Bike

The newest addition to the GTA family of transportation is the bicycle. Ok, ok, try not to laugh - you won’t often be jumping out of a car to pick up a bike, but a few missions will require you to use them, so you might as well learn how they work.

Obtaining One
You can get a bike in much the same way as you can a motorcycle, but getting a bike is even easier, due to the fact that they’re much slower than motorcycles. In most cases, people will ride slowly enough for you to pop them in the head with your pistol as they ride by, although you can, of course, just hit the triangle button to throw them off the ride and take it for yourself; either way, you’ll have a shiny new bike for yourself.

Driving One

If you’re familiar with the motorcycle mechanics of Vice City, you shouldn’t have any trouble with the bikes. The one new inclusion is that you can tap X repeatedly to go faster, just like when you sprint; as with sprinting, though, you can’t do this forever, since you’ll eventually get tired out. As with motorcycles, it’s fairly easy to get thrown off a bike, especially if you hit something head-on, or get twisted around in mid-air and land awkwardly. You’ll also have a lower speed than most other vehicles while you’re on a bike, and will be completely open to enemy gunfire.

Techniques

Bunny Hop: Bikes are unique, in that they’re the only vehicle in which you can make jumps while riding over a flat surface. Anything can hit a ramp for monster air, but only a bike can hop over small obstacles in your path. Remember, though, if you drop too far, you’ll get thrown off the bike. To hop, hold L1 and release it when you’re near whatever you want to clear.

Motorcycle

Obtaining One
Motorcycles are a bit trickier to obtain than cars, if only because the people who ride them tend to make smaller targets and will often weave their way around you if you attempt to block their path with your body. It’s usually easier to jack them while they’re stopped at a light, or to just shoot them off of the bike, then take it for yourself. It’s quickest to jack a bike from the front, where CJ will execute a swift little kick to the driver and take off with tires squealing.

Driving One
Driving a motorbike is much unlike a car, mostly in the way that they handle. While there are a number of different types of motorcycles, including choppers and highway cruisers, the ones you’re going to be looking out for are the sport bikes and dirtbikes. While they will leave you exposed to fire while you ride, bikes give you a benefit of high maneuverability, good acceleration, and relative durability.

• In order to turn on the sportbikes, you’ll need to rely on your handbrake (the R1 button). Pressing the normal brake button will prevent you from making sharp turns, which is one of the reasons that you’re riding one, isn’t it?
• Be careful to avoid collisions while on a bike, as any shock too severe will send you flying over the handlebars. You take less damage from these impacts than you did in Vice City, though, so if you’re just running around a city, don’t be too cautious.
• One of the advantages of motorcycles is that they can accelerate very quickly compared to most cars. You can use this to make some of the unique jumps that have a short run-up space.

Techniques

Stoppie: While on a bike, press forward to shift your weight in that direction, then hit the brake (normal, not handbrake). If you’re on a crotch rocket, you should see your rear wheel lift up into the air for a few minutes. The longer you keep it off the ground, the more money you’ll get when it touches down; this is a good way to make small amounts of cash early in the game.

Wheelie: This is essentially the same thing as a stoppie, save that you’re lifting your front wheel, and you have to keep it up while tapping on the gas. It’s much more difficult to do than a stoppie; just make sure you don’t tip too far backwards, or you’ll fall off.

Drive-By: The main difference between car drive-bys and bike drive-bys is the way that you can shoot forward with your SMG. This can be a big help if you’re using a police bike to do Vigilante missions; just follow behind your target and unload on it until it catches alight.