Depending on the genre, a well-made movie can have you howling with laughter, thrilled by the on-screen action, or feeling cleansed after a cathartic cry. But while those are all enjoyable enough, every now and again you run into a film that affects you on a deeper level by helping to teach you some inevitable facet of life itself.
We recently made a trip to the theater to watch Mad Max: Fury Road, and since then every time we look up at the night sky, we’ve been reminded of the certainty that one day we’ll all be living in a dystopian wasteland. In preparation, we’ve already started stockpiling water and canned goods, and now we’ll be able to tour the wastelands in style with our customized Mad Max-style Yamaha three-wheeled motorcycle.
The latest film in the Mad Max franchise just opened in Japan, under the extra-macho-sounding title Mad Max: Ikari no Desu Rodo, or Mad Max: Death Road of Fury. So far, the movie has been a crowd-pleaser, and we imagine more than a few people have walked out of the theater with a plan to buy the movie on Blu-ray when it becomes available.
Our Japanese-language reporter Go Hattori had a different plan, though. Having accepted Fury Road’s vision of the future as the unavoidable shape of things to come, Go realized that his current mode of vehicular transport might not be tough enough for the Fury Road.
Seeing how popular motorcycles are among roving packs of post-apocalyptic bandits, Go knew he needed a bike. But instead of a plain old two-wheeled version, he decided on Yamaha’s three-wheeled Tricity 125.
But that’s just the project’s base canvas, and Go’s final vision for his customized Mad Max Tricity 125 was very different.
Go (who’s now insisting that we call him Mad Hattori) left the 125-cc engine alone, figuring its small displacement means better gas mileage, which would be a plus in a world where violent factions are fighting over scarce resources. He had a long list of external modifications to make, though, and for help turned to tuning shop Togashi Engineering and movie vehicle specialist Akihisa Suzuki.
First, we repainted the bike in a flat color we call Mad Black.
Next, we added a fine layer of dust, so it wouldn’t look out of place blasting across the desert.
Aiming at your opponent’s wheels is a common tactic in vehicle-to-vehicle combat, so we added a set of covers to the Tricity.
Since the rider’s hands are another weak spot, we installed a set of bars to protect Go’s knuckles.
After society as we know it crumbles, we figure it’ll be hard to get your hands on glass cleaner, so we removed the windshield and instead installed this metal grille.
We also drilled out a couple of excess body panel portions, to keep weight down and help in making speedy escapes.
▼ Finally, we stenciled RocketNews24 across the bike, to let people know who they’re messing with if they try to take Go on.
Of course, it’s important to wear the proper gear when riding a motorcycle, so now that his ride was ready, it was time for Go to get some new duds.
▼ If you don’t have time to grow a proper mohawk, consider adding one to your helmet instead.
▼ Go explains the Tricity’s leaning multi-wheel cornering system.
After testing out the Mad Max Tricity in the wilds of Gunma Prefecture, Go rode back to Tokyo. We initially were panning to take a photo of him in front of a pile of human skulls, but since we couldn’t find any, settled for a pile of trash instead.
Out on the street, we also ran into fellow RocketNews24 reporter Meg.
But look at how she’s dressed! Didn’t she get the memo about the impending collapse of society? Seriously, she’s so woefully unprepared for the Fury Road that, frankly, she looks a little silly.
Images, video ©RocketNews24