A motorbike roller coaster or motorcycle 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.
17-469: A similar but unrelated Steeplechase roller coaster was Knott's Berry Farm 's Motorcycle Chase by Arrow Dynamics which opened in 1974 . 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 before removed in 1996. The Vekoma Motorbike Coaster consists of a train with nine cars, each consisting of two motorcycle seats. Each seat
34-464: A Pacific storm. However, the special effect failed to work as intended, and remained inoperable for most of the ride’s service life. After both trains exited the station, they headed up a 69-foot (21 m) chain lift hill. A right turn led into a drop on both tracks. After reaching the bottom of each drop, both sides reached a maximum speed of 40 mph (64 km/h) before entering a vertical loop . The trains went through several turns and drops and
51-633: A dueling "racing" arrangement. Riders straddle horse-shaped single cars and launch simultaneously, as from a horse-race starting line. The Steeplechase at Blackpool Pleasure Beach is the last remaining example of a steeplechase roller coaster still in operation. Motorcycle Chase was a modernized steeplechase roller coaster built at Knott's Berry Farm in 1976 featuring single motorbike-themed vehicles racing side by side, each on one of four parallel tracks, launched together. One or two riders straddled each "Indian motorcycle" attraction vehicle. The tubular steel monorail track closely followed dips and bumps in
68-404: A few weeks of operation, the ride needed several major repairs costing over $ 2 million. It also quickly gained a negative reputation for being rough, as the over-the-shoulder restraints lacked padding. The racing coaster would also frequently stall in reportedly "slight breezes". In 1999, an apparel company challenged the coaster's name, which was temporarily changed to Jammer until the dispute
85-423: A twist on the once famous Motorcycle Chase of Indian Motorcycles on a Steeplechase roller coaster , now sports a Zamperla Motocoaster styled as horses. This article about an amusement ride or roller coaster is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Steeplechase (roller coaster) A Steeplechase roller coaster is a type of roller coaster that has several side-by-side tracks in
102-608: Is perhaps the most famous of this type of coaster. In 2017, S&S - Sansei Technologies announced that they would be reviving the Steeplechase coasters with redesigned trains and restraints. This article about an amusement ride or roller coaster is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Windjammer Surf Racers Windjammer Surf Racers was a steel racing roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in Buena Park, California . It sat on
119-727: The Booster Bike, opened at Chimelong Paradise in China . The Vekoma Motorbike Coaster concept was first demonstrated with the use of the No Limits roller coaster simulator, and is included as a track style in the commercial version. Intamin was the second company to come up with a motorbike roller coaster design. Their design utilizes drive tires to launch its trains. Currently, only four installations exist - two in Australia , one in Denmark, and one in
136-547: The United States. 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 . The Pony Express at Knott's Berry Farm , Buena Park, California , in
153-433: The former spot of Wacky Soap Box Racers. The ride was plagued with mechanical issues and only operated sporadically from 1997 to 2000, leading to a lawsuit being filed against the manufacturer, TOGO . On September 26, 1996, Knott's Berry Farm announced a new roller coaster for the 1997 season called Windjammer Surf Racers. It opened to the public on March 26, 1997. Windjammer experienced mechanical issues early on. Within
170-527: The lawsuit as evidence, but Knott's was unable to complete a sale of the ride. TOGO shut their American offices down in March 2001 after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy . In June 2001, the park erected construction walls surrounding Windjammer Surf Racers, and the nearby Headspin scrambler ride was relocated. Windjammer was demolished the following month in July 2001. A hydraulically-launched roller coaster, Xcelerator ,
187-487: The purpose of the ride was to pit both tracks in a race against each other. The coaster's rider load/unloading platform did not have an airgate system to keep queuing guests clear from advancing vehicles within the station. The ride was dressed as a tribute to the fabled Southern California beach and surf culture, complete with towering palm trees, beach sand, a miniature lagoon, a scaled-down lifeguard watch tower, and other beach-worthy props. The on-ride photograph sales booth
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#1732898153963204-422: The track), surrounded by the close fitting car sides, and the dips and bumps of the track were straightened flat in 1980. Motorcycle Chase/Wacky Soap Box Racers was removed in 1996 for a dueling loop coaster Windjammer Surf Racers and now a launched coaster named Xcelerator takes its place. The former Steeplechase Park at Coney Island , New York City , was named for its thrilling Steeplechase attraction, and
221-476: The “road" and tilted to lean riders about the curves. Gasoline Alley, an electric steel-guide rail car ride below, was built together and intimately intertwined, which enhanced ride-to-ride interaction thrill value. Rider safety concerns of the high center of gravity coupled with the method of rider restraints caused it to be re-themed to Wacky Soap Box Racers with vehicles now attached in four-car trains, each car seating two riders, strapped in low (nearly straddling
238-506: Was built in its place for the following season. The ride remained closed during the lawsuit as evidence. When Knott's was unable to complete a sale of the ride, it was dismantled in July 2001. In November 2003, the jury rejected Knott's lawsuit in favor of TOGO International. Windjammer Surf Racers was a unique coaster; it involved small Wild Mouse -like trains running on a full size track. There were two independent tracks (red and yellow) that were constructed parallel to each other, in which
255-401: Was built into the side of a scaled-down replica of a yacht. The attraction featured a unique interactive element built into the center of the helix finale, known as the “spiral cone.” The spiral cone consisted of motorized fans semi-enclosed within a steel conical housing structure. The mechanism was designed to simulate a wind effect - giving riders the sensation of being caught in the eye of
272-571: 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
289-488: Was resolved. In 2000, Knott's Berry Farm filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer, TOGO, suing for $ 17 million in damages. Knott's reported problems including misaligned and poorly designed tracks, defective safety restraints, and wrinkles in the main frame of the trains. The park also alleged that the ride's design flaws prevented operation during medium winds, sometimes stalling even during slight breezes, which Knott's called an "embarrassment." The ride remained closed during
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