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Set Name: 8420 Lego Street Bike
Theme: Technic
Released: 2005
Pieces: 506
Price: $49.95/39.99euro/35.45pounds
Wanna see some pictures? Let's start with the normal box arts and manuals!
8420 Box art front
I had to borrow the box art as I threw away my old box. Not bad picture although I think a different angle might have been better.
8272 Instruction books
Only one book. Kind of thick. Half of it is for building this bike. The other half is for the alternate set. A "Low rider" type bike. See picture below.
Alternate set- Low Rider
I never built this alternate. I was a sport bike kind of person. But..The more I look at this, the better it looks. Very low.
8420 Part list page
The parts list. I love the tires. They are large and very bike tire-ish. The front is thin low profile tire, and the rear is a fat low profile tire.
The build
Below is a new concept which I will try from time to time. It's a contact sheet of the build. You can click on the photo for the full size picture. Warning, it is large.
The build sheet
(Click on photo to view full size 2400x300)
Here is a contact sheet of 18. Yes, 18 build shots. This should give you an idea of how it was put together without ruining the fun of making it yourself.
The build shouldn't take too long for someone building technic sets. This is much harder to put together than the Snow Mobile that I reviewed earlier. There are tighter fitting and smaller parts in this set. More than once I had to use a flat surface to push a rod into place. Besides that, there wasn't anything difficult.
Features
For a bike, which looked like a wire frame, there is a lot of parts to this. My friend commented how real it looks until you examine it closely. He said, "Where's the gas tank? How does the muffler connect to the engine?" He's right, it has none. And the muffler doesn't connect to anything. As a detailed model, it's very good. As a realistic model, it's not.
I so love the tires. They actually made bike tires. As I said elsewhere, the fronts are lower profile and thinner than the rear. Which are low profile, but really wide. Awesome. The mono shock and spring works well. And the ability to adjust the spring to give it a tighter rebound and lower stance to the bike helps a lot for looks. In the final shots, I have the shock/spring set to "open" so the bike stands up taller.
The handlebar does turn the front wheel and the rear wheel does move the chain and pistons move up and down.
No decals. I don't think it came with any. Or I never put them on. It's not in any photos.
And here finally is the completed shots.
Side view
Sweet! Come on... I know you like it. :) 4 cylinder engine, kick stand, real bike tires not from a car. The shock is adjustable too! You can rotate the ring on it to give more compression if you wanted. Look disk brakes.
Front view
The windshield has non-sticker decals. I also love how the front wheel doesn't use a normal fork steering.
Rear view
Rear shot. Big fat tire. Now that looks like sport bike. I would've picked smaller mufflers, but I don't think there's a compromise Lego piece.
Top view
Oh look, there's a seat. Hmm. I would've stuck on some black smooth 1x5 strips over the dots. But I heard Lego goes out of its way to show the "dots" as proof it's Lego. Hmm, now that my friend told me, not seeing the gas tank is throwing me off.
Underside view
Yes, I flipped it over for a photo. That front gear you can see just behind the front wheel does rotate when the engine pistons move up and down. And that kickstand does fold up.
Closeup view of rear wheel
It just looks right. I even like the disk brake thats in there. Again, not the conventional fork holding the rear wheel.
Closeup of engine area
In this view, you can see the detail they put into this bike. You can see the cylinder heads, the brake handles on the handle bars. Even the sleek looking rear view mirrors.
Issues
Besides the whole not-being-authentic-to-a-real-bike, nothing except the kick stand. while very beefy looking, doesn't seem to hold up the bike very well. Really wobbly.
Final thoughts
I think this is a must buy. I would buy another just for parts if I could get it at the price I paid. $69, which is what it goes for now is OK if you don't already have it. Good for the tires.
To see the full size pictures, please goto my flicker site: Street Bike Pictures
My rating:
Playability: 4 out of 5. Works like a toy bike. I wouldn't fling it down the stairs, but its good.
Design: 4.5 out of 5. So close. They should make a UC version of this. :)
Build experience: 3 out of 5. On a technic scale. It's a little harder than the snow mobile. But you don't need to be in high-school to build it.
Overall: 4.5 of 5. Buy it if you like bikes or a good technic set.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!
The wheels look quite a bit larger than the old bikes, and I believe that big shock absorber is adjustable. Maybe I'll try to find it on ebay.
