Buy Your Own Tron Lightcycle For $35,000 170
ElectricSteve writes "The lightcycle scene was probably the most memorable part of an absolutely jaw-dropping movie when Tron was released in 1982. One of the first films to use the kinds of computer-generated special effects that later become commonplace, it was a glimpse into a whole new world that left an indelible impression on most who saw it. Now, as Disney prepares to release Tron Legacy, a sequel some 28 years after the original, the lightcycles are back and looking meaner than ever. Built by the same guys who did the memorable Batpod replica, the new lightcycles feature massive dual hubless wheels, carbon fiber/fiberglass bodies, and all the lashings of neon that you'd expect. And there will be five running models built — all of which are now up for sale on eBay for a cool $35,000."
Please explain the appeal of Tron to me (Score:4, Interesting)
I was a 16 year old geek when Tron came out. It bored me to tears and I forgot about it as soon as I walked out of the theater. The new Tron Legacy trailer looks every bit as dumb. What am I missing here?
Re:But...not with you on it (Score:3, Interesting)
Anybody remember a TV show called Automan. He had a car that did 90 degree turns "like pacman" but it was hard on the human occupant...
Re:Everyday street use. Really? (Score:5, Interesting)
From the Ebay listing it says these bikes are designed for everyday street use. If that's the case, how the hell is that bike supposed to turn? There appears to be no way for the front wheel to steer. Anyone have any idea how the hell this would work?
The Ebay listing is a testament to one part wishful thinking, one part overconfidence, and two parts willful fraud.
The photos is the listing are of the non-functional movie promo prop, not anything these guys are selling, or even OWN.
For the bikes to be street legal, then by definition can't look anything like the movie bikes because they need things like headlights, turn signals, etc.
The best part is the claim that the bikes will be ready in 6-8 weeks...RIGHT!!
I'll believe these guys aren't trying to outright steal from gullible people as soon as they can show a photo of something they didn't just scrape from Tron movie promotions.
The pilot; part of the frame? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Does it include... (Score:3, Interesting)
A lot of motorcycle drivers will never "get" counter-steering - to them it's counter-intuitive. That it's actually safer in a curve (because you can lay the bike down really low, and if it slips, you can recover better because it straightens out the line between your center of gravity and where the rubber meets the road - I know, not a great explanation - just do it!) than the conventional method is lost on them.
Re:Why bother? (Score:4, Interesting)
Tron wasn't sci-fi, and wasn't trying to be. It was pure fantasy. It was based on the idea that there is a whole world inside of computers where programs interact like people and bits float around saying "yes" and "no". Worrying about things like how an accounting program can be made to compete in gladiatorial games without being modified, or how bits could be floating around individually when every program would have to be made of bits and there'd need to be more of them than existed in computers of the day is besides the point. It'd be like having a movie where you can go to a magical school for wizards after walking through the wall at the subway, then worrying about how they can make brooms fly.
The fantasy nature of the movie really struck me when I re-watched it for the first time in 20 years. Sure I remembered liking the movie as a kid but I had very little in the way of expectations. And I found that because of its fantasy nature it worked way better than just about any sci-fi movie that tried to show computers "realistically" and utterly failed*.
Once I accepted that it was a fantasy world, I found it fascinating. Especially the idea of the programs having a religion based on the "user" as their gods (little did they know what an unworthy god they worshiped), and even more fascinating an "atheist" movement which denied that the "user" and the world outside of the computer even existed. Also interesting was how outside of the digitizing machine, everything shown about computers in the real world was completely normal. The giant spinning vortex of the MCP inside the computer was just a simple text interface on the outside. It'd be kinda like Harry Potter if magic simply didn't exist outside of Hogwarts.
Anyway, I say give it a another shot, and go in realizing you're watching computer-based fantasy, not sci-fi.
* Major contemporaneous exception: Wargames!
Re:Everyday street use. Really? (Score:3, Interesting)
The point of the welded steering head at his school is that you can't turn the motorcycle without turning the front wheel. The only way it turns is if you decrease speed enough that it's basically trying to fall over.
As you lean, the position of the front wheel in relation to the frame is not constant - you're still counter-steering, but in a less efficient manor.
The reason he created the exercise was to show people that focusing on putting input into the handlebars is the way to turn a motorcycle - everything else takes more of your time, energy, and attention which at high speed, is limited.
His books are really about the physics of riding a motorcycle, and quite interesting to read. I took all four levels of his school when I first started racing in the '90s.
Re:Does it include... (Score:3, Interesting)
Except that counter steering is not counter steering when you're trying to counter steer something where the wheels are 300mm (or whatever those monstrosities are) and your center of gravity appears to be about 8 inches off the ground. Not to mention, the riding position appears to have the riders arms almost at full extension. Looks like a death trap to me.