The film Ben Hur came out in 1925 (no, not that one, this one) and inspired a surge of interest in a new type of daredevil sport: motorcycle chariot racing!
The sport, developed in Australia in the 1920s, quickly spread to Europe and the United States. At first, the motorcycles actually had riders and the charioteers were basically just for show. But in later versions of the sport, the charioteer actually steered the motorcycle with reins attached to the throttles.
Interest in motorcycle chariot racing died out in the 1930s, long before the rise of post-apocalyptic movies like Mad Max could fuel its popular appeal.