2010 Rallies & Events
How We Missed Out on Lightcycle
Story by Wendy Manning
Photos by Wendy Manning
We could have had the Parker Brothers’ Tron Lightcycle months ago when sharp-eyed Barnett’s photog Jack Cofano phoned me about it and, just like with the original Tron movie, I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. Oh how misguided I was. The conversation went something like this:
Jack: Hey, I’ve got this bike—
Me: Is it hot there? My God, it’s like 105 here. The sun is burning my retinas—
Jack: Yeah, it’s really humid. It’s killing me. But listen, there’s this awesome bike I can get. . . Remember the Tron movie?
Me: Ugh. I hated that movie. Did you see Avatar? I didn’t like that either.
Jack: WHAT? I love Avatar. It’s one of the best movies—
Me: Avatar sucked. I fell asleep. The plot was terrible.
Jack: Who cares about the plot?
Me: I do. Like The Sixth Sense. Now that’s a plot. That movie blew me away.
Jack: So this bike, I can get this really cool bike—
Me: Whatever. Do what you’ve gotta. Just make sure and get some normal bikes too. I’m gonna go add The Sixth Sense to my Netflix queue. I wonder if they have it in the Watch It Now option . . .
And then I forgot all about it until it started popping up all over the Internet like mushrooms. Lesson learned the hard way: When Jack calls about a bike, listen to him.
When the live-action computer generated film Tron premiered in 1982, who would have thought it would be become a sci-fi classic? Not me, that’s for sure. Yeah I saw it, but to tell the truth I had no idea what was going on and I’m almost positive I fell asleep. Hey, let’s face it, Tron was no Blade Runner (which I still watch with alarming regularity). But I do give Tron’s industrial designer Syd Meade mad props for those lightcycles.
Now almost 30 years later comes Tron: Legacy, a film which reviewers are calling everything from “Visually Stunning” and “Must be seen in 3-D on the big screen” to “Dark and Depressing” and “Bleak and Oppressive”. But there is one thing everybody agrees on: those new digitally animated lightcycles are awesome and are worth the price of admission alone (I’m talking matinee prices and bringing your own candy).
The innovative Parker Brothers Custom Choppers, in Melbourne, Florida, have done what seemed like the impossible. They’ve taken a digital motorcycle and made it real, rideable, and street legal. Mark Parker told me the bike has “gotten us so much press it’s insane.” With the Parker Brothers Tron Lightcycle they’ve more than proven their motto, “If you can dream it, we can build it!” Built on a steel frame and weighing in at 474 pounds (the body is all fiberglass), the bike measures 100-inches long and 23-inches wide. A Suzuki V-twin TLR1000 engine gives it its power, and custom made friction drums allow you to stop. The bike features 22”X 12” dual hubless wheels and custom made tires. The crew at Parker Brothers made ten Tron Lightcycles (the few that are left are selling for $55,000), and come with a Tron style helmet and will be available in five different neon glowing accent colors: red, blue, yellow, green, and orange. It rides like a sportbike,” Mark said, but you’ll have to watch the test ride video and decide that for yourself.
The Parker Brothers are well known for creating working replicas of famous movie motorcycles, including the Batpod from Batman. To check out their latest projects and get the skinny on what’s next, visit them at www.parkerbrotherschoppers.com.