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-resistan ...

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 ...

designed with

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

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 ...

at Toverland was the world's first motorbike roller coaster. Vekoma 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 have since created similar designs. A similar but unrelated Steeplechase roller coaster was Knott's Berry Farm's Motorcycle Chase by Arrow Dynamics 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 ci ...

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 ...

. A third, identical to the Booster Bike, opened at Chimelong Paradise in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The Vekoma Motorbike Coaster concept was demonstrated with the use of the 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 (rail transport), tra ...

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

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, 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. In 2008 2 MotoCoasters were installed in the United States. The prototype is at Darien Lake 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 Sou ...

. 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 Pike ...

at Knott's Berry Farm,

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 m ...

, in a twist on the once famous Motorcycle Chase of Indian Motorcycles on a Steeplechase roller coaster, now sports a Zamperla

Motocoaster A motorbike roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster designed with motorcycle type cars. Booster Bike at Toverland was the world's first motorbike roller coaster. Vekoma was the first company to design such a ride, although Intamin and Z ...

styled as horses.

Installations

References

External links

Intamin official website

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