Vekoma´s first "Booster Bike" (Motorcycle coaster)

Dutch indoor kiddie park/playland "Toverland" surprisingly announced yesterday that they are going to open the worlds first Vekoma launched motorcycle coaster "Booster Bike" this July!

The "park" which opened in 2001 and is currently located inside a huge hall has already announced big expansions. A second big shed is being built which will house a Mack Logflume among other attractions. The flume will be heavily themed and the final drop will be located outside the building in a newly developed outdoor area.

The prototype "Booster Bike" will have a hydraulic launch and will have a fantasy jungle theme. It will be running completely out in the open and will certainly be a great addition to spread the parks appeal to a wider age group.

One reason why the coaster will go up so fast could be the vicinity of Vekomas factory in Vlodorp to "Toverland" which is located close to the Dutch/German border.

For pictures layout and concept-drawings go here:

http://coastersandmore.de/rides/toverlandpre/toverlandpre.shtml

That actually looks like a LOT of fun.

Who said Vekoma couldn't do something really cool?

Wow. That looks like too much fun. Anybody see the top speed? 75km/h! That's roughly 45 MPH. To be out in the open on a bike like that, it will seem a lot faster. I hope they don't have too many problems so we can see it in a U.S. park. That would be a great addition to Knott's! :-p

If anybody can translate the article, please do!

Vekoma really seems to be turning itself around and coming up with some great variations on some coasters.

Of course, if they could get them to work, that would be good too :)

Can Vekoma get the launch right? After all the flying coaster and Deja Vu fun, forgive me for being a skeptic.

It does look like it would be a blast though. The lack of restraints certainly concerns me, especially given the airtime hills.

Vekoma *have* managed to do launched coasters before (Superman in SFH springs to mind).

Richard Bannister- Not to mention the Disney Rock-n-RollerCoasters... Or are those the same ride as Superman at the former SFH?

My main concern is capacity. Will this be a block brake type ride? If so, it still doesn't leave a lot of room for mulitple bikes. I have a feeling there will be some long lines on this one.

The hydraulic system is provided by the company that owns Vekoma who makes cargo cranes. So it's not something totally new for the engineers. The Thrilllift would also have a system provided by the same company, so I don't think they'll have too much problems.

About the capacity, the bikes will run in a train with two bikes in a row as you can see on this picture... http://www.vekoma.com/rides_fam_coasters/motorbike_coaster/motorbike_2_b.jpg *** Edited 4/8/2004 4:34:07 PM UTC by olov***

The restraint design for this should be interesting. Sitting on a motorcycle doesn't come even close to meeting the restraint design requirements in either US or European stardards. I wonder how they plan to do it.

Funny that the other (and might I add better) engineer on the site came up with the same question I was thinking of. Seems awfully difficult. But it's something that they *must* have already addressed.

Interested to see what they came up with.

The restraints look pretty good to me:

http://www.vekoma.com/rides_fam_coasters/motorbike_coaster/motorbike_3_b.jpg

http://www.vekoma.com/rides_fam_coasters/motorbike_coaster/motorbike_coaster3.htm
http://www.vekoma.com/rides_fam_coasters/motorbike_coaster/motorbike_coaster4.htm

Close-up of one of the "motorbikes"... It appears that the thighs will also be restrained as the handlebars are also ajustable to rider height. *** Edited 4/8/2004 5:22:10 PM UTC by redman822***

Yikes. First I was worried about the single rider. Now that I see the restraints, I fear that this will be a capacity nightmare. Probably won't see one in the U.S., at least not at a major park.

I could see this being a successful pay-per-ride attraction at a Vegas hotel, though.

I think the only moveble (sp?) part of the restraint is the backbar (instead of lapbar). So no, I don't think loading times will be horrible either.

the handlebars move too olov, they slide towards the rider and press a restraint against the thighs

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Richard Bannister said:
Vekoma *have* managed to do launched coasters before (Superman in SFH springs to mind).

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Sorry, I should have specified hydraulic.

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The hydraulic system is provided by the company that owns Vekoma who makes cargo cranes. So it's not something totally new for the engineers.

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Which part of a crane is like launching a vehicle to speed in a couple of seconds?

Besides, the giant inverted boomerangs were "just" a big Invertigo, and we all know how well they did with that.

Jeff asked:
"Which part of a crane is like launching a vehicle to speed in a couple of seconds?"

Since 2001 Vekoma is a subsidiary of "Huisman-Itrec". This is one of the worlds biggest producers of offshore equipment, pipeline layers, ships, cranes and other heavy equipment.
Have a look at their website:
http://www.huisman-itrec.com/
(just watch the intro: after about a minute Vekoma floats past you. Some of their stuff looks really bizarre)

I read that they use hydraulics on their ships for pipeline laying, in order to stabilize ships in rough seas.

I don´t know if the new owners are a warranty for better reliability of Vekoma products. But the GIBs are indeed "old" Vekoma (pre Huisman-Itrec)

The ride in Toverland will have one train for 16 people. The ride-time is 60 seconds. Sure, this is not big capacity (around +/- 400), but I am sure the ride could use two trains.

According to Vekoma the Motorbike coaster is a hommage to the Steeplechase ride.

Jeff, where do you think Intamin got their Hydraulic launch from? They sure didn't think of it by themself but they (I think it was Giovanola who's responsible for the Hydraulic launch system as they have previous hydraulic experience in the heavy industry)modified an hydraulic engine to fit their demands.

Still...I think Jeff's point is that no matter what their hydraulic experience is, it's a completely different application than lifting heavy stuff or stabilizing drilling platforms. I think the proof is in the problems that Intamin had with the new application.