MOTO eMAG: Top 32 Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film

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Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film I - The Matrix Reloaded ('03) The first pick is the unforgettable freeway scene in the 2nd Matrix on the Ducati 996. Obviously loaded with CGI, but that doesn't take away from its awesomeness. Watch the scene on YT below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film II - Skyfall ('12) A total of twenty Honda CRF250R motorcycles were used for the opening motorcycle chase in the Bond movie Skyfall. This highly complicated scene is shot on the rooftops of Istanbul. The Bond bike was ridden by the Australian stunt rider Robbie Maddison. Watch the chase scene on YouTube. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film III - Tomorrow Never Dies ('97) The moment that could be called the conception of rebirth of BMW Motorcycles is this scene in the Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. Here, for the first time a BMW motorcycle is used to pull off an extremely intricate and dangerous stunt in a major movie. Clip is below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film IV - Thunderball ('65) We have another classic Bond film on our list. Ever since this movie every rider who has been cut off, including myself, wishes they had the rocket launchers fitted to the featured custom gold BSA. YouTube has the scene. It's short but delivers a memorable blast. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film V - The Bourne Identity ('02) Our No 5 is one of the best motorcycle chasing a car scene of all time. It's in fact a crazy exciting 4:54 clip. Both the car and bikes are unusual. The bikes are BMW K75RT police with riders wearing early generation BMW flip helmets. The car is an old school Mini. This is one of those rare clips that I used to run at my MOA seminars. Enjoy! WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film VI - Terminator 2 ('91) An indestructible android from the future in a Freightliner is chasing a kid riding a Honda dual sport who in the future will become a resistance fighter. The kid is saved by a less advanced cyborg on a Fat Boy also from the future that is sent to this timeline by his older self. All that is from the mind of James Cameron and it's a heck of a scene. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film VII - Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation ('15) Cruise really knocked it out of the park with the S1000RR scene in Rogue Nation. Here you have bad guys and good guys all riding the Beemer superbike and blasting, for seemingly a long time, on twisty mountain roads. BMW got ton of PR with this release of MI franchise. Scene is on YT. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film VIII - The Great Escape ('63) Steve McQueen tried to do as much of his own riding and driving stunts as possible. Because of his love of bikes they put a major motorcycle escape scene in this film. Although he portrays a WWII POW, hence the bike is supposed to be a Beemer but he's riding a Triumph hoping no one would notice. The scene is iconic and it's worth seeing again. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film IX - The Dark Knight ('08) This is the 3rd highest rated movie on IMDB. When they put the Batpod together no one could ride it, so they went to France looking for the stunt rider who pulled the amazing rooftop jump on the Beemer in Tomorrow Never Dies, Jean Pierre Goy, and he knocked it out of the park. With a memorable performance by Heath Ledger. Watch below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film X - Fled ('96) This is the movie that turned Laurence Fishburne into a rider. When I interviewed Fishburne for BMW he said Stephen Baldwin was into Ducatis so they put some neat 916 riding scenes in Fled. Fishburne had to get an intro course in riding just so he can manage the bikes and he got hooked. Fled came out before his mega hit as Morpheus in The Matrix. 916 scene below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XI - Mission: Impossible II ('00) Our choice for #11 is another MI franchise. This time Cruise is on a Triumph and the scene has all the trademarks of the director John Woo: multi-angle shots mixed with very quick cuts and explosions. The downside is that it doesn't seem organic and fails to engage real riders, but it's a good scene regardless. Cruise's later films bring more realism to his riding and stunts. Scene below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XII - Mission: Impossible - Fallout ('18) Consider the complexity and cost of producing a summer blockbuster, then imagine your star mentioning, "hey I love bikes, make sure to also put an amazing motorcycle chase scene in this film." Tom's a great global promoter for our sport. The 12th best scene is from his latest MI. Do we wish he didn't put his foot down while making turns, you bet, but hey we'll forgive him as long as he keeps creating great motorcycle scenes in his movies. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XIII - Sherlock Jr. ('24) Our 13th pick is among the best comedies ever made and it's one of the highest rated movies on IMDB. During the Silent Era, the legendary Buster Keaton was not only a stuntman's stuntman but one of the most technically cutting edge actors and directors of his time. How he survived his seemingly miraculous stunts into old age is anyone's guess. It's a real treat to watch this gorgeously insane stunt-filled motorcycle chase. Enjoy! WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XIV - TRON: Legacy ('10) The Best Scenes 14 is not about the Tron bikes, but the Ducati Sport 1000. The first time I watched that scene I loved how genuine it seemed with no digital effects or unrealistic stunts. A smooth ride on a beautiful retro Ducati with a good score and it even has a brief chase by a BMW police bike. Scene below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XV - CHIPS ('17) This scene is fun to watch (except for the weird ending). When you finance real riders to make a motorcycle movie the result is terrible dialog but good riding shots. Here you have Ducs and Beemers ripping through streets of LA and it's really entertaining. Scene is below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XVI - Born To Ride ('91) Here's the dilemma about this movie. It's not good enough to be on our Best Biker Movies of All Time and there are no amazing riding scenes to qualify it for the Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film. However, this movie has a lot of beautiful American cruisers from the '30s and '40s, also they talk about bikes with passion and the production quality is pretty high so it wouldn't be a total waste of your time to watch. Trailer is below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XVII - Black Rain ('89) This action movie set in Japan is all about motorcycles, however, since Michael Douglas wasn't a rider the riding scenes aren't that exciting. This is of course way before the power of CGI would make Carrie-Anne Moss appear as an expert Ducati rider in Matrix 2, even though she had never ridden before. There