page_title: Batcycle
section_title: The Dark Knight Trilogy
hierarchical_section_title: Batcycle / In other media / Live-action films / The Dark Knight Trilogy
caption_attribution_description: English: The Batpod at Hollywood, California
context_page_description: The Batcycle, Batblade, or Batpod is the fictional personal motorcycle of the DC Comics superhero Batman. In the comic book universe, Batman's personal Batcycle is a modified street-bike with a 786 cc liquid-cooled V-4 engine. It contains a computer-controlled carburetor and bulletproof wind-guard.
context_section_description: The Batcycle is known as the Batpod for The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). The bike has 20" front and rear tires and is powered by a high-performance, water-cooled, single-cylinder engine - geared toward the lower end for faster acceleration and with no exhaust pipes: the exhaust is routed through the hollow steel/aluminum/magnesium tubing used for the frame of the bike. The Batpod is steered by the shoulders instead of hands, and the rider's arms are protected by shields. The two foot pegs are set 3½ feet apart on either side of the tank, which the rider lies on, belly down. The engine noise was designed around the Shepard tone, for which sound effects came, in part, from the sound of the Tesla Roadster's electric motor. The Batpod ejects out of the Tumbler's front end, with the Tumbler's front wheels becoming the Batpod's front and rear wheels. Because the Tumbler is ordered to self-destruct, the Batpod allows Batman to continue his pursuit. For the film, the bike is armed with grappling hooks, cannons, and machine guns. Six models were constructed for the film's production to anticipate some of them crashing. One action sequence in the film shows the wheels rolling against their normal axes, seemingly for added stability in sharp turns or other maneuvers. This also allows for instant changes in direction - if the driver approaches a wall, the Batpod's central frame will rotate to keep the driver upright (the inspiration for this useful chassis feature may well have been the innovative wheel configuration on a Killough Platform into omnidirectionally mobile chasses). The Batpod's chassis also elongates, allowing the rider to pass under low-hanging obstacles, as when Batman slaloms underneath a tractor trailer the Joker is driving. The term "Batpod" is mentioned by Alfred Pennyworth only once in the movie.
  The Batpod is used again in The Dark Knight Rises (2012). At first, it serves as Batman's primary vehicle. Later, Selina Kyle uses the Batpod during the final battle against Bane's forces for the fate of Gotham. Batman uses the Bat to fight Bane's stolen Tumblers from the air while Selina uses the Batpod to open a tunnel to allow Gotham civilians to escape, to shoot Bane, and to destroy at least two of Bane's Tumblers while tracking the nuclear bomb Bane and Talia al Ghul intended to use to destroy the city. During filming on August 9, 2011, a stunt performer collided with an IMAX camera while filming a chase scene involving Kyle's Batpod.
caption: The Batpod from The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises
exif: {}