A motorbike roller coaster is a type of

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

designed with

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

type cars.

Booster Bike :''Note: For 'Booster bicycle' see Electric bicycle Booster Bike is a steel roller coaster located at Toverland in the Netherlands. It is the prototype of a motorbike rollercoaster, built by Vekoma. Design and construction In 2003, Vekoma premi ...

Toverland Attractiepark Toverland is an amusement park located in Sevenum, the Netherlands. It first opened in 2001 as an indoor family entertainment center, operated by the Gelissen Group. In recent years, Toverland has grown into a fully-fledged theme par ...

was the world's first motorbike roller coaster.

Vekoma Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is a Dutch amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld. History The company originally ...

was the first company to design such a ride, although

Intamin Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The Intamin brand name is a syllabic abbreviation for "international amusement ins ...

and

Zamperla Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found in ...

have since created similar designs. A similar but unrelated

Steeplechase roller coaster A Steeplechase roller coaster is a type of roller coaster that has several side-by-side tracks in a dueling "racing" arrangement. Riders straddle horse-shaped single cars and launch simultaneously, as from a horse-race starting line. Examples ...

was

Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and operated by Cedar Fair. In 2015, it was the twelfth-most-visited theme park in North America and averages approximately 4 million visitors per year. It features 40 ...

's Motorcycle Chase by

Arrow Dynamics Arrow Dynamics was an American manufacturing and engineering company that specialized in designing and building amusement park rides, especially roller coasters. Based in Clearfield, Utah, the company was the successor to Arrow Development (194 ...

which opened in 1976. That attraction featured single motorbike themed vehicles racing side-by-side, each on one of four parallel tracks, launched together. It was retrofitted in 1980 as Wacky Soap Box Racers until removed in 1996.

Design

Vekoma

The Vekoma Motorbike Coaster consists of a train with nine cars, each consisting of two motorcycle seats. Each seat was designed to replicate the seating on a motorcycle, and allows free upper body movement. After dispatching from the station, the train is hydraulically launched into a twisting layout. The first Motorbike coaster was the

at Toverland in

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, opened in 2004. A second, Velocity opened at

Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo Flamingo Land is a theme park, zoo, and resort located in Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire, England. Opened in 1959, it has been owned and operated by the Gibb family since 1978. History Flamingo Land Resort was established in 1959 when a cine ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. A third, identical to the Booster Bike, opened at

Chimelong Paradise Chimelong Paradise () is a major amusement park in Panyu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Opened on April 12, 2006, Chimelong Paradise is the largest amusement park in China and boasts the 10 Inversion Roller Coaster, which prior to the o ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The Vekoma Motorbike Coaster concept was demonstrated with the use of the

No Limits No Limits may refer to: Books *''No Limits: The Will to Succeed'', a 2008 biography of Michael Phelps Film, television, and video games *'' Need for Speed: No Limits'', a 2015 mobile racing game in the ''Need for Speed'' franchise * ''No Limits'' ...

roller coaster simulator, and is included as a track style in the commercial version.

Intamin

Intamin was the second company to come up with a motorbike roller coaster design. Their design utilizes

drive tire This list of roller coaster elements contains the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation. Introduction Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. ...

s to launch its trains. Currently, only four installations exist - two in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, one in Denmark, and one in the United States.

Zamperla

The Zamperla Motocoaster consists of a train of six cars instead of nine, but they are set up similarly, two seats side by side per car. Zamperla's coaster uses a flywheel launch instead of a hydraulic launch system. The standard track layout is a 3-layered

figure 8 Figure 8 (figure of 8 in British English) may refer to: * 8 (number), in Arabic numerals Entertainment * ''Figure 8'' (album), a 2000 album by Elliott Smith * "Figure of Eight" (song), a 1989 song by Paul McCartney * '' Figure Eight EP'', a ...

. In 2008 2 MotoCoasters were installed in the United States. The prototype is at

Darien Lake Six Flags Darien Lake is a 1,200-acre (4.86 km2) amusement park and resort located in Corfu, New York, off of Interstate 90 between Buffalo and Rochester. Six Flags Darien Lake features a theme park, water park, campground and lodging. It i ...

near

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. The

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pik ...

Buena Park, California Buena Park (''Buena'', Spanish for "Good") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census its population was 84,034. It is the location of several tourist attractions, namely Knott's Berry Farm. It is about 12 mi ...

, in a twist on the once famous Motorcycle Chase of Indian Motorcycles on a

, now sports a

Motocoaster styled as horses.

Installations

References

External links

Intamin official website

Vekoma official website
Types of roller coaster {{amusement-ride-stub