Culture
Pop Culture
Where FXRs show up in films, TV, music videos, games and print. Each entry says how sure we are and links its sources.
61 entries (56 Confirmed, 5 Probable)
Appearances
Ghostbusters
1984 FXRP police bikes. IMCDb identifies 1984 FXRPs as brief background police motorcycles. That makes it one of the earliest screen appearances of the FXRP, which was new for 1984.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
1983 FXRT Sport Glide. IMCDb identifies a 1983 FXRT as a background vehicle, an early screen appearance of the faired FXR.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Der Formel Eins Film
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide in this German music film.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Superfantagenio (Aladdin)
FXRP Police Special. IMCDb lists an FXRP Police Special in this Italian film.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Moonwalker
FXRP Police Special. IMCDb lists an FXRP Police Special in Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
The Undertaker
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Tango & Cash
FXR Super Glide (modified). IMCDb lists a modified FXR Super Glide as a short-scene vehicle. The ID rests on details spotted by IMCDb contributors, so we rate it Probable.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Desperate Hours
FXRP Police Special. IMCDb lists an FXRP Police Special in the film.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Lambada
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Rockula
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide in this TV movie.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
The China Lake Murders
FXRP Police Special. The lead character's police bike is an FXRP Police Special, per IMCDb, where it gets plenty of screen time.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man
Custom 1989 FXR ("Black Death"). Mickey Rourke's title-character bike is a heavily customized 1989 FXR, the look later known as Black Death. Builder accounts say two near-identical bikes were built at Bartels' Harley-Davidson: Rourke's own stroker and a studio stunt double, with exhaust by RB Racing. Which bike appears in a given shot is not fully documented. Rourke's ownership of the bike was covered in the motorcycle press for decades afterward.
Basis: Builder accounts and IMCDb
Sources: IMCDb autos.yahoo.com rbracing-rsr.com bobberbrothers.com
Point Break
FXR Super Glide (background). IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide as a background bike, but a contributor noted it could be an earlier FXE Super Glide. Treat it as Probable until a clear frame shot settles it.
Basis: IMCDb listing, disputed
Sources: IMCDb
Stone Cold
FXRS. IMCDb lists an FXRS. Brian Bosworth's personal custom in the film is often described as Super Glide based, and its exact history is still debated by fans.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb IMCDb rideapart.com
Final Judgement
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Dead Before Dawn
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Heart and Souls
FXRP Police Special. IMCDb lists an FXRP Police Special in the film.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Joshua Tree (also known as Army of One)
FXRT Sport Glide. IMCDb lists an FXRT Sport Glide in this Dolph Lundgren action film.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Dumb & Dumber
FXRT Sport Glide, police setup. IMCDb lists a police-equipped FXRT Sport Glide as a minor action vehicle.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Pulp Fiction
Customized 1986 FXR Super Glide ("Grace"). Bruce Willis's character escapes on Zed's chopper, "Grace", a customized 1986 FXR Super Glide with ape hangers and a Fat Bob tank lettered GRACE. At least two slightly different bikes were used on screen. A screen-used bike was later offered at auction.
Basis: IMCDb, SlashGear, auction listing
Sources: IMCDb SlashGear entertainment.ha.com
Vacanze di Natale '95
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide in this Italian comedy.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Mask of Death
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Excess Baggage
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
A Country Practice
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide in this Australian series.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Miami Vice
FXR Low Rider Custom. IMCDb lists an FXR-family Low Rider Custom in a minor role. A contributor points to belt drive, which suggests a 1985 or later bike. Some IDs of Low Riders in this series have been disputed, so check the listing.
Basis: IMCDb listing
MacGyver
FXR Super Glide and FXRS Low Rider. IMCDb has separate listings for an FXR Super Glide and an FXRS Low Rider in the original series.
Basis: IMCDb listings
Street Hawk
1983 FXRS. IMCDb's FXRS index includes a 1983 FXRS in the series.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
L.A. Law
FXR. IMCDb lists an FXR.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Matlock
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
E Street
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide in this Australian series.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Diagnosis Murder: Diagnosis of Murder
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide in this TV movie.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Harley-Davidson: The American Motorcycle
FXR. A documentary about the company's history. IMCDb lists an FXR among the bikes shown (its page dates the film 1993).
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb imdb.com videolibrarian.com
NYPD Blue
FXR. IMCDb lists an FXR.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Time Trax
FXR. IMCDb lists an FXR on more than one vehicle page.
Basis: IMCDb listing
New York Undercover
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Sleep, Baby, Sleep
FXRP Police Special. IMCDb lists an FXRP Police Special in this TV movie.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Nash Bridges
FXRP Police Special. IMCDb lists an FXRP Police Special in the series.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb tvmaze.com IMCDb IMCDb
Water Rats
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide in this Australian series.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Malcolm in the Middle
FXR. IMCDb lists an FXR in a short scene.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Spoorloos Verdwenen
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide in this Dutch series.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
The Messengers
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide, proof the bikes still turn up on screen decades later.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Blue Murder: Killer Cop
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide in this Australian miniseries.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Vuslat
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide in this Turkish series.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Love and Money, "Candybar Express"
FXR Super Glide. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide in the video.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Litfiba, "Tex"
FXR Super Glide. The Italian rock band shot this video in the Arizona desert. IMCDb lists an FXR Super Glide.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb IMCDb imvdb.com Wikipedia (it)
Van Halen, "Can't Stop Lovin' You"
Shovelhead-era FXR Super Glide II. IMCDb identifies an early Shovelhead FXR Super Glide II in a short scene.
