Adamant Rider

Hugh Jackman a.k.a. Wolverine is a keen motorcyclist it seems. Being seen here with a nice looking 70's Bonnie.

Even the comic-book Logan is seen cruisin' on a Trumpet...

Of course in the X-Men: Origins movie has Jacko haring around on a big American Iron. Get those claws out!

He's the baddest, meanest, best superhuman mutant out there!

Of course, as with all Stan Lee creations the supporting merchandise must follow!

Matchbox Sheene

Matchbox made a couple of models, one a scale die-cast another a kit. Anything for the 10 or 11 year old to display on his bedroom shelf. Go No. 7!

A nicely detailed kit.

Here's the Superkings K-81 Sheene bike. No duck faced helmet on this one, just his cool mullet hairstyle flowin' in the air.

Here's a basic Sheene toy for the younger enthusiast.

of Handicraft and Flea

No riding this weekend, but a couple of fun motorcycle themed items seen at the Wicker Park Renegade Craft Fair and Wolff's Flea Market respectively. A ceramic tile to dress up your workshop backsplash; and a kids bike, pedla power, looking like a v-twin.
The moto-graphic on the tile is an interesting take on two wheeled transport; I can't tell if it's a Harley or Ariel.

I can see a young (very!) Geordie Biker riding one of these along Brommey Road in Wooler back in the mid-70's! It looks like fun, just needs a card in the spokes for a motorcycle noise...

McQueen modelling

One last model kit featuring Hilts on his bike is this small diarama showing him in full posed evading capture.

Simple assembly but a good paint finish would be essential.

Plenty of images to reference too!

Hilts rides again...

Keepin' the theme going, here's a 1:6 scale action figure and bike of Hilts on a german bike. Well padded leather flying jacket and small baseball glove. All it needs is a 'Cooler' diarama as well as a fence jump ramp!

Oh to be a kid again!

Now if they added the revving motor of an Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle.... too much fun!

A Model Escape

Here is an accurate 1:12 model of the bike used by Hilts to escape the Germans and the Stalag Luft. Actually a Triumph TR6, painted and detailed a little to replicate a wartime BMW R45 bike of the time; probably its because this is the model Steve and his pal Bud rode to great effect across the SoCal dessert. Nevertheless it is still one of the most classic bike scenes in ANY movie!

Below: a replica built for the Imprial War Museum exhibition on the G.E. in 2005/6 - A 1960 T110.

A Model Motorcycle

There are quite a few plastic model kits featuring the Triumph motorcycle, whether for historical significance, such as the red-caps machine, or TV promotion. Different scales and models... starting with this brit duo: BSA and Tri, from the Grease 2 movie (apparently!)

A nicely detailed semi-built kit, just bolt 'er together and there you are, one Bonneville. Nice detailing too.

Here's the MP bikes, utilitarian singles fromwartime service; (more on this later...)

Heeey!  Fonz has his bobbed triumph alse modelized. See previous entries for the bike itself.

A nice little Revell kit.

Wonder Woman

Adorning a tight blue lycra jumpsuit and star spangled helmet and dark goggles we see Diane Prince's Amazonian good defending heroine chasing some enemy of truth and justice. Red boots finish the look. She's riding a diminutive Kawasaki 100cc trial bike. Well it beats the invisible aircraft...

As has previously been shown, superheros must also be available to the kids, here a Wonder Woman on Motorcycle toy. She has fairly burly arms ~ so I wouldn't mess with her...

Wallace - The Cooler King

One great biker, or rather sidecar driver, is Wallace, who, along with his trusty sidekick pup Gromit get up to all sorts of adventures on their red Triumph hack. One imaginative modelmaker has taken the idea to represent our top motorcyclist hero Steve McQueen in his most noted bike scene, the Great Escape fence jump, and applied an Aardman appearance to him. More cheese Gromit?

Here's the original duo...

Superheros on Toy Motorcycles

Even those who have to save the world see the need to zip about on two wheels when the need arises... yes they have their batcars and such, but any chance to rort after the bad guys with their cape fluttering behind!

Well, growing up there was of course the bike toys to support the DC and Marvel comics and TV shows. The Hulk one seems like a stretch and the Pink Panther drag bike? I remember the cool pink hot rod car, perhaps a custom Pink Panther motorcycle would be a good build.

The Boy Wonder.

Please don't make me angry, you won't like me when I'm angry...

Shazam!

Th Rinky Dink!

Toy Triumphs

A police 5TA Speed Twin - with rear 'bathtub' fairing.

Same Speed Twin 5TA Die-cast but this time a faired racer.

A Lesney Matchbox Triumph T110 with sidecar. Great detail of the pre-unit engine on the timing side.

And finally a modern detailed Triumph Bonneville from Altaya. Good enough to ride!

Robert Craig Knievel aka Evel Knievel

Motorcycle showman extaordinaire ~ Evel dominated the stunt world of riding through several decades, fans eagerly waiting for him to jump cars, buses, fountains, and the Snake Canyon. With star spangled cape flying, there always seemed to be some sort of spill on the landing ramp, stretcher borne exit and shaky 'thumbs up' from the rider who, I'm sure, introduced many a boy to the daredevil world of motorcycling. Where does Triumph come in? Well one of his most famous jumps was over the fountain at Caesers Palace in Las Vegas NV. He rode a Bonneville 650.

Triumph even commemorated the 40th anniversay of the stunt with a special: a sweet looking version of their Scrambler model. High pipes, shortened mudguards and I'm sure a ripping twin sound.

Here's one of the original 650's on display.

Another on a workstand...

Now, any boy growing up in the mid-seventies yearned for the popular Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle. I had the chopper. Rev up the 'energizer' and watch him go. Ramps were set up in schoolyards, across back lawns and along the streets. My figure of Evel suffered a fractured ankle: a piece of the wire armature poked through the thick rubber skin. Much like the real guy!

Advertising with comic strip type graphics lured the Marvel, DC, 2000AD crowd...

Smaller die-cast bikes also apeared; raced alongside my Britains bikes. These modelled after Harley Davidsons, his latter s'steeds'. Now, honestly if you were going to jump over things would you want a lump of iron like a Harley under you?

There was even a toy marketed soley for girls, Derry Daring with pink jumpsuit, long blonde hair and matching stunt cycle and energizer: classic stuff.... sadly this didn't make it over to the UK. I wonder how many girls were inspired to ride?