helicopter.''

* Enclosed motorcycles, for those who like a more futuristic look, like the [http://www.monotracer.com/ Peraves Monotracer] or the [http://sites.google.com/site/conceptbikes/18TECA-Concept-full.jpg TECA Technologies concept bike].

* The [[wikipedia:File:Honda.rune.arp.750pix.jpg|Honda Valkyrie Rune]]. Oh, the Honda Valkyrie Rune...

** You could be forgiven for believing it safer to just take the warhead off a missile and ride ''that'' instead. (Heck, it'd probably still be just as safe with the warhead left in place.)

* Bimota's Tesi line of motorcycles, especially the [http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w195/nextue/big_BimotaTesi3DRockGold01.jpg Tesi 3D], with its much sleeker looks compared to its predecessors - The idea behind the design seems to be to put as much emphasis on its two-wheeled-ness as possible without impairing its functionality as a speedbike.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Motor Vehicle Tropes]]

[[Category:Rule of Cool]]

[[Category:Vehicle Tropes]]

[[Category:Travel Cool]]

[[Category:The Utterly and Completely Definitive Guide to Cool]]

[[Category:Motorcycle Tropes]]