The 1966 Batcycle
Batman needed something to drive when the Batmobile was being serviced so he often used the Batcycle to fight evil. Batman was lost without Robin so the Batcycle had a sidecar that also would detach from the bike and Robin could take off on his own !!
Ah, the Batcycle - a truly cool piece of Bat equipment. You remember the Batcycle right ? Sure that cool motorcycle that Robin would come flying off of ? Well actually there were 2 Batcycles used in the series. he first, used in only one episode was rented from a Hollywood firm in the business of supplying vehicles for movie and TV productions. It was a 1959 Harley Davidson with side car. It was used in the Penguin episode # 22 - Not Yet, He Ain't. It was not really awe inspiring and the bike was only used in the one episode in the first season.
Click On Photo For Close-up !!!!
OK, well how did we get the ultra modern bike we see in the movie?
I must first admit that I don't have ALL the answers, just some of them. I'm going to give you the story as I know it now, then correct it later if need be. The problem with history is always who is telling it. There are some facts that I know are true, there are some I think to be true and then there are those that throw up a red flag Ill address those last.
Enter into the story in 1966 a mechanic that worked for George Barris, Dan Dempski. Dan had a dream, to build a Bat bike. Did he have tons of cash ? No. Did he have designs - No. Did he have a motorcycle ? - No. Whew, have you heard starting from scratch? Well Dan contacted Yamaha and they agree to give him a Yamaha Catalina 250 for the conversion. A 250? yes that's right a 250 Back in 1966 the size of foreign bikes aren't what they are now so a 250 was pretty big.
The 1966 Yamaha Catalina YDS-3 250cc - A Good Start For A Batcycle - Video Link
OK- so we have a Yamaha Catalina, what next ? Well you would get a really good designer to draw up some plans for you - How about Tom Daniel ? Tom had already made his mark as a artist for Rod and Custom He would later become most famous as a designer of models for Monogram. Tom already had a relationship with George Barris, in 1964 Tom did a drawing of a "Meat Wagon " that George saw and contacted him about building. The edited real car came to be know as " The Surf Woodie " ! Tom agreed to do the design drawings for an agreed price and he did a wonderful job ! ( He was never paid BTW for his work )
OK so Dan need help so he gets his friend Korky Korkes to come help with the building of the bike. They work in Dan's garage, building the bike without even a client yet ! The bike is complete . Dan makes his next move.
Building The Batcycle in the garage .... Click For Larger View !!!!
Dan contacts Charles FitzSimons , the producer of Batman and tells him, Hey , Ive got a Batbike you have to have. Charlie says- hey we already have one ( the Harley ) but Dan convinces him he needs to see the bike. Well I think luck was on Dan's side. The series ALWAYS went over budget so usually expenditures were kept to a minimum, however, The 1966 Batman movie was filming during the summer so they thought, hmmmm we've got a bit of cash, maybe we are interested. After looking at the bike, the producers decided that yes, they did want it. The Bike had to be delivered by April , 18, 1966 to Fox Studios in time for training and use in filming the new Bat movie. A contract was drawn up and Dan and Korky started their own company , " Kustomotive". The company was paid 350.00 upon delivery of the bike and $50.00 per week while it was used by the production company. When the rental reached $2500.00 Kustomotive quit getting payments and would get the bike back basically when Batman was done with it. Kustomotive got to keep all the money from car shows it was exhibited on but if used in any other form had to pay a percentage to Greenway, 20th Century Fox, and National Periodicals Publications ( now DC Comics).
Well Im sure Dan and Korky agreed to the deal without a problem because they saw how much money George Barris was making off the Batmobile. They then decided that they needed duplicates of the bike to take on tour as the series would keep the original and they didnt want the friction George was having with the show over needing the bike for filming and them needing the bike to take on tour to make money. They constructed a tour bike to make the road show. Ive been told they made four for touring ........ more on that later.
One of the Batcycles on tour in 1967
Well the bike was delivered and Adam and Burt looked good on it , however they weren't the ones that actually had to ride the thing, Hubie Kerns and Victor Paul , the stuntmen were the lucky ones to pilot the Batcycle in most scenes. In a nutshell, they hated it.
Click Here To See A Video of Victor Paul's thoughts on the Batcycle !
