The 614-AvA speeder bike, also known as the Lothal Speeder Bike, was an Imperial Military speeder bike model manufactured by Aratech Repulsor Company. The Galactic Empire utilized the vehicle most notably during its occupation of Lothal.
Description
A Nautolan riding a customized 614-AvA speeder bike
Aratech's 614-AvA was a small, fast, lightweight speeder bike used by the Imperial Military. Designed initially as a portable, modular scout vehicle typically packed into a larger vehicle like a walker or a landspeeder, the 614-AvA was more akin to a swoop than to a full-fledged speeder bike. It consisted of little more than a combination repulsor drive-thruster pack, a control pod, and a set of variable-geometry control surfaces mounted to a pair of stout frame rails. The rails were telescopic, allowing the speeder bike to collapse to roughly a third of its full size with no need for tools. With the push of a button, the 614-AvA collapsed into a cube about a meter square; this feature allowed the 614-AvA to be easily shipped in bulk.[3][2]
The Imperial Army ordered tens of thousands of 614-AvAs to be used by reconnaissance and military police units. For military use, the speeder bikes had some improvements, such as frame reinforcements, more powerful drive-thrusters, and a pair of light blaster cannons.[2]
Overall, the 614 had proven quite successful in Imperial service and had gained a reputation among its pilots as reliable, easy to work on, and easy to live with.[2]
History
An Imperial scout trooper piloting a 614-AvA speeder bike
This militarized Imperial speeder bike model was used by Imperial combat drivers for rapid transit[3] and by scout troopers.[9]
A 614-AvA speeder bike owned by the Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger after he stole it from the Galactic Empire. Bridger acquired the speeder when it became surplus to the Empire, he repainted the speeder to match his own tastes. It had standard steering.[10] He rode the speeder bike during a Raid near Jalath.[11] Following the Liberation of Lothal, Ezra’s speeder bike was owned by Sabine Wren,[12] who modified the speeder.[13] During the New Republic Era, Wren used her new bike to avoid a patrol of E-wing escort fighters, sent by Governor Ryder Azadi, to get her back to the Spectres mural ceremony.[8] The bike was later seen outside the Lothal tower when Ahsoka Tano visited the tower, searching for clues.[14]
Behind the scenes
The design of this speeder bike model was developed from an early illustration by concept artist Joe Johnston in 1979.[3] The length of this vehicle is listed as 3.98 meters in the young reader's book Star Wars Rebels: Head to Head,[5] while the official StarWars.com Databank lists the length as 4.4 meters.[4]
In the Star Wars Rebels episode "An Inside Man," Grand Admiral Thrawn refers to the bike model as a "624 AvA speeder bike."[15]
Appearances
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Non-canon appearances
"Rebel Ruse!" — LEGO Club Magazine September/October 2015- Star Wars: Visions — "Journey to the Dark Head"
- Star Wars: Visions — "The Bandits of Golak"
Sources
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Starships and Speeders
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6
Pablo Hidalgo hosting the Star Wars Rebels Panel at NYCC 2013, part 2. Speeder bike presentation at 14:20. on the [1] YouTube channel (content obsolete and backup link not available)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1
Lothal Speeder Bike in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Star Wars Rebels: Head to Head
- ↑
"Reigniting the Rebellion!" — Star Wars Insider 146
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Star Wars Rebels — "Kindred"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Star Wars: Ahsoka — "Part One: Master and Apprentice"
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels — "Hera's Heroes"
- ↑ Ezra's Speeder Bike in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels — "Call to Action"
- ↑ Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide
- ↑ Sabine's speeder bike in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Ahsoka — "Part Two: Toil and Trouble"
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels — "An Inside Man"
External links
- Pablo Hidalgo hosting the Star Wars Rebels Panel at NYCC 2013, part 2. Speeder bike presentation at 14:20. on the [2] YouTube channel (content obsolete and backup link not available)