Motorbike roller coaster

Velocity at Flamingo Land, a Vekoma Motorbike roller coaster.

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 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

Motorbike coaster ride vehicle

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 Booster Bike at Toverland in The Netherlands, opened in 2004. A second, Velocity opened at Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo in the United Kingdom. A third, identical to the Booster Bike, opened at Chimelong Paradise in China.

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

Jet Rescue at Sea World is an Intamin motorbike roller coaster with jet ski cars.

Intamin was the second company to come up with a motorbike roller coaster design. Their design utilises drive tires to launch its trains. Currently only four installations exist - two in Australia, one in Denmark, and one will open soon 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 hyrdraulic 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.

The Pony Express at Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, California, in a twist on the once famous Motorcycle Chase of Indian Motorcycles on a Steeplechase roller coaster, now sports a Zamperla Motocoaster styled as horses.

Installations

NameLocationManufacturerTrainsOpened
Booster BikeToverlandVekomaMotorbikes2004[1]
VelocityFlamingo LandVekomaMotorbikes2005[2]
Motorbike Launch CoasterChimelong ParadiseVekomaMotorbikes2006[3]
Mick Doohan's MotocoasterDreamworldIntaminMotorbikes2007[4]
Jet RescueSea World (Australia)IntaminJet Skis2008[5]
Moto CoasterDarien LakeZamperlaMotorbikes2008[6]
Pony ExpressKnott's Berry FarmZamperlaHorses2008[7]
Moto CoasterJinjiang Action ParkZamperlaMotorbikes2009[8]
Moto BalaMundo PetapaZamperlaMotorbikes2010[9]
MotoGeeSärkänniemi Amusement ParkZamperlaMotorbikes2010[10]
Dinosaur MountainsChina Dinosaurs ParkZamperlaPterodactyls2010[11]
SteeplechaseScream Zone Coney IslandZamperlaHorses2011[12]
JuvelenDjurs SommerlandIntaminAll-terrain vehicles2013[13]
TRON Lightcycle Power RunShanghai DisneylandVekomaLight cycles2016[14]
Wave Breaker: The Rescue CoasterSeaWorld San AntonioIntaminJet Skis2017
TRON Lightcycle Power RunMagic KingdomVekomaLight cycles2021

References

  1. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Booster Bike  (Toverland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  2. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Velocity  (Flamingo Land Theme Park & Zoo)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  3. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Motorbike Launch Coaster  (Chimelong Paradise)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  4. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Mick Doohan's Motocoaster  (Dreamworld)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  5. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Jet Rescue  (Sea World)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  6. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Moto Coaster  (Darien Lake)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  7. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Pony Express  (Knott's Berry Farm)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  8. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Moto Coaster  (Jin Jiang Action Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  9. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Moto Bala  (Mundo Petapa)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  10. ↑ Marden, Duane. "MotoGee  (Särkänniemi Amusement Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  11. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Smart Shuttle  (China Dinosaurs Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  12. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Steeplechase  (Scream Zone)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  13. ↑ Marden, Duane. "Juvelen  (Djurs Sommerland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  14. ↑ Marden, Duane. "TRON Lightcycle Power Run  (Shanghai Disneyland)". Roller Coaster DataBase.


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