Top Motorcycle Movies of All-Time… According to PJ and Dave
On Any Sunday –
Dave: The first and most impactful, meaningful motorcycle documentary ever made, it should be issued to you if you purchase a bike so you get a feel for why motorcycling is so much fun. You get to live the life of a rider or racer through there own experiences and struggles. And who cannot smile when they see Malcolm Smith, Mert Lawill, or Steve McQueen ride?
Favorite scene: McQueen and his buddies railing the sand
Fight me.
PJ: My favorite scene is short, of Jeff Ward as a kid wheelying out of sight on his Honda Mini Trail. It set me on the path to riding wheelies around my childhood trailer park at all times, perfecting it. It was cool to see a "kid" riding like that as I was pretty young when it came out, the adults were the show, but it struck a chord for a young at the time guy.
World’s Fastest Indian –
Dave: A true story, Anthony Hopkins is simply stellar as the grizzled old bike builder Burt Monro with a dream to go to Bonneville and try and set the world speed record. The people he meets along the way, the experiences, setbacks, struggles, and his get it done approach to every obstacle, makes this the best gear head movie ever.
Favorite scene: Pouring molten aluminum into a mold to make his own pistons
Change my mind.
PJ: Similarly inspiring to an "older" at the time man. It was good to see a gentleman of an advanced age realizing a life's long goal. He was well past the traditional age for a motorcycle racer and embodied the racer mindset of facing all type of challenges head on with little concern for failure or consequence.
Little Fauss and Big Halsey –
Dave: Classic 1970's gritty feel and finish, its simply great bad movie making. Motorcycle movies with lots of Johnny Cash belong in the hall of fame
Favorite scene: Halsey's endo when he meets mom and dad Fauss
Frosty's Motorcycle Shop rules!
Faster (the series)-
PJ: Incredible behind the scenes look at the story/stories of the MotoGP World. This movie became a series, all were great. All narrated by Ewan McGregor, and very well at that.
Favorite scene: The ride along with multiple time world champion Valentino Rossi in a rental car as he talked about going 300+ km/hr lap after lap on a GP bike - "Fack!"
The Doctor, the Tornado, and the Kentucky Kid was the 3rd of the series, and a favorite of mine as it spotlights my all time favorite racer and 2006 MotoGP Champion - Kentuckian Nicky Hayden (RIP).
The Wild One –
Dave: Brando, drunk motorcycle gangs, fights, Black Rebels, police captains daughter, Beetles, guy named Meatball, Lee Marvin, banned in England.....motorcycling never will escape the negative impact this movie had on the image of bikers in general. Since I am a punk rocker at heart, this movie hits me where it counts
Favorite scene: Fight scene, over one of those cheap plastic trophies we all through away...
"Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against?”
"What have you got?"
Purple Rain / Great Escape –
Dave: Toss up here, GE is one of my all-time favorite war movies, and the fact that it features a motorcycle jump at a key moment in the movie, and of course with Steve McQueen (it was actually Bud Ekins that made the jump on film), hard to ignore this movie as a top five motorcycle movie
For similar reasons, Purple Rain is a classic movie, and the Kid rode a pimped out CX500 with a Windjammer all painted purple...how cool is that?
