Pierre Suu/Getty Images

Following the financial success of “Top Gun: Maverick,” Variety reported that Steven Spielberg told Tom Cruise that he might’ve saved Hollywood after COVID-19 shutdowns forced many theaters to close. Honestly, Spielberg might not have been wrong in that assessment, as Cruise is one of the last genuine movie stars who can get people in seats on his name alone. Cruise is known for dipping into all kinds of genres, but action/adventure pieces seem to be where he shines, especially within the last few years. Of course, if Tom Cruise is in a movie, it’s a safe bet that a motorcycle won’t be far behind.

Cruise frequently does his own stunts, which includes riding on bikes himself a good amount of the time, and he’s a gearhead even when the cameras aren’t rolling. Cruise has many rare cars in his personal collection, and he even owns more than one plane. It’s clear that Cruise has a need for speed, and sometimes, the only way to let that out is to hop on a bike and film an incredible stunt.

Motorcycles can be found in Tom Cruise movies going back to the early days of his career all the way to the modern day. Whether you’re a fan of Triumph, Kawasaki, or BMW motorcycles, there’s something for everyone on this list.

Kawasaki GPZ900R from Top Gun

Paramount Pictures

In the 1980s, it became readily apparent that Tom Cruise would soon be a force to be reckoned with breakout roles in the likes of “The Outsiders” and “Risky Business.” However, it’s safe to say that 1986’s “Top Gun” helped launch him into the stratosphere as far as being a bona fide movie star. Cruise plays Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell who fulfills his need for speed by flying military-grade aircraft. When he’s not maneuvering fighter jets, Maverick’s behind the wheel of a Kawasaki GPZ900R.

It’s an appropriate bike for the character to have in the film, considering it was the fastest stock road bike in the world at the time, capable of exceeding 150 miles per hour. Whether he’s in the sky or on land, Maverick just needs to be the fastest around, but the bike featured in “Top Gun” almost wasn’t a Kawasaki at all.

Something about the Kawasaki GPZ900R that only hardcore Ninja fans know is that the production initially tried to get a Honda, but the company was concerned about Cruise not wearing a helmet during the riding scenes. The crew went to Kawasaki instead, and it was that company’s bike that ended up being in the highest-grossing movie of 1986.

Triumph Speed Triple from Mission: Impossible 2

Paramount Pictures

Tom Cruise was once more in the highest-grossing film of the year for 2000’s “Mission: Impossible 2.” Despite some mixed reviews, most everyone could agree that at least the action was on point. Arguably, the most memorable action sequence came when Ethan Hunt (Cruise) has to evade capture, and a thrilling bike chase ensues with Hunt on a Triumph Speed Triple. Meanwhile, his nemesis, Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) pursues him on a Triumph Daytona 995i.

There are jumps, pirouettes, and even Hunt riding through fire. The Speed Triple proved to be a formidable addition to the franchise, with its signature three-cylinder engine as well as dual, bug-eyed headlights.

Ethan Hunt may have gotten a magical Speed Triple, as many have noted how the tires would change from street to dirt depending on the terrain he had to ride over. This was likely done for practical reasons so that Cruise could look cool and maneuver his bike over anything. The Triumph may have been just as significant as any of the actors in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, as Cruise has continued to ride Triumph bikes throughout his career.

Triumph Bonneville from Mission: Impossible III

Paramount Pictures

You’d be forgiven for not remembering that “Mission: Impossible III” has a Triumph Bonneville in it. Unlike the Triumph in “Mission: Impossible 2,” which gets a ton of time to shine onscreen, the Bonneville only has a brief scene where it’s merely a method of transportation. Ethan Hunt rides it across an airstrip to rendezvous with his team. There are no big chases or moments where the bike comes through fire, but it feels appropriate Tom Cruise would still find an excuse to find a motorcycle at some point to stay in line with Hunt’s character.

The Bonneville is certainly a great choice. Five Bonnevilles were actually built to make “Mission: Impossible III,” which does seem to be a bit of overkill considering how brief its screentime is. Plus, it’s built in the street scrambler style and further customized for the production. One of the bikes even went up for auction and managed to sell for nearly $30,000.

Perhaps riding a motorcycle is like running in a Tom Cruise movie. Even if it only happens for a few seconds, it needs to happen one way or another.

