There is no authoritative ranking of cinema’s “most famous” motorcycles, and the available evidence does not support a reliable list of ten exact film-and-model pairings. These six selections focus on motorcycles and designs with a distinctive screen role or documented cultural afterlife. The list distinguishes production bikes from fictional vehicles and surviving replicas.
Six memorable motorcycles and designs from film
The Great Escape (1963): Triumph TR6 Trophy
The motorcycle in the film’s famous escape sequence was a Triumph TR6 Trophy, disguised to look like a German bike. Triumph identifies Bud Ekins, Steve McQueen’s stunt double, as the rider who performed the celebrated jump; it was not McQueen. The restored motorcycle is displayed at Triumph’s Factory Visitor Experience. Triumph’s account of Bud Ekins documents the bike and stunt.
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| 1 |
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Nifeliz Chopper Motorcycle Building Set, NF10308 | $34.95 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Maisto 1:12 Harley Davidson 2015 Street Glide | $21.41 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Tamiya 14044 Yamaha Virago XV1000 1:12 Motorbike Model Kit | $28.17 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Maisto 1: 12 Al Kawasaki KX 450F (Colors May Vary), Large | $16.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Easy Rider (1969): Captain America
The long-forked chopper known as Captain America is one of the film’s defining images. The National Motorcycle Museum’s display includes replicas of the two matching bikes made for the movie, not original film props. That distinction matters: the screen image is famous, but the provenance of any particular surviving bike should not be assumed. The museum’s Captain America exhibit page explains the replica status.
Top Gun (1986): Kawasaki GPz900R Ninja
The GPz900R Ninja is commonly associated with Maverick’s motorcycle scenes and is included in a roundup of famous movie bikes by Visordown. That supports its place in an editorial selection, though it is not a production record establishing every detail of the film bike. Visordown’s movie-bike roundup provides the cited example.
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Tron (1982): the light cycle
Tron’s light cycle belongs on a movie-bike list as a fictional screen design, not as a production motorcycle. Its geometric silhouette and luminous wheels make it an especially clear example of a motorcycle-like vehicle whose fame comes from visual invention rather than a real-world model. Visordown includes it among famous movie bikes in its roundup.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022): Kawasaki Ninja H2 Carbon
British GQ identifies Maverick’s bike in the sequel as a Kawasaki Ninja H2 Carbon. This is an editorial identification rather than a manufacturer or production record, so the association is best stated without adding unsupported technical claims about the specific film vehicle. British GQ’s movie-motorcycle roundup names the bike.
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James Bond: Triumph partnership
Triumph says it was the motorcycle partner for the 25th Bond film. The cited partnership page establishes that connection but does not identify a specific model, so this entry is about the documented brand presence, not a model-level identification. Triumph’s James Bond partnership page describes the relationship.
Why this is not a definitive top ten
“Most famous” is a matter of editorial judgment: consulted cinema writing and movie-bike roundups do not provide a shared fame metric or canonical order. More importantly, the cited material here securely identifies only a limited set of film-and-model pairings. Naming ten exact motorcycles would require stronger confirmation for additional entries than the available sources provide. Broader scholarship, including CINEJ Cinema Journal’s history of motorcycles in cinema, helps explain the long relationship between bikes and film, but it does not establish a ranked top ten.
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Rank #3
- Descriptif produit: Maquette plastique à assembler
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- scale: 1:12
- length of model: 187 mm.
- Scale: 1:12
Later tributes are not the original film bikes
Triumph released Bud Ekins Bonneville T100 and T120 special editions in 2020 as commemorations connected to Ekins. They are later tribute motorcycles, not the TR6 Trophy used in The Great Escape. Triumph’s 2020 special-edition announcement describes those models.
For a deeper account of the chopper tradition and the Easy Rider bikes, the National Motorcycle Museum recommends Paul d’Orleans’s The Chopper: The Real Story in its Captain America exhibit material.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
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