Made by the Aratech Repulsor company, speeder bikes are used throughout the galaxy by all beings. Their uses vary from personal transports to recreational vehicles. When the Empire saw how fast they were, the bikes were then used for military means.
Speeder bikes can achieve speeds of up to five hundred kilometres an hour, making them excellent scout and ground reconnaissance vehicles. They are extremely manoeuvrable, more so than airspeeders. This means that terrain that would normally stop air- and landspeeders presents no problems to speeder bikes. Normally the bikes fly around twenty-five metres above ground.
Imperial scouts normally used the Aratech 74-Z bikes, although they had access to the entire range of bikes available. They picked this particular model because they found it easier to handle and it was faster. The 74-Z could also go for thousands of kilometres before needing any maintenance.
The foot pedals on the bikes usually control the speed, which also have altitude controls built into them. On inspection of the bikes, two outriggers are seen, which end in four forward steering vanes. The hand grips contain controls for manoeuvring, while communications and sensors are taken care of in a panel located in front of the saddle. This panel also contains controls for the single blaster cannon located underneath the bike. Cargo can be stored in a compartment beneath the seat. The control panel can be configured according to the bikers’ specific needs.
The undercarriage of the bike is split into to parts. The forward section contains manoeuvring controls, which are linked to the directional vanes. This also houses the blaster cannon. The rear of the undercarriage houses the power cell and repulsorlift engine.
The Empire dictated that speeder bike groups, called lances, be made up of four biker scouts and a sergeant commander. For patrols and field operations, lance normally broke off into two groups, which meant that much more ground was covered. The scouts were told to avoid combat, as they had to report back to base. They were also used as spies on Rebel bases prior to a full-scale attack, as the speed of their bikes meant they could escape within seconds. For patrolling, biker scouts were particularly effective, as they could rout out entrenched Rebel teams, hidden ready for a surprise attack.
