No, we're not saying that Batman star Christian Bale is French, but when he straps on the Batpod, the actual person riding this motorcycle is French.

Let's go back to the beginning. When the writers came up with the idea of using the Batpod, they produced a motorcycle that was not drivable by mere mortals. Despite the fact that the engine of the Batpod is a Honda 450 CRF, the bike is heavy, almost impossible to turn (there are no handlebars, you need to shift your weight) and no brakes!

Several stuntmen tried, but it was proving impossible. So the producers called the help of one of the most famous motorcycle stuntmen alive, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Goy.

Goy became famous when he did the stunt in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, jumping over a helicopter on his BMW R1200C Cruiser. That was an actual stunt: he did jump over the helicopter on a standard R1200C and even had a pillion passenger!

When Goy arrived on the scene for the Batman movie, he said he was impressed by the Batpod. It's enormous. He had to ride this vehicle at 60 mph, with cars coming at him at 60 mph. Avoiding them without handlebars was a challenge on its own, but he also had a wear a 100 pound Batman suit! According to Goy, the Batpod could barely ride straight and he had to turn it contentiously.

The producers were planning to have him ride on a road on his own, and then later digitize the cars into the picture, but Jean-Pierre Goy wouldn't hear of it. He said he'd do the stunt with real cars driving at him.

Goy spent 6 months working on the stunts (for several minutes of movie scenes...).

When Jean-Pierre Goy is not playing as Batman, he runs a stunt show and a riding school. Goy also holds the world record of the longest wheelie on a motorcycle (137 miles!) and the longest stoppie (383 feet).