13 Motorcycle Movies Worth the Watch

The appeal of motorcycle movies lies in their exciting depictions of high-speed chases, stunts, and races. Whether it's the roar of the engines, the skill of the riders, or the tension of a close race, motorcycle movies appeal to viewers’ sense of adventure and love of fast-paced action. 

Watching motorcycle movies can be entertaining because they offer a glimpse into different aspects of motorcycle culture and the passion that many people have for motorcycle riding. Here are a few reasons why it is worth watching motorcycle movies:

1. Thrills and excitement: 
   Many motorcycle movies feature daring and dangerous motorcycle stunts, high-speed chases, and other heart-pumping scenes that keep you on the edge of your seat.
2. Cultural significance:
   Motorcycles have played a role in popular culture for decades, with many motorcycle movies offering a unique look at the history, lifestyle, and subcultures that revolve around motorcycles.
3. Iconic characters:
   From classic outlaw bikers to modern-day racers, motorcycle movies often feature memorable characters who embody the spirit of riding and freedom.

March 12, 2017

2 hours 18 minutes

Mark Neale

Mark Neale

• Brad Pitt (voice)
• Jorge Lorenzo
• Jose Manuel Lorenzo
• Marc Marquez
• Dani Pedrosa
• Graziano Rossi
• Valentino Rossi
• Marco Simoncelli
• Paolo Simoncelli
• Casey Stoner

Hitting the Apex is the story of six fighters (six of the fastest motorcycle riders the world has ever seen) and the fates that await them at the peak of the sport.

MotoGP is one of the most challenging motorcycle races in the world. One minute you are at the top, the next moment, you are in intensive care. Participants must be able to travel at high speed, suddenly apply the brakes, and control, defy, and use the laws of nature to their advantage. This film shows the individual journeys of six riders aiming to win the MotoGP.

December 13, 2005

6 hours 40 minutes

• Russ Malkin
• David Alexanian

• Charley Boorman
• David Alexanian
• Ewan McGregor
• Russ Malkin

• Ewan McGregor
• Charley Boorman
• David Alexanian
• Russ Malkin
• James Simak

Long Way Round is a documentary following Ewan McGregor traveling around the world with his friend Charley Boorman on a 200,000-mile motorcycle trip lasting 115 days. This trip takes the duo through London, Mongolia, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Canada, and several others before ending in the United States.

October 10, 2003

1 Hour 51 minutes

Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino

• Uma Thurman
• Lucy Liu
• Vivica A. Fox
• Michael Madsen
• Daryl Hannah
• David Carradine
• Sonny Chiba
• Julie Dreyfus
• Chiaki Kuriyama
• Gordon Liu
• Michael Parks

Kill Bill Volume 1 is about a former assassin who was pregnant and critically injured by her former employer and cohorts on her wedding day. After spending four years in a coma, she awakens with one thought on her mind: revenge. She vows to get revenge on every person responsible for the loss of her unborn child, her entire wedding party, and the four years of her life she lost. After devising a hit list, the “Bride” sets off on her quest, enduring unspeakable injuries and facing many enemies. This film features many motorcycle scenes that make it more enthralling for viewers to watch.

April 1, 2005

1 hour 39 minutes

Dana Brown

Dana Brown

• Mario Andretti
• Sal Fish, Chad McQueen
• Jimmy Vasser
• Roberto Guerrero
• Michel Jourdain Jr.
• Robby Gordon
• Ricky Johnson
• Malcolm Smith
• Johnny Campbell
• Steve Hengeveld
• J.N. Roberts
• Corky McMillin
• Andy McMillin
• Scott McMillin
• Mark McMillin
• Mike McCoy
• Eric Solorzano
• Larry Roeseler

Dust to Glory is a documentary on the Baja 1000, an annual off-road race held in Baja, Mexico, that attracts hundreds of racers and thousands of fans. It is an action-adventure movie documenting the entirety of the world's most notorious and dangerous off-road race, the SCORE Tecate Baja 1000. It has a reputation as the most dangerous race in the world.