is one really good scene, worked out by stunt riders, in CA wine country (their Japan shooting permit had expired by then) that's worth watching. Scene below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XVIII - Knight and Day ('10) Genuine passion for riding can be very contagious. Cruise returns for another episode of our Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film. No.18 is his 2010 thriller with Cameron Diaz. This film has a wild chase scene with Cruise and Diaz on a Ducati Hypermotard. The chase goes way beyond cars driven by the bad guys cliché as a herd of bulls also join in. Scene below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XIX - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ('08) Spielberg has had his fair share of motorcycles in his movies, but this one is probably the best of the bunch. For Indiana Jones 4 they took a modern H-D and made it look vintage. My favorite part of this scene is the group slide at the end. The bike is also featured in other spots in the movie, but not as prominently as our scene below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XX - First Blood ('82) Since Stallone recently launched the 5th installment of Rambo, we pay homage to the first. Our 20th Best Moto Scenes is from Rambo: First Blood, originally called just "First Blood." This short motorcycle chase scene is as charged as the rest of the movie. Scene below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XXI - Top Gun ('86) Our 21st Best Moto Scenes turned a lot of twenty-somethings on to sportbikes. Every shot has become a classic. The movie is of course "I feel the need, the need for speed!" Top Gun, and with the release of Top Gun 2 showing Tom on more Kawasakis, we're delighted to pay homage to the original. Scene is below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XXII - Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man ('91) HD & MM squeaks into our list with this police bike chase scene. The Honda PC800 police looks so futuristic next to Johnson's Hog. For a biker movie this flick comes short but it deserves a spot on our Best Scenes. Apparently Johnson and Rourke didn't get along but this scene is fun and if you continue watching it, turns out Don knew the female officer and was just teasing her. Scene is below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XXIII - Quick ('11) The first movie to showcase BMW's S1000RR was a South Korean action film called simply Quick. The RR is featured extensively through out. The plot of this big budget Asian thriller is about going from point A to B as fast as possible otherwise a bomb will explode, hence the need for a "quick" superbike that can cut through traffic. The trailer with subtitles is below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XXIV - Triple X ('02) No. 24 is a marvel of multi-camera shooting and quick edits. This could possibly be the most complex choreographed motorcycle stunt on film. The hero is riding a Husky btw. It's a feast for the eyes. Scene is below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XXV - Freebie and the Bean ('74) There is a scene in No. 25 where James Caan's character beats the bumper-to-bumper traffic by riding a Montesa Cota 247 over a bunch of cars. That's the fantasy of every urban enduro rider of course. This was an expensive stunt heavy movie that actually paid off at the box office due to on screen chemistry of Caan and Arkin. Scene is below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XXVI - Escape to Athena ('79) No. 26 is shot on the old-world, narrow and serpentine alleys of the Greek island of Rhodes. Lots of big names in this WWII themed movie that actually was a flop at the box office. The chase showing 2 motorcycles features Elliott Gould (MASH). Scene is below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XXVII - Coogan's Bluff ('68) MOTO's choice for No. 27 features Clint Eastwood, who actually is doing most of the riding here. The bad guy is running off on a Triumph and right at that moment a couple on another Triumph happen to drop their bike, so Clint can conveniently pick it up and chase after him. The riding was done in the upper parts of Manhattan and it feels raw, that's the key reason the scene makes it on our list. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XXVIII - The Terminator ('84) The latest incarnation of the Terminator franchise was released to a lukewarm reception and box office results. Not even James Cameran and Linda Hamilton could reignite this once mighty franchise. I covered the famous motorcycle chase scene in T2 as our number 6 and here at 28 we put the spotlight on the first Terminator as Arnold rides a Honda CB750. Scene is below. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film XXIX - The Gauntlet ('77) Biker: Hey man, this is our choppers, Charley. Clint: This is my gun, Clyde. Sondra: Do you know how to drive this thing? Clint: It's been a few years, we'll fake it. No. 29 is about the popular team of Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke--they made 6 films together. Clint used to ride and put a few motorcycle scenes in his early movies. Here he's bullying a biker gang so he can grab a ride and get back to town with Sondra. If you watch the movie past this scene on YT, you'll see Clint do quite a bit of dirt riding on the chopper. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film 30 - Il Profeta ('68) Ann-Margret was called the female Elvis and she almost became Mrs. Presley, however, EP apparently thought she was a bit too headstrong and went with Priscilla instead. Born in Sweden and raised in the US, she could do it all and also rode. Here's a clip from one of her Italian productions from '68, Il Profeta (the Prophet, AKA Mr. Kinky). She is on a Guzzi V700 and doing her own riding. She is pretty good and you can see the sense of pride on her face as she's showing off her skills on film. It seems she learned to ride on small dirt bikes in the way she's handling the kickstand. It would have been much sexier for her to get on the bike and then kick the stand up and go, rather than deal with balancing a larger bike first. The scene is only 2:30, but Ann does a good bit of riding in her short dress and boots. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film 31 - Vicious Cycles ('67) Number 31 is an oddity. The Vicious Cycles is among the best stop motion live action short films ever made with a real comedic plot and plenty of characters. This wildly original farce packs a lot into a 6-min package. Released in 1967, one year after the first of the biker films (The Wild Angels), the Vicious Cycles has remained a hidden classic ever since. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE
Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film 32 - Never Say Never Again ('83) We wrap up our epic 32-part Best Motorcycle Scenes on Film with another Bond film. This particular Bond motorcycle stunt is totally unbelievable, in fact it's fantastical, however, it's fun to watch. The bike is a Yamaha XJ650 Turbo. It happens to be a Q bike with some neat tricks. This makes for a great closer to our Top-32. Watch on YT. WATCH SCENE ON YOUTUBE