Famous Men With Motorcycles

There are not too many things that have inspired men’s passion, and at times their obsession, the way that motorcycles have. It is very clear why this is the case. Motorcycles combine several masculine elements into one: speed, danger, solitude, singular focus, physical skill, noise, and mechanics.

There are many famous men who have loved motorcycles; their love of things such as adventure, music and acting have been combined with their passion for bikes. Motorcycles have been the ideal outlet for their zest for life; they have been inspired and energized by the wind in their faces as they ride on the open road.

In this article we will be taking a closer look at how several famous men have related to their bikes.

Marlon Brando

Before Brando became famous, he cruised around New York City’s streets on his bike. In the decades after he became famous, whenever that fame of his began to feel oppressive, he would head out on his motorcycle in the direction of the Southwest, and ride for endless miles through the desert.

Brando rode on a 1950 Triumph 6T Thunderbird in The Wild One, one of his most iconic films.

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan’s career in 1966 was going full force; he had several gold and platinum albums, was touring all over the world, and was about to publish a novel. His future commitments and schedule were intense. Success was crashing down on him like a huge tidal wave. This wave may have completely drowned him if he hadn’t been involved in a serious motorcycle accident while cruising around near his home in Woodstock, NY. Although he was not hospitalized, he underwent a long convalescence, and almost a decade passed before he returned to touring. The accident provided Dylan with an opportunity for slowing his life down.

Clark Gable

Clark Gable was another famous man to ride a motorcycle. To be exact it was a 1934 Harley Davidson RL.

Clint Eastwood

Although in his personal life, Eastwood only rode a motorcycle occasionally, in several of his movies he road a bike. For example, in Coogan’s Bluff, he rode a Triumph Bonneville to chase an escaped criminal throughout Central Park.

Buddy Holly

Coming off a highly successful tour in 1958, Buddy Holly and the Crickets made
the decision to spend some of their new money on motorcycles. They shopped at a local motorcycle store in Dallas. However, the owners of the shop did not know who these young men were and treated them very dismissively. They were practically pushed out the door by the Harley dealer owner. However, at Ray Miller Triumph Motorcycle Sales, they discovered what they had been searching for. Each of the men chose one of the store’s latest models. An Ariel Cyclone was chosen by Buddy, Joe B. got a Thunderbird and J.I. went with a Trophy. The guys then headed out on their bikes back to Lubbock. However, on their way, they made a point to show off their new motorcycles at the Harley dealer.

James Dean

The “Rebel Without a Cause” of course loved motorcycles. When he was 15 years old he received his first real motorcycle, which was a 1947 CZ 125-cc. James was the only boy in his small Indiana town who had his own motorcycle. He always rode his bike at full throttle. In a fall, he lost two teeth, and was called “One Speed Dean” by the locals, with the one speed being “wide open.”

Later when he decided to pursue acting and drop out of college, he traded his cherished CZ in to get a Royal Infield 500cc vertical twin. However, he only had that bike for a short time. One time when he was back home in Indiana, while on a break from appearing in a NYC play, Dean decided he would ride his bike all the way back to New York. However, his Royal Infield broke down on his way, so he traded it in and got an Indian Warrior TT. After arriving back in New York, Dean got his motorcycle serviced at the shop where Steve McQueen was a mechanic.

Later on, Dean purchased a Triumph TR5 Trophy, so he could have the same bike as Marlon Brando. It was the final motorcycle he rode prior to his death, and if he was wearing the best motorcycle helmet, he could of survived..

Steve McQueen

There is probably no famous man that we associate more with bikes than Steve McQueen, the King of Cool.

Before becoming a famous actor, Steve McQueen competed in and won several weekend motorcycle races. He rode on a used Harley, which was his very first bike. Even when he began to enjoy success in Hollywood, his acting gigs were always in competition with his motorcycle passion. Over time McQueen ended up with a motorcycle collection of more than 100 bikes. Vintage Indians were his favorites. When his fame became too stifling, Steve would take off out of Hollywood on one of his Indian bikes out on the open road. He also loved of-road racing, and raced on his Triumph TR6 in a number of different races from the International Six Days Trial to the Baja 1000.

In one of his films called The Great Escape, the TR6 makes a famous appearance.
McQueen performed many of the stunts himself in the movie. However, contrary to popular legend, it wasn’t McQueen jumping his motorcycle over that barbed wire fence during that iconic scene.