A Warbike is a single seat combat motorcycle, ruggedly built for off-road travel, utilised by the barbaric Ork race. Almost every propulsion method imaginable has been encountered on Ork Warbikes, though most mount overcharged Promethium or chem-burning internal combustion engines. The majority of these heavily personalised, ramshackle modes of transportation have two wheels, but tracked bikes and trikes have also been encountered, as well as those modified with skids and tyre chains.
Every Warbike will be heavily personalized, as each Ork regards his bike as his personal steed and is immensely proud of his own tinkering and decoration, or any Mekboy kustom-jobs he has had added. All Warbikes will be emblazoned with glyphs and totems. Extra spikes, horns and wheel scythes are common, along with larger, louder exhausts. The longer the Ork has owned his Warbike, the more adaptations he will have made, with the bike growing over time along with its rider. Hence, an Ork Nob's bike will be a far more impressive machine (to another Ork) than that of a new Biker Boy's. An Ork Warboss' warbike will be larger and more impressive again; such is the natural order of Ork society.
Ork Warbikes are ramshackle devices created from as many parts as possible, designed and maintained by the Mekboyz to fulfill two important Ork urges: to move as fast as possible and to make as much noise while doing so. The bikes are more than a method of delivering Orks into combat -- they also serve as weapon platforms for the so-called Deffgunz, also sometimes called "Dakkagunz," which are heavy weapons not normally mounted on unstable bikes due to the inaccuracy that results. All Warbikes are unusually well-treated by their Ork owners, both due to their tactical power, and because of the sheer enjoyment Orks receive from their speed. In the Ork mind, the only activity exceeding the thrill of riding their mechanical steed at the enemy, side-mounted Deffgunz blazing away, is diving at the troops below in a Fighta-Bommer, unleashing its crude explosives in a hail of destruction and mayhem.
During the Imperial Raid on Kastorel-Novem, Ork Warbikes were a common sight. The Evil Sunz warband of Zhadsnark da Rippa included hundreds of them. They had just arrived on the planet and were in the process of building more Warbikes, Warbuggies and Wartrukks before heading to the front line on Forsarr. Zhadsnark's Boyz fought high-speed running battles with the Tauros-mounted Elysian Drop Troops and the Land Speeders of the Raven Guard Space Marines who carried out the raid.
Armament[]
All Warbikes are armed with large Deffgunz, also sometimes called "Dakkagunz," which are heavy ballistic cannons that possess a fearsome recoil. Mounting such over-powered weapons upon the relatively light Warbike chassis is typical of the Ork mentality. Whilst firing the bike becomes difficult to control, buckling and skidding under the rider as the bullets fly in all directions. To the Greenskin rider, this only increases the excitement. The only limit to this fun is the Deffgun's ammunition supply, which is restricted because of the vehicle's size. Many are the Biker Boyz who have lamented the lack of ammunition forcing them to quit the field.
One "standard" feature (in as much as any Ork vehicle is standardised) of a Warbike is its exhaust. Without exception, each belches a cloud of thick, oily black smoke, and again the more smoke that an engine can churn out, the better the engine is regarded by the Biker Boyz. Some bikes go further, adding an extra smoke generator to the rear of the vehicle. Wherever they travel, Biker Boyz are surrounded by a black smog. Along with the deafening roar of engines, this makes a Biker mob easy to track. To the Orks this is not a problem, they aren't looking to hide anyway!
Kustomisations[]
- Moto-X - A notable kustomisation found on many Warbikes is known as the Moto-X. This involves the replacement of the tyres and tracks on a Warbike with big, knobbly tyres and special spiky tracks that provide increased grip and traction, allowing the Warbike to travel at higher rates of speed across difficult terrain.
