The Battle
As always, in the immortal words of Michael Buffer:
Both pilots have to be equally skilled in this battle. The location is the most important part of the battle. We’ll feature 2 locations for this battle: an open plain, and a heavily forested area just like Endor. In fact, let’s just call it Endor and be done with it.
Scenario 1: Open Plain
At first, a battle on open grassland with nothing to hide behind seems like it would favor the Speeder Bike. I mean, for Christ’s sake, it’s nearly 4 times faster than the Ghost. The Speeder Bike could easily outrun the Ghost and come in for strafing runs over and over again. It could even vary its altitude to make it harder to hit. And best of all, the Speeder Bike wouldn’t have to worry about any damned trees getting in the way.
The Ghost though, wouldn’t be entirely helpless. It’s able to mount energy shields, and while it’s lightly armored, it actually has armor unlike the Speeder Bike. The Ghost is also pretty quick to turn. Combined with the fact that the Speeder Bike makes a high-pitched screech as it flies that alerts all enemies to its presence and approach, and the Ghost would be easily able to turn around to face the bike as it approaches for an attack run. Even with its standard weapons, the Ghost would easily outgun the Speeder Bike. All the Ghost has to do is land a single shot, and the Speeder Bike turns into a fireball.
The only chance the Speeder Bike would have is the fact that both vehicles have open cockpits. One lucky shot from either one could take the pilot out, and end the battle instantly. The Ghost still has the advantage here though, given that most of the pilot is hidden by the front of the vehicle when it’s turned towards the enemy.
For this scenario, I’d give victory to the Ghost 9 times out of 10. The 1 out of 10 times the Ghost loses is to account for the rare lucky shot the Speeder Bike manages to score on the Ghost pilot.
Scenario 2: Endor
Funnily enough, this scenario is where the Speeder Bike would shine. With all the trees obscuring the view, it’d be hard for an enemy to see an approaching Speeder Bike. The trees would also cause the Speeder Bike’s sounds to bounce all over the place, making it seem as though the screeching is coming from everywhere. This makes it virtually impossible to pinpoint where a Speeder Bike is coming from, unless you’re a Force user with a lightsaber.
Now that most of the Speeder Bike’s disadvantage are neutralized, it’s a much more equal fight. The Speeder Bike could make high speed attack runs on the Ghost’s vulnerable sides and rear, and most of the time the Ghost wouldn’t be able to turn in time to stop it. One hit on the Ghost’s pilot, and it’s game over. The only thing the Speeder Bike has to watch out for are George of the Jungle scenarios.
The only chance the Ghost has is to pick a big tree and hug it like a waifu. If the Ghost takes cover behind a tree, it can not only block shots, but it limits the directions the Speeder Bike could come from. This makes it easier for the Ghost to hide its pilot, and to shoot down the Speeder Bike. Not much easier, but even a little bit would be helpful right now.
Conclusion
The Ghost would win easily in an open battle. As soon as there are trees though, the Speeder Bike gets the upper hand. As long as it can stop trying to hug them at 310 mph, that is.
