A WetBike is a planing motorised personal water craft that is often described as cross between a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

and a

jet ski Jet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft (PWC) manufactured by Kawasaki, a Japanese company. The term is often used generically to refer to any type of personal watercraft used mainly for recreation, and it is also used as a verb to ...

. The original Wetbike was introduced in 1978 by Spirit Marine, a subsidiary of Arctic Enterprises (now known as

Arctic Cat Arctic Cat is an American brand of snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles manufactured in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. The company was formed in 1960 and is now part of Textron Inc. Arctic Cat designs, engineers, manufactures and markets all-terr ...

).. The Wetbike is challenging to ride, because it does require a good deal of balance.

Evolution

The original Wetbike was designed by Nelson Tyler, who became well known for his film industry camera mounts known as the "Tyler Mount". It was based on a motocycle, replacing the wheels by skis and using a

pump-jet A pump-jet, hydrojet, or water jet is a marine system that produces a jet of water for propulsion. The mechanical arrangement may be a ducted propeller ( axial-flow pump), a centrifugal pump, or a mixed flow pump which is a combination of bot ...

for propulsion. It debuted in 1978, a few years after the Kawasaki Jet Ski by Spirit Marine, a subsidiary of what is now Arctic Cat.. At rest, it resembles a sit-down jet ski with handlebars. Gaining speed, it would eventually lift up on the skis, and plane. The directional control was by turning the handlebars, not rotating the hydrojet like for the jet ski. Originally, the Wetbike was powered by a

Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...

two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

. During the latter years of Wetbikes (late 1980s) there were considerable advances such as 60 hp Suzuki 800 cc engines, and the Metton hulls, which were much lighter than previous models. Eventually the Wetbike gave way to the new

personal water craft A personal watercraft (PWC), also called water scooter or jet ski, is a recreational watercraft that a rider sits or stands on, not within, as in a boat. PWCs have two style categories, first and most popular being a runabout or "sit down" whe ...

(PWC) such as the

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

WaveRunner WaveRunner is a trademarked name and type of personal water craft (PWC) produced by the Yamaha Motor Company. Unique to the WaveRunner among PWCs is the spout of water that shoots into the air from the rear of the vehicle, a visual brand identif ...

, mainly because they are much easier to ride. They were last produced in 1992. The design was later sold to Kawasaki.

Appearances in media

The first appearance of the Wetbike was in the 1977

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' The Spy Who Loved Me''. In one scene, right before the film's end, Bond is seen riding on a Wetbike (the actual Spirit Marine prototype) to villain

Karl Stromberg Karl Sigmund Stromberg is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1977 James Bond film '' The Spy Who Loved Me''. Stromberg was portrayed by Curd Jürgens. The character Stromberg was created specifically for the film by writer Christ ...

's lair, the submergible fortress Atlantis. Bond refers to the Wetbike as a Q gadget. The Wetbike appeared in 1982 in CHiPs episode "Overload". After a short recreational excursion on the Wetbikes, Ponch and Jon use the Wetbikes to chase down microchip thieves trying to escape in a speedboat. In the background, a sign can be seen that shows the Wetbikes could be rented for $10 per hour, or $75 for a full day. The Wetbike also appeared in the 1986 comedy '' Police Academy 3: Back in Training'', in which a group of Wetbikes and Kawasaki JS550 stand up jet skis were used by the police to chase down thieves in speedboats during the movie's ending water chase scene. It also appeared in the 1983

Terence Hill Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with longtim ...

Bud Spencer Carlo Pedersoli (31 October 1929 – 27 June 2016), known professionally as Bud Spencer, was an Italian actor, professional swimmer and water polo player. He was known for action-comedy and Spaghetti Western roles with his long-time film partn ...

spy comedy '' Go For It!'', when Hill was pursuing and picking up Susan Teesdale's character, the lethal barmaid who tried to escape with a parasail, and the 1990

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

film '' Red Surf'', in which it was used by a gang of surfers to transport cocaine.

References

{{Reflist

Evolution

Appearances in media

References

See also