- Ooge Xhaust - A favoured kustomisation is the addition of an Ooge Xhaust. This involves the complete customisation of the engine exhaust system of a Warbike, resulting in enormous welded-on exhaust pipes on the Warbike's frame. These exhaust pipes have been specifically designed to make as much noise as possible. Some Mekboyz are so skilled at this kustom-job that they are able to get these exhaust systems to exhude a cacophonous engine note that sounds akin to a half-dozen Battle Cannon shells impacting into the ground. A notable side-effect of this loud auditory assault is that it occasionally fools the enemy into believing they are being attacked by an artillery bombardment, forcing them to seek cover unnecessarily.
Kult of Speed[]
To a greater or lesser extent, all Orks love speed. The thrill of a dangerous wild ride into the heart of battle has a powerful effect upon an Ork's brain. Over time an Ork can become addicted to this thrill and obsessed with riding ever faster until they become what other Greenskins call Speed Freeks. The Kult of Speed is not a formal organisation, just a mish-mash collection of speed-deranged Orks drawn from all the klanz to form highly mobile warbands. The Ork klan with the closest association with the Kult of Speed are the Evil Sunz. By far the greatest number of Speed Freeks come from that klan, which is already predisposed towards fast vehicles and have adopted the old Ork adage, "Red wunz go fasta" as their motto. The Evil Sunz have more Biker Boyz than any other klan, but all the klanz have their own Bikers, because all Orks like the thrill of careening into battle atop a motorised steed.
Warbikers function as outriders and shock troops for the main horde of Greenskins in an Ork mob. The pall of exhaust and oily smoke thrown up by their vehicles helps to conceal their advance, giving them a measure of protection from enemy guns. Some Warbiker tribes have even been known to use controlled skids to communicate messages back to their fellows by sending up clouds of dust. The Flaming Skull tribe goes one step further, and are allegedly able to synchonise the skids of their bikes so precisely that when enemy aircraft pass overhead they are greeted by trails of oily smoke and dust that spell out, "Zog Off."
Notable Biker Boyz[]
- Wazdakka Gutsmek - Considered the greatest Ork Biker Boy of them all, Wazdakka Gutsmek sits astride a turbo-powered monstrosity that used to be a Warbike but is now something far worse. Known as the "Bike of the Aporkalypse," this monstrous Warbike has been modified so extensively that it is far more powerful (and even more dakka-looking) than a standard Warbike.
- Warboss Gazbag - A notorious Speed Freek Warboss, Gazbag possessed a formidable Warbike known as his "Blitzbike." This bike is an absolute monster. Although repeatedly stolen, patched up, kustomised and sold on, the warbike's core is the same. Its hugely overcharged engines and energy-shooting kustom dakkablastas render its rider a force of deadly destruction.
- Warboss Zhardsnark, "da Rippa" - Zhardsnark is a grizzled veteran of numerous warzones and countless battles, not only against the forces of the Imperium of Man, but other xenos races and his own kind. Zhardsnark was one of the more experienced and powerful Ork Warbosses on the Ork World of Kastorel-Novem at the time of the Imperial raid on that planet, and his large Evil Sunz warband was in the thick of the fighting. For an Ork Warboss he is lightly armoured, a trait of the Evil Sunz Bikers, who prefer speed and mobility over armoured protection. Zhardsnark's sobriquet refers to his personal weapon of choice, "da Rippa." It is a cutom-built, gauntlet-mounted, armoured buzzsaw. This Warboss' favorite combat tactic is to hack at the enemy with "da Rippa" while making high speed drive-bys on his large, fully customised, half-tracked Warbike, called "da Beast."
Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications[]
The Ordo Xenos has not yet released the technical specifications for this vehicle.
Sources[]
- Codex: Orks (4th Edition), pp. 46, 60
- Codex: Orks (3rd Edition), pg. 14
- Imperial Armour Volume Eight - Raid on Kastorel-Novem, pp. 28-29, 38, 61, 143-146
- White Dwarf 192 (UK), "Ork Warbikes"
- Forge World: Ork Nob Warbikes
- Forge World: Ork Warboss on Warbike
- Games Workshop Online Catalogue: Ork Warbiker Mob