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Rules and stats aside, i dont see how a motorbike could possibly be any good in a battle..

Yeah, they're fast, but how hard is it to align those bolters to the target, not to mention the extra guns and swords (extra un-efficient) some marines carry..

Is there an explanation, or are they just cool models?

Technology that we have not discovered yet, and that was not lost after the Dark age of Technology....

40k is never about what's efficient, only what is awesome.

Budgie wrote:Rules and stats aside, i dont see how a motorbike could possibly be any good in a battle..

Yeah, they're fast, but how hard is it to align those bolters to the target

Do you know how much ammunition is expended currently to kill one or two people in a combat situation?

And that's with optics, stable firing bases, etc. It's absurd. Bolters on the bikes aren't supposed to be "super accurate". You fire them in the direction you're driving, more to keep people's heads down than to snipe them down.
The "extra guns and swords" Marines carry...well, they'd usually be stashed somewhere on the bike to be pulled out when necessary. They won't always be driving with a sword in one hand and a bolt pistol in the other.

I've been modeling some bikes for my army recently and put some thought into them as weapons. The interesting part I thought was considering the scale, those bikes are bulky before you consider that the rider is 8 feet tall. Tires are probably around 5ft around. 2, maybe 3ft wide. If those things were coming towards you you'd be more concerned with getting out of the way than whether or not the guy on it was armed.

Also, motorbikes have been used in war for real: http://sandlehobbies.com/database/images/prod_61762.jpg

Raern wrote:I've been modeling some bikes for my army recently and put some thought into them as weapons. The interesting part I thought was considering the scale, those bikes are bulky before you consider that the rider is 8 feet tall. Tires are probably around 5ft around. 2, maybe 3ft wide. If those things were coming towards you you'd be more concerned with getting out of the way than whether or not the guy on it was armed.

Also, motorbikes have been used in war for real: http://sandlehobbies.com/database/images/prod_61762.jpg

In the description for the bikes in one codex it says how it is not uncommon for a marine and his bike to go through a wall and come out fine.

It really helps if you paint the Bikes Black and White, and paint the marine riding it black and white as well.

Lonecoon wrote:40k is never about what's efficient, only what is awesome.

QFT

As noted before, bikes were used in WW2. They make nice scouting platforms, and can work as mobile machine-gun support in light engagements. In the modern world, I'm guessing that the bike is obsolete because of better options for recon like satelites and fast off-roaders.

In 40k, technology seems to vary widely, and several natural fenomena might disrupt satelites etc, necitating (sp?) a more traditional scouting force. When you can put a man that needs a RPG to be taken down on a bike the size of a small car and have him blast about at extreme speeds, rapid firing mini-RPG's I can see the value

They should also work fine for surprise attacks on enemy camps or as a raiding force. Moves quickly, enemy has to keep their heads down as bolters throw a lot of shots their way, and then the marines can dismount and fight on foot to take out the enemy at close range

Speed kills.
Have you seen any of the Dark Angel comics? They use bikes pretty well...well enough to beat Ork face with the back wheel.

Sanctjud wrote:Speed kills.
Have you seen any of the Dark Angel comics? They use bikes pretty well...well enough to beat Ork face with the back wheel.

I loved that comic.

Try not to compare real world bikes to 40k bikes. Or try not to look for too much realism in 40K. Why are space marine scouts the noobs when scouts should be experienced soldiers? Just think of the bikes as being more stable than an earth bike and the rider being an awesome warrior to be able to target an enemy, shoot it, and ride his bike through a battlefield.

Yeah, I sort of agree. Bikes are just cool.

I hate chaos bikes though...Are the loyalist ones 33 points too?

No, loyalist bikes are a quarter of a 100.
But, they do give up the extra close combat weapon or spiky bitz if that's how you see it .