Tom Cruise Motorbike in Top Gun

When you mention the original and old ‘Top Gun’ movie, the first thing that crosses your mind is the scene of Tom Cruise riding at a breakneck speed along a runway on his motorbike. You can also see planes flying in the sky, shining in the sunlight. The motorbike in Top Gun has become as iconic as the fighter jets in this 1986 Tom Cruise blockbuster action movie. This bike was not a prop, but a historical event that changed the perception of our speed and style in movies.

It is not just any motorbike. It is the Kawasaki GPZ900R, the first Ninja model ever produced by Kawasaki. It was a high-tech bike back in the mid-1980s, and it remains one of the most desirable bikes in the present day.

Paramount Pictures made a bold decision when they decided to go for a motorcycle to use in the film, Top Gun. In 1984, the Kawasaki GPZ900R was only launched. Its raw speed and power could not be compared with any other street bike at the time. They had found a bike that would feel like home to the Navy pilot (Character played by Tom Cruise in Top Gun), who is known to be in need of speed.

A dealer in San Diego by the name Chris Dolan was able to sell two bikes to the studio. They were not stock machines. All the Kawasaki badges were stripped. The crew sprayed them red and black, put Navy stickers on them, and made them look as if they were the ride of a real fighter pilot. This version of the bike has become the most recognizable motorbike used in Top Gun.

The Ninja GPZ900R was the best of its kind. Its 908 cc engine had 113-115 horsepower at 9,500 rpm. This may not sound much compared with modern-day superbikes, but in 1984, it was crazy.

The real shocker was the top speed of the Ninja GPZ900R: 151 mph. The GPZ900R became the first street bike in the world to achieve the 150 mph top speed mark.

Still have questions about why only the Ninja GPZ900R was given the shot in the Top Gun movie? Well, the following answer will convince you for sure. The character played by Tom Cruise was not merely racing with a fighter jet in the famous runway shot in the 1986 movie Top Gun. He was riding the only bike on the planet at that time that was quick enough to keep up the pace with an F-14 in the air, taking off. F-14 required approximately 150-160 mph to lift off, and the Ninja was capable of reaching this speed.

The bike, Ninja GPZ900R, had features that were revolutionary at the time. It was a pioneer production motorcycle with a 16-valve liquid-cooled, inline-four-cylinder engine. The engine was a dual cam with liquid cooling to ensure that the power flowed smoothly. This design was the prototype of all sport bikes that have been produced since.

There is a mind-blowing fact behind the engineering of this bike if you are into motorcycle mechanics. Kawasaki engineers discovered that the down tubes of the frame did very little work, so they deleted them. They instead attached the swing arm directly to the engine block with bolts.

The engine was made a part of the frame. This rendered the bike light, rigid, and agile. This concept of the engine being a structural component of the chassis has become the norm for all modern sport bikes. The motorbike in Top Gun, ridden by Maverick in the first movie, was indeed a masterpiece.

The scene where Tom Cruise speeds his Kawasaki Ninja GPZ900R with an F-14 Tomcat is imprinted in the minds of millions. It is the time that made the motorbike in Top Gun: Maverick (2022) a vital element of the narrative.

Maverick is riding a bike on a runway at the Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego when the F-14 is taking off. Maverick continues opening the throttle to its fullest. The Ninja’s engine started screaming, reaching the 10,500 rpm redline. The bike and the jet ride side sprint is not more than only a few seconds in the Top Gun (1986) movie, but it has a great impact.

When we watch the runway scene, we can hear the famous instrumental ‘Danger Zone’ by Kenny Loggins. The music, the bike, and the jet all come together to create one perfect moment.

This scene is effective because it is not a fake one. It was Tom Cruise on the Ninja GPZ900R. The bike was really that fast. The jet would have easily left the bike miles apart if it were not the Ninja GPZ900R used in that iconic scene. The GPZ900R was up to the task it was given. This is the reason why the Top Gun motorbike scene has emerged as one of the most renowned in movie history.

In another scene of the movie ‘Top Gun (1986)’, Maverick is riding his bike in San Diego in pursuit of Charlie, a character played by Kelly McGillis, who was driving a Porsche 356. Once again, it has been shown that the Ninja GPZ900R can compete with any road car.

Prior to the Kawasaki GPZ900R, there was no name of Ninja. Kawasaki came up with the name to promote their new speed bike to the US market. The initial Ninja was the GPZ900R, and it was an instant success.

It wouldn’t have been possible without the Top Gun movie, but Tom Cruise riding the Ninja GPZ900 in his aviator’s uniform in the movie made the bike huge. It made the Ninja GPZ900R have a cult following. All of a sudden, all motorcycle enthusiasts desired a Ninja. It was the bike that turned the Ninja brand into what it is today. It has become synonymous with fast, sleek sport bikes.

There were several notable celebrities who were fans of the Ninja GPZ900R, other than Tom Cruise. One was owned by Lou Reed, the rock music legend. He even mentioned it in a song. A bike has to be special enough to be featured in a Hollywood movie and a rock song.

The Ninja GPZ900R took the 1st and 2nd place in the Isle of Man TT race within 6 months after its launch. It is the most difficult and strenuous bike race in the world.

It was quite incredible and astonishing for a brand new bike to take control this early. The Top Gun motorcycle was not merely a pretty face; it was capable of living up to expectations. The GPZ900R had the skills to keep up with its great look.

After over 30 years since the original Top Gun movie, Tom Cruise is once again on a Kawasaki in Top Gun: Maverick. However, this time it is a far more powerful bike.

