Death Stranding bikes and vehicles explained: How to charge the bike with a generator, repair vehicles and get new vehicles explained

Publish date: 2023-02-27

Death Stranding bikes are a useful way of exploring the world - allowing you to traverse yourself and your precious cargo much faster than on foot.

You'll spend the majority of Episode 2 without it, though as you approach the Distribution Center West of Capital Knot City for the first time, you'll spot your first ever bike.

These and other Death Stranding vehicles require a few steps before you can get your hands on them - but you'll be riding them before you know it.

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Death Stranding Director's Cut PS5: The Digital Foundry Tech Review

If you're looking for more from the critical path, our Death Stranding walkthrough can help.

How to get your first bike in Death Stranding by using a generator at the Distribution Center West of Capital Knot City

On arrival to Distribution Center West of Capital Knot City in Episode 2, you'll notice a bike sitting outside.

However, when you approach, you notice the option to ride the bike is disabled, with the message "This bike isn't charged, and therefore can't be used".

What this means is it requires a Generator to get it up and running.

The solution to this is simple - continue playing the game. Continue taking key orders until you complete Order 9: Power Supply Unit Delivery: Wind Farm, which sees you unlock the Wind Farm to the north.

Once that's done, not only do you add power to the Chiral Network, but you unlock the ability to create a Generator using a Level 1 PCC.

Complete this order and make your way back to the Distribution Center West of Capital Knot City, then open a PCC next to the bike. As a reminder, you need to press and hold Right on the D-Pad, select it from the menu, then while the PCC is equipped, press Down on the D-Pad until it appears.

Position the Generator so the bike is within range, then construct. Once built, the bike will charge up, allowing you to take it on the road.

How to get more bikes and other vehicles in Death Stranding

In Episode 2, the bike you find in Distribution Center West of Capital Knot City is the only one you'll get - and you cannot take it to the region in Episode 3.

This means, despite the luxury previously afforded to you by your own set of wheels, you have to start exploring this new region on foot.

However, it won't take long until you get a vehicle again. If you're particularly keen, you can raid the Mule camp that's between the Elder and Craftsman locations on the map, where there are several Mule trucks you can steal.

Though you cannot recharge or repair Mule trucks in a garage, a Generator can at least fuel it up as you explore.

Keep playing either way, and you'll soon have the ability to create your own bikes at major UCA hubs (wherever you'd find a Private Room and a Garage). This is when you complete Order 23 - Retrieval: System Server - which rewards you with two design schematics - Reverse Trike and Reverse Trike: Long Range. Order 35, meanwhile, gives you the Truck design.

Finally - there's also the chance to find vehicles left behind by other players in Garages - worth a look before you fabricate any to save you on materials.

Tomorrow is in our hands - again! Learn about the Director's Cut's new features, including new story missions, a racing mode, Half-Life missions and how to transfer saves to PS5. Our main Death Stranding walkthrough outlines how to play through the story, including Episode 3 missions, the Small Thermonuclear Device and how to find a way to change Lockne's mind As you play, you can find Memory Chip locations, learn how Death Stranding multiplayer works.

How to repair and recharge vehicles in Death Stranding

Vehicles in Death Stranding operate on electricity, so if you run out of power in the wild, you need to create a Generator (or make use of one created by someone else in Death Stranding multiplayer) to get you going again.

Juice runs out faster if you explore on rough terrain, wet ground and, in particular, going through water. You'll want to avoid these as much as you can to keep going for longer, so try and use flat surfaces (especially roads) if possible.

Like cargo, vehicles can be damaged in the rain, so avoid leaving it out as much as possible.

To repair a UCA vehicle, then take it to a garage at a larger UCA centre. No, your handheld Container Repair Spray won't do the trick.

You can take a vehicle to a garage by parking them on the large circle at the bottom of the ramp, then heading to your Private Room.

In the cutscene that follows, Sam will get on the elevator with the bike, and the next time you appear in the base after using the room, it'll be ready to go. Mule trucks, meanwhile, cannot be taken into garages.

Final tip worth mentioning - if you want to get cargo off of a vehicle, then park it as close as possible to the delivery terminal, and it should appear in any cargo management menus.

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