OK, Everybody has seen the Famous Custom Bat-Pod that was recently on eBay & here it is! Here are some amazing photos, sent in by a Bat-Blog Fan named Marc, of an extremely cool BAT-POD Motorcycle from THE DARK KNIGHT Batman Movie that he recently made. Yes, he really made this thing & it works! It was built / fabricated by Marc and his brother Shanon at their shop in Melbourne, Florida. Ironically they took over the building that was previously occupied by Billy Lane of Choppers Inc. ( the Discovery Channel "Biker Build -Off" Winner ). They thought it would be a great location to build bikes. Marc & his brother have been extreme comic book fans since they were very young and they love a challenge whenever possible. His Brother asked him if he could build the Batpod and after looking at the bike online a few times they agreed to build it, mostly because of the challenge involved. Most everyone who has seen the bike said it was un-buildable. That's all the motivation they needed, ha!
They started by scaling the dimensions from pictures they acquired online of the original bike. After much measuring and calculations to achieve the necessary balance and weight distribution, they began to build it. The bike is constructed from 1/4 inch solid steel plate and 1/4 wall thickness steel tubing. Unfortunately there are no kits or parts available for this bike so every piece had to be made from scratch. This proved to be much more of a task than they had imagined in the beginning. It's amazing how many tiny little brackets and parts are on that bike. But the goal from the beginning was to achieve absolute authenticity. So they continued welding and cutting and grinding until the finished product was what they wanted. The motor covers, gun mounts and arm guards are made from hand laid fiberglass. The finish is a mat nickel and a mat black. Also, to remain true to the original, the bike is powered by a 650cc Honda XR motor. All of the chains and drive lines are hidden internally inside the frame. The rims had to be specially made to achieve the necessary off-set for balance and handling. Marc said that he has been the only person willing ( or stupid enough, ha ha ) to ride it yet. And it is far from a comfortable ride. But it is by far the most unique and attention grabbing thing he has ever built or ridden. To say that it gets attention is like saying the Atlantic ocean is a puddle. Everywhere they take the Batpod they get mobbed by people with a million questions and requests to take pictures with the bike. It's really great to see how many super comic fans are out there. Many of them are hardcore bikers that you would never think were comic fans. But they all love it! That kind of response has made the 1500+ hours of building and the numerous cuts and burns worthwhile.
And for all the Sci-Fi Fans out there, the next project they're working on is an exact working street legal replica of the Light Cycle from the new TRON LEGACY movie! It will be an all electric bike.
As an extra bonus, here is a Wallpaper Desktop Background of their Custom Bat-Pod!