July 14, 1969

1 hour 36 minutes

Dennis Hopper

• Peter Fonda
• Dennis Hopper
• Terry Southern

• Peter Fonda
• Dennis Hopper
• Jack Nicholson
• Luke Askew
• Phil Spector
• Karen Black
• Toni Basil
• Antonio Mendoza
• Mac Mashourian
• Warren Finnerty
• Tita Colorado
• Luana Anders
• Sabrina Scharf
• Robert Walker Jr.
• Sandy Brown Wyeth

Easy Rider is about Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper), two Harley Davison-riding hippies. Having completed a drug deal in southern California, they decide to travel across the country on a spiritual journey. On their journey, they experience bigotry and hatred from the inhabitants of small-town America. They also meet with other travelers seeking an alternative lifestyle. After a terrifying drug experience in New Orleans, both riders wonder if they will ever find a way to live peacefully in America.

July 28, 1971

1 hour 28 minutes

Bruce Brown

Bruce Brown

• Bruce Brown (narrator)
• Steve McQueen
• Mert Lawwill
• Malcolm Smith
• Paul Carruthers
• Keith Mashburn
• Dave Aldana
• Gene Romero
• Dick Mann
• Jim Rice
• Bengt Aberg
• Joël Robert
• J.N. Roberts
• Whitey Martino
• Cal Rayborn
• And hundreds of other fearless riders

On Any Sunday is a documentary on motorcycle racing featuring well-known stars of the sport, such as film star Steve McQueen. Bruce Brown’s film focuses on different motorcycle racers and sports around the world. Many of the featured have widely different personalities, such as the business-like Mert Lawwill and the carefree David Aldana.

September 24, 2004

2 hours 6 minutes

Walter Salles

• Ernesto "Che" Guevara
• Jose Rivera

• Gael García Bernal
• Rodrigo de la Serna
• Mía Maestro

The Motorcycle Diaries follows Ernesto “Che” Guevara (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna) traveling the open road on a dilapidated, old motorcycle from Afghanistan to Peru in 1952. During their journey, the two men witness the disparities between citizens in South America, encountering poor peasants and witnessing the exploitation of labor by wealthy industrialists. When both riders reach a colony in Peru, Ernesto’s values have changed so much that he sacrifices his comfortable life as a medical school student and decides to side with the oppressed. This film is an extraordinary drama about a young man’s transformation into a revolutionary.

October 17 to November 28, 2006

7 episodes (45 minutes per episode approx.)

Charley Boorman Russ Malkin

Charley Boorman

• Charley Boorman
• Simon Pavey
• Matt Hall

Race to Dakar follows motorcyclist and actor Charley Boorman in the 2006 Dakar Rally from Lisbon to Dakar. In 2004, Boorman completed a round-the-world bike trip with his friend, Ewan McGregor. This journey left him exhausted and hungry for a new challenge. The Dakar Rally covers 15,000 kilometers of treacherous terrain and is regarded as the most dangerous race in the world. With his teammates, Simon Pavey and Matt Hall, Boorman faces extreme temperatures, h shifting sands, and stinging winds miles away from civilization.  

April 22, 2011. 

1 hour 44 minutes

Richard De Aragues

Richard De Aragues

• Guy Martin
• Ian Hutchinson
• John McGuinness
• Michael Dunlop
• Keith Amor

TT3D: Closer to the Edge is a documentary of the most dangerous motorcycle road race in the world. Held yearly, the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy is the ultimate challenge for motorcycle riders. This 3D documentary focuses on the motivation of the riders risking everything to win. This film also focuses on themes of freedom of choice, strength of the human spirit, rivalry, tragedy, and triumph.