Ducati Hypermotard from Knight and Day

Jean Baptiste Lacroix/Getty Images

Tom Cruise has found a niche for himself in action flicks, including those outside of major franchises like “Mission: Impossible.” In 2010, he appeared alongside Cameron Diaz in “Knight and Day,” and the most thrilling sequence is arguably the one where Cruise’s character, Roy Miller/Matthew Knight, drives June Havens (Diaz) around Seville on a Ducati Hypermotard, which is definitely one of the coolest bikes we’ve reviewed here at SlashGear.

The Ducati is so stylish that it was used frequently in the marketing materials and even some posters for the flick. However, according to Gregg Smrz, the stunt coordinator for “Knight and Day,” the Ducati was not, in fact, used for the big jump scene. Instead, that distinction went to an Aprilia SXV that was made up to look like the Ducati. Smrz set the record straight in the comment section on a Hell for Leather article that has since been archived: “The Aprilia mock up was used in the ‘Knight and Day’ movie for the motorcycle jump through the archway. The jump was 100 feet long and 8 feet high. Sorry guys, but nobody is jumping the Hypermotard that far.”

Additionally, Cruise’s stunt double did the jump for that particular scene, although it appears Cruise did do a fair bit of riding otherwise with Diaz behind him. Still, it’s good to hear that the stunt team knows the limits for both the actors and the bikes being used.

Honda CRF450X from Oblivion

Universal Pictures

Seeing as 2013’s “Oblivion” takes place in the year 2077 following an alien attack on Earth that humanity won at the cost of making the planet uninhabitable, one might assume including a motorcycle of any kind would be out of the question. Of course, when Tom Cruise is in the picture, a cool bike sequence is typically not too far behind. Cruise’s character, Jack Harper, takes out a foldable dirt bike from the ship that turns into a futuristic-looking motorcycle, instantly making it one of the coolest motorcycles in all of science fiction.

Making the bike look like it belongs in 2077 was necessary, as the base is actually a Honda CRF450X. It proved to be the most ideal bike for the stunts that would be demanded of the bike in the film, as Justin Kell of Glory Motor Works in Southern California told Maddix Park. “We knew we were going to do a lot of jumping and they are such good bikes to work with,” Kell stated. “They can stand up to a lot and are such a minimalist design.”

Kell’s team also had to adjust the size of the fuel tank so that it wouldn’t be too visible, meaning Cruise could only ride it for about 20 minutes at top speed before needing more gas. Kell revealed that they made three bikes for “Oblivion,” although one got wrecked pretty bad. As for the other two, one’s in storage and one was given to Cruise as a birthday present.

Triumph Thruxton from Edge of Tomorrow

Warner Bros.

Tom Cruise returned to Triumph bikes for 2014’s “Edge of Tomorrow,” which sees him as Major William Cage who has to repeat the same day of an alien invasion repeatedly until he can find a way to defeat the extraterrestrial threat. Similar to the Triumph in “Mission: Impossible III,” the bike — a Triumph Thruxton 900 — doesn’t get a ton of screentime in this flick. It comes in halfway through the film when Cage drives away from the war effort, clearly having a crisis of faith over the impossibility of his situation. He’s called a coward in the pub after talking about how it doesn’t matter what the aliens want with Earth. They’re winning all the same.

Cruise has a history of riding Triumph motorcycles in movies, but it makes sense he’d ride one in this particular project. Triumph is a British motorcycle manufacturer with roots going back to the 19th century. The Thruxton is a great example of what the business offers, combining old-school sensibilities with modern touches, as the model first made its debut for the 2004 model year. Seeing as “Edge of Tomorrow” is set in Britain, it makes sense Cage would have one of these bikes readily available.

BMW Motored S1000RR from Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

Paramount Pictures

“Mission: Impossible 2” set the bar high when it came to motorcycle chases within the franchise. Amazingly, “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” may have topped it with a sequence involving Ethan Hunt chasing after Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) along with some bad guys along for the ride. As tends to be the case with these movies, Cruise does a lot of his own stunts. There’s plenty of behind-the-scenes footage showing Cruise actually on a BMW Motored S1000RR driving through the Atlas Mountains.

