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

Hmmm....well, I love the idea, and it does look like a lot of fun.

Even if the launch prooves problem free, two things worry me.....first, capacity...I bet it will be horrible....the rider won't be able to lower their own "backbar", will they?

They other thing I worry about is the trackwork....unless it is really, REALLY smooth, I don't think that the bumps will translate well since your entire torso is sandwiched inbetween the restraints. I fear a degree of "chest banging" on this one.

Thanks for the pictures of the restraints. The control of foot position looks pretty critical in the restraint design here to keep the knee bent. I would think that the thigh restraint would almost have to be adjustable to keep the knee bent with legs of different lengths. Could be wrong though?

I find it's always frightening when Vekoma or Intamin decide to try out a new launch system.

-Ride_Op

The Booster Bike had its premiere today. From what I heard the first launch with people onboard was delayed a whopping five minutes(!).
Furthermore it seemed to run without any problems and delays.

Pictures from today:
http://freizeitparkweb.de/cgi-bin/dcf/dcboard.cgi?az=read_count&om=1589&forum=DCForumID39

First comments are positive. It is most certainly a family ride and no thrill machine.
"Belly People" fit into the cars, but people with very long legs (The Dutch are very tall people) could have some problems fitting in.
The seating position is said to be really uncommon and can confuse some people during loading. But the bike position adds to the thrill and the back-restraint even allows to sit in a somehow upright position (as you can see on some pix)

Nice pics. Looks like a pretty good ride. Was going to ask if people with "big bellies" were able to ride it. Be interesting if one was built here in the states.

Calling Legoland...your next coaster is now available ;)

Don't worry, coming soon to a six flags near you.

I'd rather this NOT go to a Six Flags park near me...I rarely visit them anymore.

ROFLMAO....I can only *imagine* in Moosh's WORST nightmares, SFMM getting a ride of this (abysmal?) capacity. It would be like having X with only ONE row, one train, all the time...

At least with the motorcycle theme they finally have a coaster they can build over the parkinglot and have it automatically themed.

UGH! Any So-Cal park but SFMM, please!

SFMM would probably get one and put grass underneath!

Boy 'Moosh, you're turning into a emgee, whiny coaster geek... ;)

Looks pretty good & it seems like vekoma has somewhat learned how to engineer their track & trains much better.

Anyone notice the new chassis setup & how it's quite similar to B&M's system? that means hopefully the train can handle curves much better than their earlier designs(flyers/SLC's)....too bad vekoma most likely wouldn't make a stateside visit & re-track their previous rides to make them much smoother.

Now if they can just work out the bugs with their prototypes(although BB didn't seem to have any major problems)then they just might become the most sought after manufacturer in coaster design,quite possibly rivaling Intamin & even B&M in terms of smoothness & innovation....now if they can just get around B&M's patent then perhaps a vekoma floorless might not be too far behind.

^Your optimism is astounding. ;)

From what I heard, the Booster Bike is relatively smooth, but it DOES have its share of jerks and "vekoma-esque spots".
It should not be too dramatic, but are we really hoping for a 170 ft. Vekoma floorless?

I'll be honest-this looks like the one coaster where raising you hands looks less fun-if you look in the pic, it makes them look like they are sitting straight up, and it might take the moto-aspect away from it.

Just an observation...

More high quality pictures from opening day:

http://www.coastersandmore.de/rides/bb/bbmain.shtml

Its a pleasure looking at the riders faces, everybody seems to have a blast.

The article cites an engineer from Huisman-Itrec, the off-shore company that owns Vekoma now. He claims that they use the same hydraulic motors they use on their ships and drilling platforms to lift heavy loads. The only thing they changed are the transitions and gears between the motors and cable propulsion devices.

The best thing is the reduction of energy costs (a HUGE factor for launched coasters outside the USA)!
While Vekomas LSM coasters (Superman/Rock n´Roller Coaster) needs 2 MegaWatts, the Booster Bike needs only 140 KiloWatts.
Thats less than a tenths of the LSM techique!

According to Vekoma, next year could see some new installments with faster launches and larger layouts of the Booster Bike. The international interest seems to be quite high.

When did Vekoma change track styles?? They're using what looks to be a Premier-type track design. Is the first Vekoma that doesn't use the Arrow-based design??

Expedition Everest will use the same style track as well.

It looks kinda like a cross between B&N track(the v shaped ties & outside guide wheels) & premier track(the rather small diameter spine) to me.

My guess as to who gets a booster bike next?I'd say SFA might have an interest in it....we all know how they seem to love vekoma's products & have nearly all of their coasters with exception of the boomerang,super invertigo,corkscrew & LSM.

3 of SFA's 8 coasters -- a whopping 37% -- are from Vekoma. How does that show that SFA loves Vekoma?

Thank you Mamoosh. Let's not forget how much of a pain in the ass Batwing has been, right from the start. Have they even used the dual station at all this year? I know they didn't last year as far as I can remember.