Between Daryl Dixon's (Norman Reedus) effortless crossbow-wielding, strong-and-silent demeanor, and his signature angel wings, he's easily the coolest resident of "The Walking Dead" universe. So it makes sense that he gets not one but two of the best — and most practical — rides in the post-Wildfire world, starting off with a vintage Triumph 650 Bonneville chopper he inherits from his brother Merle (Michael Rooker) that he later trades in for a Daryl Dixon custom.
Daryl's first bike shows up hanging around the back of the truck he eventually drives to the CDC in Season 1. Although he starts driving it in Season 2, the saddlebag contents — which include the blue meth that famously connects "The Walking Dead" to "Breaking Bad" — and what looks an awful lot like Nazi symbology stuck to the tank serve as reminders that this was Merle's bike before his brother took over. Although that bike's fate is never shown on screen, the intros for Seasons 9 through 11 hint that the chopper is still rotting away somewhere near the prison.
As the cast and crew began talking about Season 5, Norman Reedus had one burning question on his mind — whether Daryl would be getting another motorcycle. "I've been a man without a horse for a little bit," Reedus mused in an AMC extra. Fortunately, Daryl wouldn't have to wait long to see his chopper replaced with a Frankensteined bike version of a 1992 Honda Nighthawk.
Daryl Dixon's chopper
One of the things that makes Daryl's first bike so iconic is its signature "ape hangers" — a classic feature of the American chopper, a style of motorcycle popularized during the 1960s. Affordable British bikes like the Triumph were often used because of their versatility and robust engines. The bike itself — which eagle-eyed viewers have noted subtly changes at some point during the series — is a Bonneville custom from sometime between the late 1960s and mid-'70s.
Speaking on the YouTube channel theAFICIONAUTO, David McGee of the prop replica group The Rolling Dead recalled, "My understanding — this bike was bought off Craigslist and was never meant to be part of the show on a permanent basis." According to McGee, the original Triumph was in bad shape and fairly rusted out.
The bike's "SS bolt" sticker, a Nazi reference, fits the tough, racist persona of its first owner, Merle. But it also bears a double meaning as the symbol of the late Dixon's Savage Sons Motorcycle Club, as seen in the first-person shooter game "The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct."
Creating Daryl Dixon's motorcycle
Although Daryl leaves his first bike at the prison to become post-apocalyptic landscaping after the end of Season 4's "Too Far Gone," it isn't long before he gets to make a new one. Just as Daryl's first bike reflected Merle's personality, the show's producers knew this bike had to be uniquely Daryl's. "We talked about different ideas and maybe a bike that wasn't quite a stock bike," Executive Producer Tom Luse recalled.
Fortunately, Reedus knew just who to turn to. A bike rider himself, Reedus had commissioned a trail-friendly custom Yamaha XV920R from John and Betsy Ryland at Classified Moto, a bike shop known for mixing old and new parts. "I know the perfect guy for this," Reedus says he told showrunner Scott Gimple. "His bikes have this sort of [...] Frankenstein look to them. It seems like lots of different bikes put together." Gimple, who loved the idea, worked closely with the Classified Moto team to nail every detail on a Daryl-worthy ride. "We just wanted something that looked utilitarian like it could go through anything," Ryland recounted. At the same time, they wanted the bike to have the personal flair of a bike Daryl had put together.
The TV production aspect required the custom team to make two bikes, both identical copies of Daryl's one-of-a-kind ride, a 1992 Honda CB750 Nighthawk with a Yamaha YZF-R6 front end, Kenda Big Block tires, custom leather upholstery, and modified exhaust with custom baffles. After putting the frame together, the team outfitted Daryl's bike with plenty of hooks and clipsfor transporting loot. Next, they powder-coated the frame to give it the durability needed for post-apocalyptic runs and finished with a super cool rack for Daryl's crossbow to snap into.
