It was the first film to receive an X rating in the United States under the newly introduced system, and was recut by Warner Bros. for an R and reissued as Naked Under Leather.

THE GIRL ON A MOTORCYCLE (1968) was directed by Jack Cardiff, who was one of the greatest cinematographers in the history of British cinema, the man behind The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus and The African Queen. He also served here as his own cinematographer, which gave him complete control over a film whose entire reason for existing is how it looks.

The actress originally cast was Susan Denberg, who had appeared dubbed in Frankenstein Created Woman. By the time production began, she had succumbed to drug addiction and was unavailable. Her replacement was chosen for her beauty and her celebrity. Her name was Marianne Faithfull.

Based on a 1963 novel by André Pieyre de Mandiargues, which was itself based loosely on the exploits of a real German journalist and endurance racer named Anke-Eve Goldman, the film follows Faithfull's Rebecca riding a Harley-Davidson Electra Glide across Europe from her husband's bed to her lover's arms, narrating her erotic reveries in voice-over while the landscape solarizes around her.

Faithfull's riding double for medium and distant shots was Bill Ivy, British Grand Prix motorcycle champion. The police blocked roads across France and Germany so Cardiff could film uninterrupted. The leather catsuit, made by John Sutcliffe and worn with nothing underneath, became one of the defining images of its moment. The executive producer was Ronan O'Rahilly, owner of pirate radio station Radio Caroline.

Faithfull later called the original British cut "soft porn." It was the sixth highest-grossing film in Britain that year.