( 256KB ) 
Hubie Kerns and Victor Paul on the subject of the Batcycle-
"They brought it out at four o'clock at night and we gotta use it at eight o'clock the next morning. I said Jesus ! give me a break . This is ridiculous. The guy who built this nightmare ( as I call it) takes it around the parking lot and almost kills himself. He hits a parked car with it ,gets up. and says that's the way it works. I Said That's the way it works? You almost killed yourself ! Sam Strangis ( the production manager) just put his eyebrows up and walked away and left us standing in the parking lot, so Hubie and I stayed until six o' clock at night trying to work this out.
Hubie was not happy either with the cycle-
" They'd been working three weeks on the cycle, then when they show it to us, the expert gets
caught and spun around and almost had an accident. And we as greenhorns, would have to drive that thing first thing in the morning. But we had absolutely no trouble with it, Probably because Victor Paul was so scared after seeing them screw up."
Paul explained his apprehension with the thing-
" I had to be on my hands and knees and they built this platform on a regular motorcycle. Hubie wasn't that much of a bike man at that time. He drove a motorcycle but this weirdo thing was different. If Hubie was doing 35 miles an hour, I really had to rev it up and really gun it to shoot off this platform going the same direction , and that was hard to do. That was the nightmare of it, I used to yell, Would you slow down for crying out loud, before you kill me?? He used to laugh."
After Batman .......
Well no one was killed in the filming of the movie and the Batcycle was quite a hit with the fans. There were duplicates made, the exact number is hard to say. I do know that according to the contracts, one Bat bike was to stay in possession of the studio and duplicates could be taken on the road. Korky and Dan were on the road in late 66 on the car show circuit. The bike also had a model made of it by the Aurora Model Company which proved to be quite popular.
Well by 1968, the show had come to a close, all the bat props had to be returned to the respective owners, the Batboat went back to Glastron, George Barris got his #1 Batmobile back and the Batcycle was returned to Kutomotive. The history is a bit cloudy as far as what actually happened with the original bike, at some point Dan or Korky had to sell it to someone. Who purchased it ? I have no records and have been unable to find Dan Dempski. The story goes he built four bikes but I have yet to confirm that either. I do know there are a BUNCH of replicas as the one seen here in Gatlinburg with yours truly at the Guiness Museum there.
What happened to the owners of the bike Dan Mageria and Korky Korkus? Well, Korky Ive been told has fallen on tough times but is still alive. Dan Dempski after Batman went on to pursue an acting career after changing his last name to Magiera, the last credit I have for him was on an episode of the TV show Renagade in 1993. On the right, is a photo of Dan when he appeared as an evil biker on CHIPS in 1977 . He did get back into the auto body shop field but could be retired in Florida Im told.
Where is the Batcycle? I am told this is a photo of the original A # 1 Batbike used in the film. Yes, it is in someone's garage in California. Is it the real McCoy- possibly it is, the person that has it certainly COULD have the original due to who they are. Oh well, If I could tell Everything, there would be a TON of folks mad at me ......... Yes, I believe this to be the current resting place of the #1 Batcycle.
Well, here is my thoughts on the Bat Cycle as promised above.
What Happened To The Original Bike Used In The Movie ?
If I were to make any conclusions, I would say it was sold either right after the series ended or a few years later. Kustomotive didn't last much longer than that, my guess would be before 1971. The bikes were sold off and George Barris had one that was on tour.
How Many Were Made ?
Another good question. Reports say there were four made, the original, and three copies. I think that there was actually only one made with a running go cart, the others had mock ups. Find one with a 50cc go-cart sidecar and you probably have either the original or a great duplicate. We know there was two, one at the studio and one on tour. Through the years I would say there were a BUNCH of copies made and whether one you see is an "original" or duplicate would be really hard to determine.
Didn't George Barris Make The Batcycle ?
Nope, Dan Dempski did make the original and copies, Barris at the time the cycle was built had his hands full trying to get duplicate Batmobiles made and keep the studio happy. Has he made SOME Batcycles, sure, as well as 20 or more people through the years.
Is That All Ya Got On The Batcycle ?
Yes, it is for now. I may find Dan one day and get a few more questions answered but for now, that's it . I welcome any Bat Bike sightings and will be happy to post them here, a gallery of Bat bikes so to speak. There are so many bikes out there, help from you, the Bat Fan, could help answer some additional questions !!
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