1 week Ago By [email protected] (Damir Mujezinovic)
Released in 2022, "The Batman" was well-received by audiences and critics alike, with many praising director Matt Reeves's dark and gritty take on Gotham City and Batman himself. The film — which is the thirteenth and most recent big screen adaptation of the Batman character — featured an ensemble cast, with Robert Pattinson in the lead role and Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman. If you have any interest in cars and motorcycles, you were likely impressed by more than just the story and special effects, as "The Batman" also featured a few dozen iconic vehicles, including one of the best Batmobiles of all time .
In several key scenes, Batman and Catwoman can be seen riding powerful motorcycles. It is difficult to tell which specific bikes they are, and not just because the film is very dark (both figuratively and literally), but also because these aren't exactly the types of bikes you'd typically see cruising down your neighborhood street. With that in mind, here's what you need to know about the bikes Pattinson and Kravitz's characters ride in the film.
Bruce Wayne's Batcycle in "The Batman" is not a real, production-model motorcycle. It is actually the work of Ash Thorp, a digital artist and graphic designer. Thorp — who also designed the Batmobile for "The Batman" — drew inspiration for the Batcycle from bikes such as the Ducati Monster and the Suzuki Hayabusa, blending elements of their powerful build with futuristic features, while adding a swingarm and a tire at the back.
In a 2022 interview with Bike EXIF , Thorp said that he took some artistic liberties, noting that the Batcycle he designed would probably not handle quite as well in real-world conditions. "You can see my lack of motorcycle knowledge in the overall design of things. Like the swingarm in the rear, it doesn't make sense geometry-wise.
And I'm sure I'll get ripped a new one by super bike nerds, which is totally fine. I deserve it — I'm just an art guy," he stated. In some parts of the film, Pattinson's character moves incognito around Gotham City, wearing a nondescript outfit and riding his Drifter bike.
This motorcycle, too, was designed by Thorp. According to Thorp, Bruce Wayne's Drifter bike shares the Batcycle's DNA, but has a more rugged, real-life appearance. The Drifter bike that was built for the film stayed faithful to Thorp's original design, though it appears that the team behind it used a mid-sized four-cylinder Honda CB as the foundation.
Thorp told Bike EXIF that it is a "huge leap going from a digital design." "My goal with my renders is to make them look and feel as real as possible, but it's not a production-ready execution really, because you have to do everything to scale, and you have to pass everything over to draftspeople and a production team, and people that take the design and then translate it to a reality, which is a whole other thing," he explained. Catwoman's motorcycle is based on the BMW R nineT, which is considered one of the best BMW motorcycles ever made .
The Catcycle was built by Kaichiroh Kurosu, a Japanese motorcycle artisan, who had previously worked on customizing the R nineT, creating the Cherry's Company Highway Fighter. Though it looks modern and futuristic, the Highway Fighter was actually inspired by the 1934 BMW R 7. Kurosu transformed the R nineT by designing a custom tank and a handmade aluminum full enclosure, incorporating a hidden LED front light, adding a custom exhaust and chrome wheel, and making modifications to the front suspension.
The bike Zoë Kravitz rides in "The Batman" is very similar to the Highway Fighter, though Kurosu did make a few aesthetic tweaks. The exhaust, for example, appears to have a slightly different design. Additionally, all BMW branding was removed from the motorcycle, which was given a matte black paint job.
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