Motorcycles & ATVs in T2k

[Homer]

The M-Gator started to get fielded in US Army in the mid-late 90s. The gator itself existed, so they might get rushed into service early.

Military motorcycles, Honda or Kawasaki dirt bikes with suitable paint and blackout drive lights, have been in and out of vogue in the conventional army. They were issued in recon units in the 80s, to include combat in Grenada. However, they were pulled back as accident rates increased and doctrine changed. They remained in specialized roles and in SOF, most notably in SF ground mobility teams and with the Ranger Regiment.

Polaris quads got rolled out in the late 90s. One of the early places you’d see them was with AFSOC who used them to support PJ and CCT units during CSAR and airfield seizure.

[Raellus]

I'm constantly impressed with the amount of knowledge on this forum.

Prompted by Swag's mention of ATVs, the thread title's been amended. It also jogged my memory- Plate E1 in Osprey Elite's Panama 1989-1990 features a Kawasaki ATV, apparently used by scouts of the 7th ID (Light). Viva Volstad!

Back to motorbikes, I used the forum search function to look for threads about motorcycles before starting a new [this] one. A couple of ancillary thread results popped up.

Teg posted this find 9 years ago (a diesel-powered dirtbike for the USMC):

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/a...AKI.html?_r=1&

And Paul M pointed out that, originally, each M3 Bradleys (the CAV scout version) was supposed to carry a dirtbike for its scout team.

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[Homer]

Originally Posted by Raellus

I'm constantly impressed with the amount of knowledge on this forum.

Prompted by Swag's mention of ATVs, the thread title's been amended. It also jogged my memory- Plate E1 in Osprey Elite's Panama 1989-1990 features a Kawasaki ATV, apparently used by scouts of the 7th ID (Light). Viva Volstad!…

And Paul M pointed out that, originally, each M3 Bradleys (the CAV scout version) was supposed to carry a dirtbike for its scout team.

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The “ninja bikes” as they were sometimes known were discussed in Zaloga’s Osprey Vanguard book on the M2/M3. They were removed from design when it was realized that you’d be putting tank full of MOGAS inside the troop compartment!

So the bikes stayed on in light/motorized/airborne units scout platoons and ground cav platoons instead. A lot of them ended up being transferred to SF. Regiment kept the theirs, and the Very Special Forces just buy what they want.

Anecdotally a big draw for 19D in the 90s was the commercial with the guys riding dirt bikes. They didn’t show the motor pool, pulling ammo pad detail at gunnery, or sitting on the screen line while the rest of the battalion is eating hot chow in the assembly area. YACYAS!

[swaghauler]

For those who are going "Ural motorcycle?" Here's a walkaround of a 2022 model.

https://youtu.be/qDY9lYOPFY4


Swag

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Homer

So the bikes stayed on in light/motorized/airborne units scout platoons and ground cav platoons instead. A lot of them ended up being transferred to SF. Regiment kept the theirs, and the Very Special Forces just buy what they want.

In our motor pool at the 82nd, we had two dirt bikes, but they were never used in training, and we didn't take them to Desert Shield/Storm.

[Homer]

Yep- apparently they declined in use pretty quickly. A series of accidents in the 90s killed the last of them in the conventional force.

[ToughOmbres]

The 9th Light Motorized (High Technology Test Bed) Division used them briefly as well. The engine noise didn't endear them to everyone and as the previous poster noted accidents didn't help.

Motorcycles certainly gave scouts a certain panache' but it didn't mesh well with doctrine and reality.

[Targan]

Back in the 90s I had friends serving in the Australian Army's 2nd Cavalry Regiment and they had big off-road motorcycles then. I'm not sure if they still use off-road bikes, but the Australian Army has been testing electric bikes for stealthy recon use.

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by Homer

The M-Gator started to get fielded in US Army in the mid-late 90s. The gator itself existed, so they might get rushed into service early.

Military motorcycles, Honda or Kawasaki dirt bikes with suitable paint and blackout drive lights, have been in and out of vogue in the conventional army. They were issued in recon units in the 80s, to include combat in Grenada. However, they were pulled back as accident rates increased and doctrine changed. They remained in specialized roles and in SOF, most notably in SF ground mobility teams and with the Ranger Regiment.

Polaris quads got rolled out in the late 90s. One of the early places you’d see them was with AFSOC who used them to support PJ and CCT units during CSAR and airfield seizure.

Also, the aerial port elements that set up supply at forward airfields used Kawasaki ATV's. At least they did in the mid 90's, they were attached to my squadron at the time.