Wetbike (The Spy Who Loved Me)

In the 1977 movie The Spy Who Loved Me, James Bond (Roger Moore) uses a Wetbike to get to Stromberg's hideout, Atlantis.

The Wetbike was an actual water craft, introduced in 1978. Bond was once again ahead of his time using the latest technology, which in the film is attributed to Q. After the submarine has escaped from and destroyed the Liparus supertanker, Bond tells Commander Carter(Shane Rimmer) that he wants to go back to Atlantis to rescue Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach). He takes the large bag sent by Q and starts assembling what turns out to be the Wetbike.

The actual Wetbike used for the filming was actually a prototype, so some of the logos, stickers and design elements are slightly different from the later production models. On Bond' Wetbike, the Wetbike logo on the front is located at the top part of the black box, while on production models the logo is at the botton of the box. And on Bond's bike the side decal stickers have a downwards angle at the end, while the stickers on the production model go straight all the way.

The Wetbike was invented and designed by award winning engineer Nelson Tyler and produced by Spirit Marine from 1978 until 1992.

The Wetbike is different from a jetski in that it looks more like a snowmobile and handles more like a motorcycle, being steered from the front.

The watercooled 2 cylinder, 50hp, 723 cc Suzuki engine with jet pump propels the Wetbike to speeds of just over 30mph.

A screen-used Wetbike has been on display at Bond In Motion exhibitions around the world and is since September 2021 on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

Wetbike in other films and series

The Spy Who Loved Me was the first time the Wetbike was seen on screen, but not the last.

The same model Wetbike (with the same white color and the same style red/blue stickers) was spotted in the movie Jaws 2 - thanks to Jaws fan Matt White and The Daily Jaws for the alert (read more about Jaws and James Bond here). The Wetbike is not used in Jaws 2 but it's an interesting spot, as it might have also been a prototype, since it looks identical to the one from Bond, with the front Wetbike logo on the top part, and the angled side stickers.

In 1982 two Wetbikes appear in Season 5 Episode 25 of television series CHiPs.

Terence Hill rides the same model Wetbike as Bond in the 1983 comedy Go for It. At 57m37s, Terence Hill's character confiscates the Wetbike at the beach, calling it a "jetski", and then he uses it for a chase.

In 1984 two Wetbikes appear in Season 3 Episode 3, Maltese Steele, of television series Remington Steele with no other than Pierce Brosnan riding one of them (thanks to Georg Schwerer for spotting these). The episode was filmed in Malta. The wetbikes are white, but the side stripes are slightly different from the Bond ones, but similar to the scale models (read more below)

In Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1985), red versions of the Wetbike can be spotted during a water chase.

Wetbike scale models

Surprisingly, there is no official James Bond scale model of the Wetbike.

But Revell included Wetbike models in two model kits: "Turbo Mustang with Wetbikes and Trailer" (1979) and "Datsun King Cab & Wetbikes" (1982).

These 1:25 scale model sets include a trailer with two Wetbikes in the same color scheme as James Bond's Wetbike.

Find these Revell sets on eBay

Robbe created a radio controlled Wetbike model (nr 1070), which doesn't look very similar to the Bond model but it does work as a rc model in the water.

Currently this Robbe Wet Bike rc model is rare and sellers ask high prices on eBay.