My primary hobby for the last 25 years or so has been collecting and driving automobiles, but it’s not my only interest. Years before I discovered cars, or at least had the disposable income to buy them, I was fascinated by film and television production. I read as much as I could on movie props and production art and dreamt of collecting authentic production relics. If you think collecting cars is expensive, take a look at movie memorabilia! In a constant personal strive for efficiency, combining vehicle collecting movie props is something I constantly consider. While today’s Good Find Friday car doesn’t quite do it for me, it definitely checks both of those boxes.

Batman, being a regular human and not a metahuman with the ability to fly at Mach speeds, required vehicular transportation to get around. Thanks to the massive wealth of his alter-ego Bruce Wayne — and plot needs — he was able to hop in whatever vehicle was needed for the case. The Batmobile is obviously the most famous, but many other vehicles have been featured in the character’s many media incarnations over the years.

The 1966 film “Batman” was released 2 months after the final episode of the first season of the well-known campy TV series and was produced to drive interest in the TV show, an interesting strategy at the time. Thanks to the sizable movie budget, we were treated to a lot of great props in Batman: The Movie, including a number of vehicles such as the Batmobile (of course), the Bat-Copter, Bat-Boat and the Bat-Cycle. 

The Bat-Cycle was built for the film by Kustomotive on a Yamaha Catalina 250 motorcycle and decorated with swoopy bat-inspired bodywork composed of fiberglass. A custom sidecar was built for Robin — and it was a doozy. Rather than Robin sitting in a traditional sidecar seat, he rode on a miniature go-kart that could be launched from a platform. The go-kart was apparently notorious for not going in the intended direction, as Batman actor Adam West describes in the video below.

Said to have been built with a Yamaha YM1 as the basis, this 1969 Bat-Cycle replica is for sale directly by owner and is listed on Facebook Marketplace for $38,500.

The YM1 is a 2-stroke motorcycle produced from 1964 to 1969 and is a very similar model to the Yamaha YDS-3 Catalina used for the genuine film prop. a The Catalina was a 250cc machine compared to the 305cc engine in this replica.

According to the seller this replica of the caped crusader’s bike was built by BatRodz, a company that produces a number of different replica vehicles out of their location in New York. It would appear that replicas of the Batmobile and Mach 5 from Speed Racer are their most notable replicas. According to their Facebook page, the company has scaled back production after a nasty fire and now just produces a few vehicles a year.

The bodywork is said to have been pulled from original molds used for the original Bat-Cycle, but no documentation is provided to support this claim. The replica’s fidelity to the genuine does appear to be quite good, at least in terms of the large fairings used on the motorcycle and sidecar.

A sidecar is attached to the motorcycle and includes a replica of Robin’s separately launchable go-kart, which also appears to be a nice approximation of the genuine article. Based on the photos, the condition of the entire package appears to be excellent. Fun Bat-features include an emergency light mounted on a stand, a Bat-scope mounted inside the windscreen, an atomic battery in the sidecar, and extensive Bat-graphics including a nicely done black and white paint finish with scalloped edges. Red Batman logos are applied in various places, a black logo is on the Yamaha’s tank, and the go-kart features Robin’s circle-R emblem.

Of interest is that this is a fully operable replica, versus a static display. The seller indicates the bike runs and rides as it should. The gas tank has been refurbished and the carburetor rebuilt. The go-kart starts and runs and a recent tune-up is noted.

Apparently the movie motorcycle wasn’t particularly fun to operate and very slow due to all its additions and falling far short of the Yamaha 250 Catalina’s top speed of 75mph in top gear. The large panel between the sidecar and bike can’t be very aerodynamic, but film vehicles are often driven at lower speeds for safety and then either sped up in editing or shot dynamically to imply speed.

This motorcycle is located in Conway, SC and offered with a clear title and a bonus Batman suit in size XL to sweeten the deal. Apparently the owner is selling due to “getting old.” Aren’t we all?

While described in the listing as the only Bat-Cycle built by BatRodz, it’s definitely NOT the only Bat-Cycle replica that has hit the market. There have been at least 7 Bat-Cycle replicas sold In the last 10 years, with a proper Yamaha 250 Catalina-based replica coming up in Mecum’s “Larry’s Legacy” sale in September.

As can be seen on the chart above, prices for these replicas are a bit all over the map, with the highest price paid for a replica that sold for $60,500 at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale back in January. The lowest was a $4,400 sale at Mecum in 2020, but that bike was missing its windshield and didn’t appear to be as accurate a replica. It did include the go-kart, but the handlebars were not correct.

The seller, interestingly, posted sale price images from Classic.com in the listing, but I noticed he didn’t include the lower-dollar sales — cheeky. 4 of the 7 replicas sold for under $30,000. The bike’s listing price isn’t far off from the average, however.

A vehicle like this requires a special buyer, especially to operate this thing on public roads. The most likely buyer is probably someone who already has a 1960’s Futura-based Batmobile in their collection and would like to add more Bat-vehicles to the lineup. That said, wouldn’t THIS make a splash at Cars & Coffee?

Almost $40,000 is a lot to ask for any motorcycle, but based on previous sales it’s not outrageously priced. If it looks as good in person as it does in photos and operates well, it could be a decent buy.

It’s not my cup of tea, of course. I’m holding out for a Bell 47-based Bat-Copter replica. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!