Furiosa is actually a motorcycle movie

There is a scene early in the new George Miller film Furiosa where a character played by George Shevtsov recounts the history of a 2800cc radial engine motorcycle. The bike features prominently throughout the film and is the first hint that this new Mad Max instalment might actually just be motorcycle porn.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a prequel to 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road. The new film sees a young Furiosa taken away from her home by the evil Dementus, the leader of a post-apocalyptic motorcycle gang.

We’ll leave plot specifics there, but what follows is a violent, action-packed, and wickedly bizarre journey through a futuristic Australia known as the Wasteland. Filming took place primarily in Australia, in locations near Hay, Broken Hill and Silverton.

Anya Taylor-Joy brilliantly leads the film as a grown-up Furiosa, while Chris Hemsworth puts in a career-best performance as Dementus. Could it win Hemsworth an Oscar nomination? Too early to say, but Dementus is a far cry from Kim in Home and Away.

But for motorcyclists, the real star of the show will be the vast and mouth-watering array of two-wheel metal that appears from the first scene.

Dementus’ bikie gang acts as the film's main antagonist. Many scenes feature intense off-road motorcycle chases, with several particular sand dune chases echoing vision from the famous Dakar Rally.

The aforementioned radial engine motorcycle was custom-built for the film with a Roctec seven-cylinder R2800 aeroplane engine. It acts as the centrepiece of a chariot driven by the Ceaser-like Dementus. The chariot also includes two BMW R 18s.

In fact, BMW Motorrad Australia provided 25 motorcycles for use in the film, with a number of R nineT and R 1250 GS models also being used. The BMW team worked closely with the filmmakers throughout the process.

"We are both delighted and proud to be part of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," BMW Motorrad Australia GM, Andreas Lundgren told bikesales. "This represents BMW’s biggest ever involvement in a film or television production by number of vehicles, and it couldn’t be a more spectacular one.

"The film – as we have come to know from the series – is a visual masterpiece with phenomenal action sequences and therefore the ideal platform to showcase our product.”

Also making an appearance is what appears to be a 1972 Norton Commando 750 with off-road tyres, as well as a number of vintage Harley-Davidson models and countless dirt bikes.

In an interview with ABC News in America, production designer Colin Gibson said that his team built around 100 “characterized” motorcycles for Furiosa. With the help of CGI, the number of motorcycles on screen reaches into the thousands.

Being primarily an Australian production, many Australian motorcycle stalwarts appear in the credits in a variety of roles. Famed Newcastle custom builder Matt Bromley was credited as ‘Head of Motorbikes’, while well-known Aussie dirt bike riders like Corey Creed, Robbie Marshall, and Dan Reardon appear as stunt performers.

Perhaps the most famous motorcycling name in the credits is four-time Mr Motocross winner and two-time Finke winner Stephen Gall, who also worked on Fury Road.

In an interview about Fury Road with Australasian Dirt Bike Magazine in 2015, Gall said he “initially helped with the motorcycle testing and development” and then was “employed as a specialist stunt rider and assistant specialist stunt coordinator”.

Motorcycles and cars have always featured prominently in the Mad Max universe, which now totals five films.

While the original 1979 film is most famous for the black V8 Interceptor driven by Mel Gibson’s titular character, the movie also featured a fleet of Kawasaki KZ1000s, one of which was decked out as a police bike for Steve Bisley’s character Jim Goose.

Fury Road also featured a large number of custom motorcycles including a Yamaha R1 with off-road tyres and a hillclimb-style swingarm.

But not since the first film has a Mad Max instalment quite embraced motorcycling like Furiosa does. The film offers a feast of easter eggs for motorcyclists to watch out for. One memorable scene sees Dementus refer to his henchmen as names of motorcycle brands.

Hemsworth’s turn as Dementus is apt, given the Aussie has a soft-spot for two-wheels. His father Craig is a long-time motorcycle racer and has been a regular in classic and historic racing circles in recent years. Craig also appears in the film as an extra.

And where did the now-famous radial engine motorcycle end up after production wrapped? According to an interview with Nova's Lauren Phillips, the bike is now on display in Chris Hemsworth’s basement.

BMW Motorrad Australia is giving away ten double passes to see Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.