i was watching a few old cartoons laying around and it got me thinking about the show Biker Mice from Mars.

like i know in that show Mars used to be a planet like earth before but that got me thinking of our real-life world, can you really drive a motorbike on mars? Because that would be so metal if you can

6857037
I guess that depends on what your bike runs on?
If it's a standard Earth motorbike, no it won't because there isn't enough oxygen in Mar's atmosphere to support proper combustion.

6857059
ah ok then, what would be best then for a motorbike to be on mars anyway?

6857063
Probably something electric.

6857063
There are bikes that run on hydrogen fuel cells around. Though they look a little closer to bicycles then proper motorbikes. Would also have to have the pretty heavy infrastructure needed to run them. A combustion engine motorbike could be made to work however it would have to have a secondary oxidiser to run it - a bit like a rocket - basically doubling your fuel needs. A battery powered one could also work with ease but would be pretty limited in range.

Also given the lack of roads it would probably have to be a off road model. It would also have to be a pretty beefy to carry you and your space suit around. Now we're delving into the realms of pure practicality though and we're starting to ask, other then rule of cool, what reason do you have to bring a motorbike to Mars? It's only good for transporting one or two people and not much more equipment then one person could carry by themselves. It lacks the room for life support for any long range activities. Maybe with a sealable side car it could make a plausible rescue vehicle but then why use it over a rover of some sort? To be honest I have a hard time seeing motorbikes making an appearance on Mars before cities do and the need for couriers or the demand for personal vehicles becomes a thing. Could it be done? Sure, as easily as we could send the person to ride it to Mars. Why we would do it though is another question all together. Do let me know if you've got a good answer though!

6857100
Would it need to be all 'That' beefy? Since Mars has lower gravity than Earth?

6857108 Depends on the kind of range you want I guess. The further you want to go the more room you're going to want for fuel/batteries and life support. Not to mention cargo. True you'll have some lenience design wise for weight carrying but it will still need to stand up to all the usual things an off road bike will need to stand up to.

Of course a lot of this also all depends on context. I mean if we're talking about a moderately well populated Mars there'll probably be well marked and compacted dirt roads everywhere which will give you a much more straight forward, obstacle free driving experience thus giving you better range. A heavily populated Mars would end up with highways not too different from Earth's. And if we're talking a couple of hundred years down the line teraforming might have been a thing that worked out in which case have fun biking across Mars with the wind in your hair. If you haven't traded in for a jet bike or something by then.

As a Techmarine, I can confirm that it is possible to drive a Motorcycle on Mars. However, High Speeds are ill recommended and Martian Dust combined with Solar Radiation is highly corrosive and highly toxic and thus should not be attempted.