Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann

Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann

Year: 1982

Runtime: 94 mins

Language: English

Western

Champion off‑road racer Lyle Swann is accidentally hurled a century back to 1877, where his modern skills make him an oddity. After a gang of outlaws steals his motorcycle, he must outfox them, resist the charms of a beautiful local woman, and rely on his wits and a crude map salvaged from an old Exxon station to navigate the lawless frontier, stay alive, and find a way back to his own time.

Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview

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In the blistering heat of a modern desert race, Lyle Swann has earned a reputation as a fearless off‑road champion, pushing both machine and body to their limits. A split‑second miscalculation sends his high‑tech Yamaha careening not just off the course but through an experimental time‑warp, dumping him far from the familiar dunes and into the uncharted wilds of November 1877. The sudden shift leaves him alone on an unfamiliar plain, his sleek bike the only link to a world that now feels like a distant dream.

The frontier of 1877 is a stark contrast of dusty roads, wooden storefronts, and a community clinging to the rhythms of a hard‑earned existence. The locals stare in bewilderment at the luminous paint and roaring engine of Swann’s motorcycle, a relic that looks more like sorcery than transportation. The atmosphere is thick with the scent of gunpowder and pine, the horizon edged by rolling mesas that seem to swallow sound, creating a world where modern precision feels out of place and survival depends on instinct as much as skill.

Amidst this rugged backdrop, Swann encounters a striking woman whose presence adds both tenderness and tension to his disorienting journey. Her knowledge of the land and its hidden pathways becomes a compass for a rider lost in time, while the curiosity she sparks forces him to weigh his own desires against the practical need to return home. Complicating matters, a hostile group of outlaws recognizes the value of his futuristic machine and attempts to claim it, prompting Swann to rely on his quick thinking, a rough map salvaged from an abandoned station, and a blend of modern ingenuity with frontier grit.

The film weaves the roar of a high‑speed engine with the quiet, relentless wind of the Old West, creating a tone that is equal parts exhilarating chase and thoughtful survival. It asks what a lone racer must become when stripped of his era’s comforts, and how the clash of two wildly different worlds can spark both danger and unexpected alliances.

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 16:21

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Time-Travel Comedies like Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann

Modern characters flung into the past, causing chaos with their strange technology.If you enjoyed the culture clash and high jinks of Timerider, you'll like these movies where modern characters are thrown into the past. Discover similar films about time-travel mishaps, fish-out-of-water scenarios, and humorous adventures in historical settings.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative typically follows a chase or quest structure, driven by the protagonist's need to recover a key object or person and solve the puzzle of returning to their own time. Along the way, they encounter locals who view them with a mix of awe and suspicion, leading to comedic misunderstandings and action-packed sequences.

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These films are grouped together by their shared core premise, which generates a specific blend of action, comedy, and light sci-fi. They maintain a playful, adventurous tone where the central conflict is less about world-ending stakes and more about a personal, often frantic, journey through time.

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Where futuristic technology collides with the gritty lawlessness of the frontier.Fans of Timerider's mix of motorcycles and six-shooters will enjoy these sci-fi western films. Explore movies that combine futuristic concepts with western tropes, featuring outlaws, frontiers, and the creative collision of advanced technology with a lawless past.

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Narrative Summary

The plot often revolves around a conflict over a piece of advanced technology or knowledge that has entered the western setting. This central object becomes a MacGuffin that both heroes and villains pursue, leading to chase sequences and showdowns that blend traditional western action with sci-fi elements.

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This thread unites films through their unique genre hybridity. They share a specific aesthetic and feel, balancing the adventurous spirit and rugged individualism of westerns with the wonder and speculative ideas of science fiction, resulting in a fun, energetic, and distinctive viewing experience.

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann

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