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 AG 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

See also: 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 AG

See also: Intamin AG

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 two installations exist - both in Australia.

Zamperla

See also: 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.

Pony Express 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

Name	Location	Manufacturer	Trains	Opened
Booster Bike	Toverland	Vekoma	Motorbikes	2004	[1]
Velocity	Flamingo Land	Vekoma	Motorbikes	2005	[2]
Motorbike Launch Coaster	Chimelong Paradise	Vekoma	Motorbikes	2006	[3]
Mick Doohan's Motocoaster	Dreamworld	Intamin AG	Motorbikes	2007	[4]
Jet Rescue	Sea World	Intamin AG	Jet Skis	2008	[5]
Orange County Choppers MotoCoaster	Darien Lake	Zamperla	Motorbikes	2008	[6]
Pony Express	Knott's Berry Farm	Zamperla	Horses	2008	[7]
Moto Coaster	Jin Jiang Action Pa	Zamperla	Motorbikes	2009	[8]
Moto Bala	Mundo Petapa	Zamperla	Motorbikes	2010	[9]
MotoGee	Särkänniemi Amusement Park	Zamperla	Motorbikes	2010	[10]
Smart Shuttle	China Dinosaur Park	Zamperla	Motorbikes	2010	[11]

References

1. ^ Marden, Duane. "Booster Bike  (Toverland)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/2747.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2010. 
2. ^ Marden, Duane. "Velocity  (Flamingo Land Theme Park & Zoo)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/2949.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2010. 
3. ^ Marden, Duane. "Motorbike Launch Coaster  (Chimelong Paradise)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/3418.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2010. 
4. ^ Marden, Duane. "Mick Doohan's Motocoaster  (Dreamworld)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/3950.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2010. 
5. ^ Marden, Duane. "Jet Rescue  (Sea World)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/4293.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2010. 
6. ^ Marden, Duane. "Moto Coaster  (Darien Lake)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/4138.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2010. 
7. ^ Marden, Duane. "Pony Express  (Knott's Berry Farm)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/4089.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2010. 
8. ^ Marden, Duane. "Moto Coaster  (Jin Jiang Action Park)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/4469.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2010. 
9. ^ Marden, Duane. "Moto Bala  (Mundo Petapa)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/4129.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2010. 
10. ^ Marden, Duane. "MotoGee  (Särkänniemi Amusement Park)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/8832.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2010. 
11. ^ Marden, Duane. "Smart Shuttle  (China Dinosaurs Park)". Database Entry. Roller Coaster DataBase. http://www.rcdb.com/9037.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2010.