As motorcycle riders, we can all agree that sitting on a bike makes you look cool, which is why the film industry often embraces the biker culture. Most people are familiar with scenes such as the Istanbul rooftop motorcycle chase in Skyfall and Carrie-Anne Moss driving a Ducati 996 off a skyscraper in The Matrix Reloaded.
However, some actors who ride bikes on-screen are not just performers who pretend to share our passion for motorcycles. Some of them are avid riders in real life with impressive bike collections.
At Law Tigers, we find it quite interesting to research famous people who ride motorcycles. In this blog, we look at some of the surprising celebrity motorcycle riders and their bikes.
Brad Pitt
Apart from being one of the most famous actors in the world, Brad Pitt is also a motorcycle rider and collector. Before adopting his son in Vietnam in 2006, Brad explored Ho Chi Minh City on a Yamaha R. His extensive collection features a wide range of highly valuable European and Japanese motorcycles, including a few rare models.
Samurai choppers and Rad Café Racers have a special place in the actor’s heart, and he owns a custom Shinya Kimura with a 1974 Ducati engine. A fun fact about this bike is that its oil cooler sits next to the headlight. Brad Pitt’s collection also includes an Ecosse Titanium Series XX, a Triumph Bonneville, and a BMW R1150GS Adventure.
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay has been a motorcycle enthusiast his entire life. As a kid, the high-ranking Michelin-starred chef scrambled in the fields near Stratford-Upon-Avon in England, where he grew up. Today, he owns an impressive range of bikes to complement his car collection consisting of a Ferrari F355 GTS, Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage, and Porsche 918 Spyder.
Gordon Ramsay’s bike collection includes a Ducati 748, Ducati 1098S, Yamaha FZR 1000 Genesis, Yamaha R1, and Honda Fireblade. The celebrity chef also has a Monster 696 and a rare Ducati Desmosedici that he only enjoys on the racetrack.
Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond is likely one of the most famous celebrity motorcycle riders in the U.K. Everybody knows him as one of the presenters of BBC’s Top Gear and The Grand Tour. However, the English journalist has a special love for motorcycles and presented Used Bike Heaven on Men & Motors, a satellite channel, back in 2004.
The Hamster owned several bikes over the years, including a Bimota SB8R, a 1976 Kawasaki Z900, and a rare Norton Commando 961 SE. He also owns a Brough Superior SS100, which broke the record as the most expensive bike sold at an auction for £315,000.
In 2014, Hammond’s collection consisted of a whopping 17 motorcycles, including a BMW K100RS, Suzuki GS1000, and Ducati 916 SPS Foggy. His everyday ride is a BMW R1200RT. In an article he wrote for The Mirror, Hammond noted that his R1200RT featured in the Olympic Games in 2012.
Keanu Reeves
A German woman taught Keanu Reeves to ride motorcycles while he was shooting a film in Munich in the late 1980s. The rest is history. Upon returning to Los Angeles, he bought his first motorcycle, a 1973 Norton Commando 850 MK II Roadster.
Since then, the John Wick star added other motorcycles to his collection, including a 1974 BMW R75/6, a Kawasaki KZ 900, and an El Diablo West Coast Chopper. Reeves also owns a 2004 Ducati 998 Matrix Reloaded Edition and a Harley-Davidson Dyna Wide Glide.
In 2011, Reeves and Los Angeles motorcycle customizer Gard Hollinger founded the ARCH Motorcycle Company. The two met when Reeves wanted to customize his Harley-Davidson. Notable models that the company designed and built include the 2019 ARCH KRGT-1 and the 2019 ARCH IS.
Ryan Reynolds
While Ryan Reynolds’s cars are nothing to write home about, he has an impressive collection of motorcycles. The actor’s most famous bike is perhaps a retro Triumph Thruxton, one of Kott Motorcycles’ builds.
The Thruxton is not the only Triumph in Reynolds’s collection. He also owns a 1964 Triumph 650, a model from The Factory Metal Works. This custom chrome-clad bike is a tribute to a naval cannon in Vancouver, Canada—Reynolds’s hometown.
Ryan Reynolds owns other motorcycles, including a Ducati Paul Smart and a Honda CB750 that the actor custom-ordered himself from Raccia Motorcycles. Reynolds loves this bike as it reminds him of the CB750 he rode when he was younger.
Were You Injured in a Motorcycle Accident? Seek Legal Assistance from Law Tigers
The list of celebrity motorcycle riders is quite diverse, and as a motorcycle enthusiast, you are in good company.
If you were in a bike accident, you might be eligible to claim damages such as property loss and injuries. At Law Tigers Motorcycle Lawyers, we can provide you with the legal assistance and representation you need to protect your interests. Contact us today at 1-800-529-8443 to schedule a consultation with a motorcycle attorney near you.