“Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” This cult line has been disrupting Hollywood since 1996. It felt like it was yesterday when we were humming the Mission: Impossible theme, but believe it or not, next year will mark 30 years of this action-packed franchise. Apart from defying stunts, Mission: Impossible is known to feature some of the world’s exotic motorcycles. We rewind the clock starting from Mission: Impossible II. We can’t play the iconic Mission: Impossible theme, but let the drum rolls begin.
Mission: Impossible II — Triumph Speed Triple
This movie was the perfect canvas for Triumph to flex its muscles with the Speed Triple T509. The chase and shoot-out scenes are one of the most standout moments in the movie. The Speed Triple T509 was packed with a 885cc four-stroke three-cylinder liquid-cooled engine delivering 97 bhp at 9,000 rpm and 85 Nm torque at 6,700 rpm. Apparently, Cruise was so impressed by the Speed Triple that he bought one for himself.
Mission: Impossible III — Triumph Bonneville
Unlike Mission: Impossible II, the third instalment of the franchise only had one scene of Ethan Hunt (Cruise) riding the retro Triumph Bonneville at an airstrip. The bike has received mild modifications like a customised exhaust and ditched the standard tarmac-friendly wheels for knobby tyres.
Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation — BMW S1000RR
The franchise decided to up the ante and went rogue as it ditched Triumph and opted for the crazy and wild BMW S1000RR. The chase scene in Rogue Nation has to be one of the most defying motorcycle scenes shot in the Mission: Impossible series. Being one of the most powerful motorcycles on the planet, Cruise went knee down as he obliterated the sharp corner with ease. Talk about some state-of-the-art features, the S1000RR is equipped with. The 999cc inline four churns out 199 bhp and 112.6 Nm of torque. It has a claimed top speed of 300 kmph.
Mission: Impossible, Fallout — BMW R NineT
The wise people in Mission: Impossible decided to stick to BMW with the retro R NineT. Hunt was zipping around in the streets of Paris with the Bavarian Scrambler. It is powered by a 1,170 cc air-oil cooled flat twin with an output of 110 bhp and 100.7 Nm of torque. It is mated to a 6-speed gearbox.
Mission: Impossible, Dead Reckoning Part 1 — Honda CRF250
This is a stunt that will make James Bond fans stand up and acknowledge. Cruise took a customised Honda CRF250 off the cliff and parachuted on top of a moving train. The stunt was so intense that the actor had to undergo over 500 skydives, including 30 jumps per day. The CRF250 dirt bike had its suspension changed to give it better control and rideability.
