Tsmeu-6 personal wheel bike

Production information

Manufacturer

Z-Gomot Ternbuell Guppat Corporation^[1]

Model

Tsmeu-6 personal wheel bike^[2]

Type

Wheeled/Walker^[2]

Cost

15,000 credits^[3]

Technical specifications

Length

3.5 meters^[1]

Height/depth

2.5 meters (wheel diameter)^[1]
3.9 meters (with legs extended)^[1]

Maximum speed

330 km/h while rolling^[1]
10 km/h while on legs^[1]

Sensor systems

None^[4]

Armament

Nd-53 double laser cannon (1)^[1]

Crew

Pilot/gunner (1)^[1]

Passengers

1^[3]

Cargo capacity

10 kg^[3]

Consumables

Fuel: 500 km^[1]

Usage

Availability

Licensed^[3]

Role(s)

Cavalry
Motorized infantry

Affiliation

Confederacy of Independent Systems^[5]

The Tsmeu-6 Personal Wheel Bike was a Separatist ground craft resembling a giant wheel, with four clawed legs hanging from the sides.

Characteristics

Originally created as all-terrain military reconnaissance vehicle and later adopted by civilians for racing, the Tsmeu-6 Personal Wheel Bike could roll on the ground at great speed, crushing enemy soldiers in its path. The legs were engaged whenever the craft needed to climb steep cliffs, especially useful on the sinkhole-filled planet of Utapau.^[5]

History

Grievous's Tsmeu-6 in walking configuration

At least three-wheel bikes were stored in the tenth level of Utapau by the Separatist forces. General Grievous modified his bike by replacing the passenger seat with an Nd-53 double laser cannon. He used his bike while being pursued by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi—who had been sent on a specific mission to either capture or kill the General—on a varactyl named Boga. After a long chase through several tunnels, Obi-Wan got close and jumped onto Grievous's wheel bike. This made Grievous lose control and the wheel bike went into a spin. Both Kenobi and the General were thrown off, and the wheel bike rampaged over the edge of a platform, falling to its destruction.^[6]

The young miner Jann Tosh used a 48 Roller wheel bike, which was a later model of this vehicle that was created near the end of the Clone Wars.^[7]

Behind the scenes

The real-life counterpart to the wheel bike is the Monowheel.

For Episode III, the wheel bike started off as a variety of fearsome vehicular concepts befitting the nasty droid general, such as included tank-like chariots. One idea was that the vehicle itself was an intelligent droid, mirroring Obi-Wan's faithful Boga as a "living" mount for General Grievous.^[8]