There are a lot of cool motorcycles in ’80s sci-fi movies. The light cycles from TRON. The amazingly goofy flying bikes from Megaforce. You can even count the speeder bikes from Return of the Jedi. It was the golden age of tricked-out movie cycles. But none are as cool as Kanada’s futuristic red motorcycle from Akira. This iconic bike from the classic anime film might be cooler than all those other ones put together.
And now, thanks to Comic Book Resources (via Boing Boing) we’ve discovered that a dedicated fan in Japan has made their very own working replica Akira cycle. And we must say, it looks quite spectacular. You can watch the full video of its creation right here:
This Akira replica bikes comes from Japanese YouTuber and motorcycle enthusiast Ayato, also known as Teruteru Boizu. This project started around six months ago. The Akira bike originally was just an old junk bike. Ayato then stripped the old bike down to just its frame, engine, and tires, later fabricating a new shell to give it the authentic Akira look. He even built a custom suspension, so that it rode just like the one from the movie. It doesn’t have the iconic red paint job yet, but it does have that iconic glow thanks to the LED lighting added to the wheels.
This custom creation might be our only opportunity to see a real Akira bike in the immediate future. Despite several attempts over the years, it seems that the live-action Akira movie is just never getting off the ground. Taika Waititi’s live-action Akira was in the cards for a long time, before Warner Bros. got cold feet and pulled it off the schedule. Once again, the big screen Akira is in limbo. Maybe this fan-made motorcycle will be the only time we ever see the famous anime bike in real life. We just hope the rider manages one good scream of the name “Tetsuo!” while riding it.
