'Star Wars' Speeder Bike Comes Alive

As hard-core Star Wars fans will know, the speeder bike played a big role in Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi, giving Luke and Leia a chance to race past guards in order to drop the shield defenses for the new Death Star. If you’ve ever wanted to get your hands on one, Vintage Works knows just how you feel, and has come up with a custom motorcycle replica that’ll get your pulse racing.

Built by volunteers in Green Bay, Wis., the working speeder bike replica can reach a top speed of 70 miles per hour. Materials used included CNC machined aluminum and a hand-formed aluminum body; it also has a 400-watt sound effect system that echoes what’s heard in the film.

“With one push to the red power button, the programmable logic controller sends a signal to multiple pneumatic solenoid valves to let the air out of the front and rear air suspension, foot pegs, and also signals the sound system to change to the ‘power down’ sound effect,” said Vintage Works on its Facebook page.

Check out a photo of it below and video of the speeder bike in action above.