Ukraine’s Off-Road Advantage — Learning from US Military Motorcycle Tactics

What good are motorcycles in the Ukrainian military? Let’s kick-start this sucker and find out.

US Marines assigned to Reconnaissance Company, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and British Royal Marines Commandos assigned to 40 Commando, currently attached to the 15th MEU, prepare to depart for a raid during the ground interoperability exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, July 24, 2023. Public domain.

I come from a motorcycle family. My father, now elderly, still rides his Harley Davidson every chance he gets.

His brother, my uncle, rides off-road dirt bikes for fun. And his sons, my cousins, compete semi-professionally in high-speed superbike moto racing.

I used to fantasize about owning the Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle in high school, as I’d flip through a brochure secretly in class. One of the key benefits of joining the Army (or so I thought at the time) was that I’d finally have enough money to buy a bike.

But like anything with wheels and an engine, I would learn that there are military applications for motorcycles.

In Ukraine, there is certainly no shortage of war machines on the battlefield — and the motorcycle is having a moment.

Unlike Russia, which has lost around 14,000 armored vehicles and has resorted to using Mad Max-style motorcycles to assault fortified positions, Ukraine plans to use motorcycles in a completely different way.