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10 Motorcycles Tom Cruise Has Ridden in Movies

From the original Top Gun Ninja to the BMWs and Triumphs of Mission: Impossible, here are ten film entries—and where the model or rider details need qualification.
Entry335 Date Time5 min MechanicCarCody Team
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Tom Cruise’s movie motorcycles range from the Kawasaki Ninja that became part of Top Gun’s visual identity to BMWs and Triumphs in the Mission: Impossible films. This list counts ten film entries, not ten individual bikes: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One features two different models. “Ridden” means associated with an on-screen scene; it does not mean Cruise personally rode every bike in every shot.

At a glance: the ten film entries

Film Motorcycle identification What to know
Top Gun (1986) Kawasaki GPz900R, also known as the Ninja The signature film-bike pairing is clear, but the exact production model has been disputed.
Mission: Impossible II (2000) Triumph Speed Triple T509; a Daytona 595 also appears in the chase The International Spy Museum identifies its exhibited filming bike as a Speed Triple.
Mission: Impossible III (2006) Triumph Bonneville Scrambler A brief arrival scene; one bike from the scene was later auctioned, according to Visordown.
Knight and Day (2010) Ducati Hypermotard Some shots were doubled; an alleged Aprilia substitution for demanding stunts is unconfirmed.
Oblivion (2013) Futuristic fictional “space bike” Often reported to be based on a Honda CRF450, but that identification is rumor-based.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014) Triumph Thruxton, described as the 865cc air-cooled model A short appearance before the main action.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) BMW S1000RR The Morocco chase includes multiple riders; Jenny Tinmouth doubled Rebecca Ferguson’s character.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) BMW R nineT Visordown calls it a Pure; BMW’s set-photo caption identifies a Scrambler.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022) Kawasaki H2 The original Ninja also appears in Maverick’s hangar. The H2R used in a custom project inspired by the film is not the bike identified as ridden in the movie.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) BMW G310GS and Honda CRF250 Two distinct motorcycles appear in the Rome escape and cliff-jump scenes.

The motorcycles, film by film

Top Gun: Kawasaki GPz900R

The Kawasaki GPz900R—marketed as the Ninja in some contexts—is the best-known motorcycle in this lineup. Visordown associates the model with the film, and builder FTG Moto describes a 1985 GPZ 900 R as the starting bike associated with Top Gun (FTG Moto’s Project Z). There is a caveat: Visordown notes debate over whether the production motorcycle may instead have been a GPz750R. The film pairing is iconic; the precise model of the filming unit is less settled.

Mission: Impossible II: Triumph Speed Triple and Daytona

The chase in Mission: Impossible II brings together Triumphs, including a Speed Triple T509 and a Daytona 595. The International Spy Museum identifies its displayed film motorcycle as a Triumph Speed Triple and says it was one of six used in filming. The museum also reports that Cruise performed stunts on that particular motorcycle (International Spy Museum: Mission: Impossible II). That specific provenance makes this one of the better-documented entries, though it does not establish who rode every bike in every shot.

Mission: Impossible III: Triumph Bonneville Scrambler

A Triumph Bonneville Scrambler appears in a brief arrival scene. Visordown reports that one of the motorcycles used for the scene was later auctioned. This is a short on-screen appearance rather than an extended riding sequence.

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Knight and Day: Ducati Hypermotard

The motorcycle associated with the film is a Ducati Hypermotard. Visordown says some shots were doubled and reports a rumor that an Aprilia Dorsoduro may have been disguised as a Ducati for demanding stunts. Treat that possible substitution as unconfirmed, not as an established production fact.

Oblivion: a fictional space bike

Oblivion features a futuristic “space bike,” not a standard production motorcycle presented under its real-world name. The machine is often reported to have been fashioned from a Honda CRF450 motocrosser, but the model attribution is rumor-based. The safest identification is the film’s fictional bike, with the CRF450 only a possible basis.

Edge of Tomorrow: Triumph Thruxton

A Triumph Thruxton appears briefly before the film’s main action. Visordown identifies it as the 865cc air-cooled model. Its screen time is modest compared with the chase motorcycles in the Mission: Impossible films.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation: BMW S1000RR

The Morocco chase in Rogue Nation features BMW S1000RR motorcycles ridden by Hunt and other riders. For the sequence, racer Jenny Tinmouth doubled Rebecca Ferguson’s character, according to Visordown. That distinction matters: the bikes are part of the scene’s identity, but the cast and stunt performers did not necessarily handle the same shots.

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Mission: Impossible – Fallout: BMW R nineT

The bike is best described generally as a BMW R nineT because the trim identification differs by source. Visordown names the R nineT Pure, while BMW Group PressClub’s caption for a set photograph identifies an R nineT Scrambler (BMW Group PressClub set photo, 8 June 2018). The available descriptions support the R nineT family, not a single uncontested trim.

Top Gun: Maverick: Kawasaki H2

Maverick rides a Kawasaki H2 in Top Gun: Maverick, and the original Ninja from the first film also appears in his hangar. These two Kawasaki appearances link the films across decades. Keep the ridden H2 distinct from FTG Moto’s custom build: the builder says its film-inspired Project Z used a 2020 Kawasaki H2R as the finishing bike, which is not evidence that the on-screen motorcycle was an H2R (FTG Moto’s Project Z).

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Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One: BMW G310GS and Honda CRF250

This single film contributes two motorcycles to the list. A police-spec BMW G310GS features in the Rome escape, while a Honda CRF250 is associated with the cliff-jump scene. Counting the film as one entry keeps the total at ten film entries rather than silently treating each bike as a separate movie.

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What “ridden by Tom Cruise” does—and does not—mean

Movie-bike lists often compress several kinds of involvement into the word “ridden”: an actor may ride in some shots, a stunt performer may handle others, and production motorcycles may be modified or substituted for particular scenes. The evidence here varies. The Spy Museum specifically reports Cruise performed stunts on its displayed Mission: Impossible II Speed Triple. For Rogue Nation, Visordown identifies Jenny Tinmouth as Ferguson’s double. For Knight and Day, it notes doubled shots and an unconfirmed substitution rumor. The remaining film associations should not be read as proof that Cruise personally rode every motorcycle shown.

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Bonus appearance: Days of Thunder

Visordown also notes a brief appearance on a Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail in Days of Thunder (1990). It is a bonus mention rather than one of the ten principal entries above. Paramount confirms the film’s 1990 release and Cruise’s role as Cole Trickle, but its official synopsis does not independently verify the motorcycle (Paramount Pictures: Days of Thunder).

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