Ork Biker. This is a Old piece Karl Kopinski did for forge world games workshop oils on primed watercolour paper.
An Ork Biker in Warhammer 40,000 is the epitome of the Orks’ love for speed, destruction, and overwhelming force. These crazed warriors ride into battle on ramshackle, smoke-belching bikes, embodying the Orks’ natural instincts for brutality, chaos, and a complete disregard for their own safety. Ork Bikers form a crucial part of the “Speed Freeks”—a subculture within Ork society obsessed with going as fast as possible while causing maximum carnage.
The bikes themselves are crude but terrifying machines, cobbled together from whatever scraps and parts the Mekboyz (Ork engineers) could scavenge or loot. These bikes are loud, fast, and heavily armed, boasting massive, oversized engines that spew thick black smoke and flames as they roar across the battlefield. The bikes are typically armed with twin-linked dakkaguns—Ork firearms that fire a high volume of inaccurate but deadly shots. The sheer volume of bullets makes up for any lack of precision, which is entirely in line with the Ork mentality of “more dakka” (more firepower) being the solution to any problem.
The Orks who ride these death machines, known as “Warbikers,” are usually part of an Ork warband’s biker mobs. They’re typically led by a particularly large and vicious Ork, who might even be riding an even more outrageous bike or trukk. Ork Bikers love nothing more than speeding into the thick of the enemy, blasting away with their dakkaguns while laughing maniacally. Once they crash into their foes, they’ll happily charge into close combat, using the momentum of their bikes to smash through infantry lines, or dismount to bash heads with their crude choppas (Ork melee weapons).
The sensation of speed is a key aspect of Ork Bikers’ love for their craft. Speed Freeks, in particular, are driven by an almost obsessive need to outpace everyone and everything, including other Orks. This competition means that the faster and louder their bikes are, the better. Some Biker Boyz attach additional exhaust pipes, extra engines, or spikes and blades to their bikes, not for any practical reason but because it makes the machine look more terrifying or ridiculous.
The roar of Ork bikes charging into battle is often one of the first signs that a Waaagh! (Ork war) is underway. The dust clouds kicked up by their speed, combined with the rattle of their guns and their deafening engines, can terrify their enemies. While their bikes are crude, their unpredictability and sheer aggression make them a deadly threat. Ork Bikers have a habit of running down lightly armored troops and swarming vulnerable vehicles with reckless abandon.
Despite the chaos, Ork Bikers possess a certain low cunning. They make use of their speed to quickly outflank enemies, close gaps between opposing forces, or simply terrorize their foes before the main Ork horde arrives. Their instinctive understanding of fast attack tactics, combined with their hardiness, allows them to shrug off what would be fatal wounds to other species. Even if an Ork Biker is blown off his bike, he’ll likely survive the fall, dust himself off, and run at the enemy laughing, axe in hand.