The Top Gun 2 motorbike is the Kawasaki Ninja H2 Carbon. It is not the upgraded version of the old Ninja bike; it is a monster in itself. The H2 Carbon produced approximately 240 hp of horsepower at 11,500 rpm, where the original GPZ900R produced 115 hp. The Ninja H2 is the road-legal version of the very famous Ninja H2R.

The Ninja H2 has a supercharged 998 cc inline-four engine. A supercharger is a machine that pushes more air into the engine, thus causing it to generate much more power. The Kawasaki’s supercharger spins at around 130,000 rpm with a flow of more than 200 liters of air per second into the engine.

The motorbike used in Top Gun: Maverick, which is the Ninja H2 Carbon, is capable of reaching top speeds exceeding 209.442 mph. It is among the fastest production motorcycles. It is nearly 75 mph faster than the Ninja GPZ900R used in Top Gun (1986). The Ninja H2 Carbon is a very expensive piece of production bikes, with the latest 2026 model year being sold at $38,100 (Starting Price).

If you find these power figures and stats crazy, the Ninja H2R is even crazier. The track-only variant, H2R, delivers a horsepower of 310 hp. It is nearly 3 times what the Ninja GPZ900R could make. The H2R is capable of reaching a top speed of more than 226 mph. It is the fastest street-legal, gas-powered, production motorcycle in the world today, just as the Ninja GPZ900 was in 1984.

For the movie ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, Kawasaki provided more than four H2 Carbon bikes and two rebuilt original GPZ900Rs. Even a motorbike stunt performer by the name Jason Britton lent out an H2. It was the main hero bike used by the filmmakers for the key shots.

Some people ask why Tom Cruise went back to Kawasaki in Top Gun: Maverick? Why not ride another brand?

The answer is simple. The Kawasaki Ninja is one of the souls of Maverick. In 1986, he was riding a Ninja, and this bike turned him into a legend. The decision to revive a Kawasaki in the 2022 Top Gun: Maverick was authentic to the story. It maintained the continuity between the old film and the new one.

The motorbike used in Top Gun: Maverick (2022) shows how much Kawasaki has gained during this time. The brand has reached a new height of popularity. The Ninja H2 proves that the brand continues to excel when it comes to speed and power. From the very first Ninja bike, the GPZ 900R, which topped 150 mph, to the Ninja H2, which can reach almost 209 mph of top speed, Kawasaki has excelled in every department.

The relationship between Tom Cruise and Kawasaki is among the best bike-and-actor pairs in cinema. Tom Cruise not only uses the Ninja bikes in the movies, but he also made them a legend. On the contrary, the Kawasaki motorbikes also made the Tom Cruise movies more exciting.

To see how things have evolved for Kawasaki since Top Gun (1986), we will have a look at both these bikes. The 1986 original Ninja GPZ900R was powered by a 908 cc motor with 113-115 hp of horsepower and a top speed of 151 mph. It was agile, sleek, and contained tech features that were decades ahead of their time.

With a 2022 Kawasaki Ninja H2, the 998 cc supercharged engine produces 204 hp, and the top speed is around 209 mph in stock form. It has developed such tech rider aids as cornering control, launch control, traction control, and intelligent ABS. IT is capable of linking to your phone through an app named Rideology.

The Ninja H2 is also almost twice as fast and almost twice as powerful in raw numbers. But the two bikes share a common concept: to be the best, the fastest, and never be second. That’s the Ninja spirit. Well, that is the Maverick’s spirit, too.

Tom Cruise is not a bike rider who features in movies. He’s a true motorcycle fan. If you don’t know, Top Cruise is among the most influential people in motorcycling history. He began to ride at the age of 10 years. He has owned a number of motorbikes over the years, and he is well-known for requesting bike scenes in his movies.

Tom Cruise’s love of bikes is evident in the Mission Impossible movie series. He is on a BMW S1000RR in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and a BMW R NineT in Mission Impossible: Fallout. He even possesses a Vyrus 987 C3 V4, an Italian bike of limited make with a price of more than $100,000.

Choosing the Kawasaki Ninja H2 Carbon in the 2022 Top Gun: Maverick was a smart decision. He wanted to ride a Kawasaki. The first motorbike in Top Gun (1986) was a Kawasaki, and it made sense to revert to the same brand in the sequel.

Both the motorbikes in Top Gun, ridden by Tom Cruise, left an indelible impression on the bike culture. The sale of the GPZ900R shot up after the 1986 film was released. People who had never considered owning a sport bike desired to own one after the movie. The brand name that Kawasaki developed for this bike, the Ninja, became the generic name of sports bikes.

To this day, individuals still fantasize about having a GPZ900R. They can get one at a huge price tag that has been restored well. A few years back, a man by the name Andrew discovered a 1985 GPZ900R and had it redesigned to appear like the Top Gun (1986) bike. He took it to a car and bike show, known as RADwood, and he won the award for Raddest Motorbike. The bike still had the magic.

If you are still wondering which motorbike Tom Cruise rides in Top Gun (1986) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022), this article answers all your questions. To sum up, in the original Top Gun (1986), Tom Cruise rides on a 1985 Kawasaki GPZ900R Ninja. Then, in Top Gun 2 (2022), Tom Cruise rides a Ninja H2 Carbon and briefly appears on a restored original GPZ900R Ninja.

The motorbike in Top Gun becomes part of the DNA of the film, just like the jets and the naval base. When people mention Top Gun, they are referring to the Maverick, the F-14, and the red and black GPZ 900R Ninja.

So long as Tom Cruise continues to shoot movies, it is likely that Kawasaki will feature in the movie. Tom Cruise loves bikes, and he trusts the Ninja brand. Will there be a Top Gun 3? We don’t know about it yet, but considering the popularity of the Top Gun franchise, every bike lover and a fan of Tom Cruise and his actions will love the third part of the movie.