Basis: IMCDb listing
Sources: IMCDb
Lenny Kravitz, "American Woman"
Custom 1994 FXR. IMCDb identifies a customized FXR. A commenter who says he built it describes a 1994 FXR custom with metallic leopard paint.
Basis: IMCDb listing and builder comment
Sources: IMCDb
Harley-Davidson & L.A. Riders (Sega arcade)
Police bike, named as an FXRP by fan sources. Sega's arcade game has five licensed Harleys, one of them a police bike. Wikipedia just calls it a police motorcycle. Fan wikis and game databases name it an FXRP, so we rate it Probable until a manual or official source confirms.
Basis: Game databases and fan wikis
Sources: Wikipedia sega.fandom.com wiki-origin.giantbomb.com mobygames.com
Chuck Zito's 1986 FXR
Custom 1986 FXR. Dealer sale listings describe a flamed custom 1986 FXR built and once owned by actor Chuck Zito. The only evidence is sales copy, so we rate it Probable. It is not an on-screen Sons of Anarchy bike (see Myths).
Basis: Dealer sale listing
Sources: suprememotos.com veh-markets.com
Norman Reedus's 1987 FXR
Custom 1987 FXR. In a 2024 interview the actor named a custom 1987 FXR built by Powerplant Motorcycles in Los Angeles as his favorite bike.
Basis: Published interview
Sources: mrfeelgood.com
1982 launch ads: "separates the men from the boys"
FXR Super Glide II. Harley-Davidson's launch ads for the Super Glide II used the line that it would separate the men from the boys. Hot Bike quotes the ad, and original tear sheets still turn up with vintage ad dealers.
Basis: Hot Bike and surviving ads
Sources: Hot Bike ebid.net vintagepaperads.com
1984 FXRT Sport Glide print ad
FXRT Sport Glide. An original 1984 magazine ad for the FXRT survives in vintage ad dealer catalogs.
Basis: Surviving ad
Sources: thenostalgiashop.co.uk
1985 "Stop Pretending" dealer hang tag
FXR Super Glide. A dealer hang tag for the 1985 FXR Super Glide from the "Stop Pretending" campaign.
Basis: Surviving dealer item
Sources: tvmoviecards.com
Wink Eller's 1990 FXR, Hot Bike "King of the Hill"
Custom 1990 FXR. Hot Bike profiled Wink Eller's famous custom 1990 FXR.
Basis: Hot Bike feature
Sources: Hot Bike
Easyriders, Black Death build sheet
1989 FXR based Black Death replica. Easyriders (May 1997) ran a detailed build sheet for the Marlboro Man bike. Builders still cite it when making replicas.
Basis: Secondary citations of the issue
Sources: HD Forums bobberbrothers.com raven28690.tripod.com (archived)
Cycle World, "Return of the FXR"
CVO FXR2 and FXR3. Cycle World's news story on the factory bringing the FXR back as limited FXR2 and FXR3 models.
Basis: Cycle World archive
Sources: Cycle World
Hot Bike FXR history features
FXR family. Hot Bike's long-running FXR stories, including "Separating the Men From the Boys", "The Saga of the FXR" and "The Last FXR", plus an all-FXR cover shoot in 2014.
Basis: Hot Bike
The FXRP as a police bike icon
FXRP. The FXRP was the factory police version of the FXR from 1984 and shows up in many films and TV shows above. Its role as a wider police-bike icon is our summary, not a sourced claim, so it stays Probable.
Basis: Summary of the listings above
Sources: Hot Bike IMCDb youtube.com
Confidence legend
Confirmed
Identified by a named source: a builder account, a magazine, an auction record, or a vehicle listing on IMCDb, the Internet Movie Cars Database. Many film and TV entries rest on a single IMCDb listing; the card says so.
Probable
Good evidence, but it is indirect or disputed, for example a contributor note that it may be an earlier model, or sales copy only.
Not listed
Bikes that turn out not to be FXRs are on the Myths page.
We do not host film stills, magazine scans or game art. Follow the source links to see the bikes.
Sources
- Internet Movie Cars Database (IMCDb), Harley-Davidson FXR family vehicle listings. Individual listings are linked on each entry. Link
- Hot Bike, "Separating the Men From the Boys: The History of the FXR" (photos from the Harley-Davidson Archives; interviews Bob LeRoy). Link
- Hot Bike, "The Saga of the FXR" (includes an interview with Erik Buell). Link
- Hot Bike, "The Last FXR". Link
- Hot Bike, "King of the Hill: Custom 1990 Harley-Davidson FXR". Link
- Matthew Miles, "Return of the FXR", Cycle World, May 1999. Link
- HD Forums, "Recreating the Silver Screen's Black Death FXR" (cites Easyriders, May 1997). Link
- RB Racing, Mickey Rourke / Marlboro Man bike page. Link
- Bobber Brothers, "The Harley-Davidson and the Marlboro Man Bike". Link
- Each entry above links its own sources, mostly IMCDb vehicle pages.
Full bibliography and image credits: Sources & Credits. Magazine pages are linked, never copied or hosted here. Spot an error? Tell us.