From my personal collection of DVDs (and one future purchase, for sure), I have compiled my ten favorite movies that feature motorcycles.  I would like to mention the “Faster!” movie and the “Long Way Round” series as great choices as well, but I did not include them on the list as they are more documentaries than theatrical productions.  These movies are in order of their appeal based on motorcycle content, not necessarily the movie overall.

10. Batman: The Dark Knight - Not really a motorcycle, but the Dark Knight makes spectacular use of his two-wheeled Bat-Pod.

9. Lost Boys - Keifer Sutherland leads a gang of motorcycle-riding vampires in a California beach town.

8. Matrix: Reloaded - Trinity looks awesome in her black leather aboard a Ducati 916 as she evades Agents on the freeway.

7. Blade trilogy - Each of the three Blade movies features one motorcycle scene, the most spectacular being in Blade II, where Wesley Snipes takes out vampires trying to escape on Ducati Supersports.

6. Motorcycle Diaries - Che Guevara is the main character who, along with his best friend, head north from Argentina aboard an old Norton single.

5. Wild Hogs - A clean fun (and funny) movie about a group of middle-aged guys going on their first long motorcycle trip together.

4. Dhoom! - A chracteristically Bollywood import, “DHOOM!” has some very entertaining musical scenes, and is based around a street racer (on a Suzuki Bandit) teaming up with a cop to track down a theif (who rides a Suzuki Hayabusa).

3. Biker Boyz - A truly heartwarming father and son story hides behind flashy sportbikes and cheesy race scenes.

2. Akira - Made in 1988 and still the king of Anime movies, Akira starts with teen motorcycle gangs battling it out in neo-Tokyo.

1. Black Rain - Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia star as cops escorting a dangerous prisoner back to Japan.  Michael Douglas’ character races Katanas on his Harley XLCR Cafe Racer before battling it out in Japan with Yakuza gang members riding blacked-out Suzuki GSXRs and DRs.

Edit:  I just realized Easy Rider is not in my DVD collection!  If it was, that would definitely be near the top of this list.

I decided to start posting Top Ten lists, addressing various motorcycling topics.  I don’t know how often I’ll get around to it, but I’ll try to throw one in here and there on slow weeks where I have nothing else to post.  Some may be just personal preferences (like top ten items I like to take on trips, or top ten roads in a particular area) or more of a tongue-in-cheek rant, like this one.

TOP TEN THINGS SNOOTY HARLEY-DAVIDSON RIDERS SHOULD KNOW:

10.  I know my bike isn’t a Harley, and most people don’t care (including me). 

9.  Most people who claim cruisers are more comfortable than any other kind of bikes, have never ridden any other kind of bike.  Are you ready for 14 straight hours in the saddle?  I am.

8.  Yes, my armored leather gear is hot in the summer.  And no, I wouldn’t be cooler in a t-shirt and shorts with the sun beating down directly on my skin and my sweat evaporaing before it can do its job.  (I’ve had desert warfare training and been to Saudi Arabia twice; trust me on this one.)

7.  Loud pipes annoy the hell out of people and makes them wish you would go away.

6.  A thousand miles of riding is not a good year.  A thousand miles is a good weekend.

5.  If you’re going to put a $10 plastic beanie on your head to comply with a helmet law, it would be just as easy to wear something that might actually protect your head in a crash.

4.  Not waving back to other riders doesn’t make you a tough guy; it makes you an ignorant jerk.

3.  I don’t wear my gear because I plan to crash.  If a crash happens, I plan to survive it.

2.  You’re not an outlaw.  Outlaws don’t spend their money on Harley-Davidson-embriodered clothes.

And the number one thing Harley-Davidson owners should know:

1.  You’re right: Harleys are the only REAL motorcycles.  They’re the only ones that are real loud, real heavy, real slow, real expensive, and real pretentious, all at the same time.

Photo by Killboy.com.