74-Z speeder bike

The 74-Z speeder bike was a model of speeder bike used by the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars and later used by the Galactic Empire for combat reconnaissance purposes during the Galactic Civil War. They were commonly piloted by scout troopers or regular stormtroopers.Star Wars (2015) 3 They were able to jam comlinks.
==Description==
The 74-Z speeder bike was one of the longest produced speeder bike models built by the Aratech Repulsor Company. A militarized variant of Aratech's popular 74-Y speeder bike, the 74-Z was first fielded by the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. It was the successor to Aratech's BARC speeder, which was also created for the Grand Army and used in the Clone Wars. Despite that, the 74-Z saw its first test under fire at the First Battle of Geonosis, the first battle of the Clone Wars. Since that battle, the speeder bike served with countless military and paramilitary groups, mercenary crews, and criminal organizations. It was, perhaps, most famous for being the Imperial Army's ride of choice for reconnaissance and scout troopers, who made good use of its speed and maneuverability.
Like its discontinued civilian ancestor, the 74-Z was built for speed rather than livability. It had a relatively fragile twin-spar frame that mounted the powerful Aratech VV318 Scoris repulsorlift engine. A pair of tiny ion turbines supplied thrust, and a remarkably intelligent fly-by-wire system controlled the forward-mounted steering vanes. A mid-mounted maneuver control unit kept the bike upright and level. The pilot sat in the rear of the speeder over the repulsorlift engine. The bike had a set of handlebars and rear-set foot pegs with foot-controlled yaw and pitch controls for the pilot to operate. The instrument panel was rudimentary at best, with indicators for heat, boost, coolant, and turbine pressure. Under Imperial service, the 74-Z was equipped with a forward-mounted Ax-20 blaster cannon, on-board com-links, simple optical sensors, and a close-range com link jammer.
==History==
The 74-Z was used by the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars and later Imperial Army, notably at the Battle of Endor.
Around 9 ABY, scout troopers AP-1982 and JS-1975 of Moff Gideon's Imperial Remnant used two white 74-Z speeder bikes on the planet Nevarro in order to acquire Grogu. One of these bikes would later be used shortly after by the assassin droid IG-11 to protect Grogu and attack Gideon and his forces.
Three decades after the Battle of Endor, 74-Z speeder bikes could be found on the black market.Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections
==Appearances==
===Non-canon appearances===
*Disney Infinity 3.0
*LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
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*LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
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==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:Aratech Repulsor Company products
Category:Speeder bike models
Category:Vehicle classes of the Galactic Empire