December 07, 2005

2 hours 7 minutes

Roger Donaldson

Roger Donaldson

• Anthony Hopkins
• Jessica Cauffiel
• Joe Howard
• Chris Williams
• Paul Rodriguez
• Christopher Lawford
• Gavin Grazer
• Annie Whittle
• Aaron James Murphy
• Chris Bruno
• Tim Shadbolt
• Bruce Greenwood
• Diane Ladd
• Saginaw Grant
• Walton Goggins
• William Lucking
• Patrick John Flueger
• Daniel Sing

World’s Fastest Indian features academy award-winning actor Anthony Hopkins starring as Burt Munro, a man who never let the dream of youth fade. In the late 1960s, after a lifetime of perfecting his classic Indian Motorcycle, Burt travels from Invercargill, New Zealand, to Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. With all odds against him, Burt puts his irrepressible “kiwi” spirit to the test, braving the New World on a shoestring budget. Burt’s quest culminates in an unlikely conclusion that is still legendary within the motorcycle community.

February 16, 2007

1 hour 50 minutes

Mark Steven Johnson

Mark Steven Johnson

• Nicolas Cage
• Matt Long
• Eva Mendes
• Raquel Alessi
• Wes Bentley
• Sam Elliott
• Donal Logue
• Peter Fonda
• Brett Cullen
• David Roberts
• Laurence Breuls
• Daniel Frederiksen
• Mathew Wilkinson
• Rebel Wilson
• Jessica Napier

Ghost Rider is about a motorcyclist named Johnny Blaze who sells his soul to the devil to save his father’s life. In 1986, a demon called Mephistopheles reaches out to 17-year-old Blaze, offering to cure his father’s cancer in exchange for the boy’s soul. The next morning, Blaze awakens to discover his father’s cancer has been cured, but he still dies later that same day from burns sustained in an accident. Blaze accused Mephistopheles of causing his father’s death, but Mephistopheles considers his side of the contract fulfilled and promises to see Blaze again. Mephistopheles transforms Blaze into his bounty hunter of the damned, the Ghost Rider, to acquire the contract of San Vengazna for control of a thousand corrupt souls. Realizing that the agreement would give Mephistopheles the power to bring Hell to Earth, the Ghost Rider refuses and escapes with it. This film is an origin story for the Ghost Rider and how he defeats Mephistopheles, all while riding a cool, flaming motorcycle.

May 15, 2015

2 hours

George Miller

• George Miller
• Brendan McCarthy
• Nick Lathouris

• Tom Hardy
• Charlize Theron
• Nicholas Hoult
• Hugh Keays-Byrne
• Josh Helman
• Nathan Jones
• Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
• Zoë Kravitz
• Riley Keough
• Abbey Lee
• Courtney Eaton
• John Howard
• Richard Carter
• Angus Sampson
• Jennifer Hagan
• Megan Gale
• Melissa Jaffer
• Melita Jurisic
• Gillian Jones
• Joy Smithers
• Antoinette Kellerman
• Christina Koch
• Jon Iles
• Quentin Kenihan
• Coco Jack Gillies
• Chris Patton
• Stephen Dunlevy
• Richard Norton

Mad Max: Fury Road is set in a world years after the collapse of civilization ruled by the tyrannical Immortan Joe who enslaves the survivors of the apocalypse inside the desert fortress of Citadel. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against the tyrannical ruler in search of her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper, and a drifter named MAX.

November 1, 2006

1 hour 34 minutes

Gaurav Jani

Gaurav Jani

Gaurav Jani

Riding Solo to the Top of the World is a film about Gaurav Jani’s solo motorcycle journey from Mumbai to one of the remotest places in the world, the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh. Jani is a one-person camera crew who travels on his Royal Enfield Bullet carrying 660 lbs of supplies/equipment across 300 kilometers of the world’s most difficult terrain.

All of the movies covered in this article are worth watching, each of them being thrilling and motivational films about motorcycle culture.

After watching these movies, you might be feeling motivated enough to go on a motorcycle tour. Don’t forget to make your motorcycle comfortable and durable by adding aftermarket motorcycle parts like saddlebags, sissy bars, handlebars, fairings, etc. Live every moment as if it is the last! Enjoy reading!