...turn right, no left
who’s driving?
As Bond and Wai Lin rush from Carver’s office building in Vietnam, still handcuffed, they continue their escape stealing a BMW R1200C. With one of the spies operating the accelerator, and the other the clutch, they are pursued through urban Ho Chi Min City by Carver’s henchmen. The BMW outmaneuvers the chase cars as Wai Lin and Bond awkwardly cooperate to save their lives even riding across rooftops where the cars cannot follow. Carver’s helicopter with a machine-gun wielding crew changes the odds of survival. Bond makes a daring rooftop jump over the helicopter on the BMW, crashing through the roof of the apartment on the other side of the street. The helicopter eventually traps the pair in a dead end. As the helicopter approaches, nose leaning forward, rotors blocking any obvious escape, Bond and Wai Lin grab a bolt attached dangling clotheslines. 007 guns the BMW towards the chopper, droping the bike to slide under the rotor blades unscathed. Tossing the bolt and line into the tail rotor precipitates the helicopter’s fiery doom.
Vic Armstrong was stunt coordinator for the film, and his wife Wendy Leach stunt-doubled for Wai Lin behind Jean-Pierre Goy doubling Bond. For safety reasons, a dummy replaced Wendy as Goy performed the jump over the helicopter and the slide under the rotor blades.
“I didn’t want to resort to the standard use of a motorcross bike, which is convenient for jumps and tricks," said second unit director Vic Armstrong. "Instead, we went for the biggest, heaviest, and most unwieldy bike—the BMW R1200C Cruiser—and I built the chase around it." With a man and woman on it, the bike weighs nearly 900lbs, hardly the normal stunt bike of choice.
This is a 2-cylinder 1170 cc bike. Four were used in Bangkok and four were used in England. This particular bike is one of four known to have survived. The Ian Fleming Foundation acquired this motorcycle in Germany from someone who purchased it directly after production of the film was completed.
This BMW R1200C is in good running condition, although leaping helicopters with it is not recommended.
More information and images here.