While a lot gets made about actors doing their own stunts, it’s vital to recognize the valuable work done by stunt teams. It can require immense work to make actors look cool, and JEM FX, which worked on “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” uploaded a clip to Instagram showing off the team’s biscuit rig that also had to go 90 miles per hour along those twisty roads. Cruise may have been able to do many of his own stunts, but it seems Ferguson’s bike was attached to the rig with a camera in front of her to make it look like she was riding all on her own.

The BMW Motored S1000RR can get up to almost 200 miles per hour, and reportedly, Cruise rode his around 130 mph for “Rogue Nation.” Some special effects are to be expected for anything of this caliber, but it definitely seems Cruise wants to do as much in-camera as possible.

BMW R NineT Scrambler from Mission: Impossible – Fallout

Pierre Suu/Getty Images

Tom Cruise may have ridden Triumph bikes earlier in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, but BMW was the name of the game. “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” has many astounding stunts, including yet another bike chase where Cruise’s Ethan Hunt leads the police through Parisian streets on a BMW R NineT Scrambler, ending with a fun sequence where Hunt rides against the flow of traffic around the Arc de Triomphe.

Wade Eastwood, stunt coordinator for “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” spoke with Jalopnik about making the sequence a reality, especially considering they had about an hour to film around the Arc. “Whether we shot, whether Tom was on the motorbike or not, those cars just kept going around, changing lanes, and going around doing their thing,” he explained. “Tom would feed into the circle, and they would make adjustments. And we kept going like that for the one hour, it was the most amazing sequence to be a part of.”

Cruise isn’t the only one to have fun on a bike for “Mission: Impossible — Fallout.” Henry Cavill, who plays August Walker, rides a Triumph Triple Speed for the Paris chase, perhaps as a nod to that bike being used in “Mission: Impossible 2.” Rebecca Ferguson returns as Ilsa Faust, and she gets to ride a Triumph Tiger 800 XCX.

Kawasaki H2 from Top Gun: Maverick

Paramount Pictures

“Top Gun: Maverick” contains plenty of references to the original film. There’s a scene where Rooster (Miles Teller) sings “Great Balls of Fire” like Goose (Anthony Edwards) did originally. There’s a beach scene, and, of course, Maverick has to ride another Kawasaki motorcycle while watching fighter jets take off. Only this time, it’s a Kawasaki Ninja H2 Carbon that shows just how far the company’s motorcycle engineering has come over several decades.

The Ninja GPZ900R from the first movie still makes an appearance, as it’s stowed away in an aircraft hangar. However, the H2 gets the prime limelight this time around, and it’s a worthy successor to the GPZ900R. It comes with a centrifugal supercharger that allows it to hit 200 horsepower and reach speeds in excess of 220 miles per hour. Four Kawasaki H2s were provided for the film as well as some restored GPZ900Rs for some bonus nostalgia points.

Anyone wanting to live out their own fantasies of being Maverick will have to fork over a pretty penny, thought. The Kawasaki Ninja H2 Carbon is the most expensive bike from the brand, but the power one gets makes the price tag worth it.

Honda CRF250 from Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1

Paramount Pictures

“Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” is the seventh film in the franchise, and by this point, standard motorcycle chases had become old hat. They needed to up the ante, and they did so in a big way. Tom Cruise does ride a BMW G310GS earlier in the film after he takes it from the police, but the main motorcycle stunt everyone remembers is when Ethan Hunt rides his bike over a cliff to catch a train. That motorcycle is a Honda CRF250, but it’s understandable if you couldn’t catch that. The decals had been blacked out, likely not to upset the folks at Honda since the bike got destroyed after the scene.It took quite a lot to make riding a motorbike off a cliff a reality. Cruise told Men’s Journal, “The key was hitting the right speed up the ramp. There’s no speedometer on the bike, so I do it all by the sound and feel. Then, as I launch off the bike, I create separation by cupping my arms and chest to give me that lift into the jump.” There were drones all around the vicinity to capture the footage of the jump, and there was yet another challenge for Cruise — trying not to smile for the cameras.

As for the Honda CRF250, it unsurprisingly didn’t make it. The “Mission: Impossible” Instagram account uploaded a video showing them having to airlift the bike’s wreckage from the bottom of the cliff. It’s truly one of the best stunts put to film, and something that will be an impossible mission to top. If anyone’s up for the task, however, it’s Tom Cruise.