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.
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 before being 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 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 first 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 tires to launch its trains. Currently, only four installations exist - two in Australia, one in Denmark, and one in the United States.
Maurer Rides
Maurer Rides offers a motorbike coaster concept known as the Spike Coaster. This innovative design features individual motorbike-style vehicles that allow riders to control their speed, simulating a real racing experience. Unlike traditional roller coasters, the Spike Racing Coaster uses a linear synchronous motor (LSM) system, enabling dynamic acceleration and deceleration throughout the ride.
The coaster’s track layout is highly customizable, often incorporating sharp turns, steep drops, and airtime hills to enhance the racing feel. Each motorbike seat is designed for ergonomic comfort, with handlebars and a forward-leaning position to mimic riding a real motorcycle.
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.
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 Name Location Manufacturer Trains Opened Desmo RaceMirabilandiaMaurer RidesMotorbikes2019Sea StallionSix Flags Qiddiya CityMaurer Rides2025Sky DragsterSkyline ParkMaurer RidesMotorbikes2017BoltCarnival Cruise Line - Mardi GrasMaurer RidesMotorbikes2019BoltCarnival Cruise Line - CelebrationMaurer RidesMotorbikes2021BoltCarnival Cruise Line - JubileeMaurer RidesMotorbikes2023 Booster Bike Toverland Vekoma Motorbikes 2004 Velocity Flamingo Land Vekoma Motorbikes 2005 Motorbike Launch Coaster Chimelong Paradise Vekoma Motorbikes 2006 Motocoaster Dreamworld Intamin Motorbikes 2007 Jet Rescue Sea World (Australia) Intamin Jet Skis 2008 Moto Coaster Six Flags Darien Lake Zamperla Motorbikes 2008 Pony Express Knott's Berry Farm Zamperla Horses 2008 Moto Coaster Jinjiang Action Park Zamperla Motorbikes 2009 Moto Bala Mundo Petapa Zamperla Motorbikes 2010 MotoGee Särkänniemi Amusement Park Zamperla Motorbikes 2010 Dinosaur Mountain China Dinosaurs Park Zamperla Pterodactyls 2010 Steeplechase Scream Zone Coney Island Zamperla Horses 2011 Juvelen Djurs Sommerland Intamin All-terrain vehicles 2013 Rocket Cycles Adventureland Zamperla Motorbikes 2014 Storm Rider Xishuangbanna Sunac Land Zamperla Horses 2015 Tron Lightcycle Power Run Shanghai Disneyland Vekoma Light cycles 2016 Wave Breaker: The Rescue Coaster SeaWorld San Antonio Intamin Jet Skis 2017 Drydock Express Wanda Theme Park Zamperla Horses 2018 Paradise Fall Sun World Danang Wonders Intamin All-terrain vehicles 2018 Pioneer OK Corral Zierer Horses 2018 Yukon Quad Le Pal Intamin All-terrain vehicles 2018 Canavar Dalga Wonderland Eurasia Intamin Jet Skis 2019 Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure Universal Islands of Adventure Intamin Motorbikes 2019 Namazu Vulcania Intamin All-terrain vehicles 2021 TRON Lightcycle / Run Magic Kingdom Vekoma Light cycles 2023 DarKoaster: Escape The Storm Busch Gardens Williamsburg Intamin Snow Mobiles 2023 Arctic Rescue Sea World San Diego Intamin Snow Mobiles 2023 Quantum Accelerator Six Flags New England Intamin 2026
References
External links
Intamin official website Vekoma official website