Ghost Rider (motorcyclist)

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This article is about the Swedish motorcycle stunt rider. For other uses, see Ghost Rider (disambiguation).

"Ghost Rider" is the alias used by a Swedish motorcycle stunt rider, called "probably the most famous flaunter of road rules the world has ever seen",[1] whose internet videos have achieved a "cult following" with millions of views.[2]

Biography

Ghost Rider performs in a series of independently produced DVD films where the recurring theme involves him performing illegal maneuvers on his motorcycle on public roads across Sweden and other countries in Europe. The films show Ghost Rider, mostly in the perspective of cameras mounted on his motorbike, riding at extreme speeds on busy roads, provoking law enforcement officers into high-speed chases and performing various stunts. Ghost Rider usually wears black leathers and a black helmet with black visor to help protect his identity.[3]

Motorbikes used in the films are the Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Suzuki GSX-1300R (Hayabusa). He has used a variety of different year models with differing modifications to each, including a carbon fibre GSX-R1000 K4 in Ghost Rider Goes Crazy in Europe and a 280+ brake horsepower turbocharged GSX-R1000 K5 in Ghost Rider Goes Undercover.

Swedish rock band Europe used various clips from the Ghost Rider movies in their music video for the song "Got to Have Faith" from their 2004 album Start from the Dark.

Identity

Ghost Rider has been identified by various media as being, or as possibly being, Swedish ex-racer and mechanic Patrik Fürstenhoff.[4][5][1][6][7] Fürstenhoff is listed at Guinness World Records as holding the record for the first documented 220mph(354kmph) wheelie on a 500 hp (370 kW) turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa,[4][5] and an earlier wheelie record.[8][9]

Notable feats

  • In Ghost Rider: The Final Ride, Ghost Rider does a timed run in Sweden from Stockholm to Uppsala (dubbed Uppsala Run, a distance of 68 km or 42.6 miles) in 14m 55s with an average speed of 273.1 km/h (170.1 mph) in heavy traffic.[10][4][11] He breaks his own record in Uppsala Run 2 (Ghost Rider Goes Crazy in Europe) with a faster bike by a mere two seconds (14m 53s) with even heavier traffic present.[12]
  • In Ghost Rider Goes Crazy in Europe, Ghost Rider does a timed run in
    Paris Peripherique
    (French term for ring road/beltway) and completes the circuit with an elapsed time of 9m 57s. This was done as a tribute to a French street racer going by the alias "Le Prince Noir" (The Black Prince) who completed the circuit on his motorcycle in 11m 04s in 1989.
  • Also in Ghost Rider Goes Crazy in Europe, Ghost Rider does a timed run in the Netherlands from Rotterdam to Amsterdam (a distance of approximately 70 kilometers) in 20m 32s.[13]

Vehicles

Each movie has a scene where Ghost Rider rides a highly tuned, turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa. The Hayabusa in Ghost Rider: The Final Ride was tuned to 417 bhp (311 kW), and the one used for the later movies was at 499 bhp (372 kW).[1][3] Although Ghost Rider's primary vehicle is a motorcycle, he uses a wide variety of other vehicles in the movies including different types of cars, bicycles, minibikes and even a snowmobile on public streets.

Filmography

To date, a total of six Ghost Rider titles have been released. The fifth, titled Ghost Rider: Back to Basics was originally due to be released in December 2006. However, due to unforeseen circumstances it wasn't released until 15 February 2008. The latest, Ghost Rider 6.66: What the F**k, was released in 2012.

Title Year
Ghost Rider: The Final Ride 2002
Ghost Rider Goes Wild 2003
Ghost Rider Goes Crazy in Europe 2004
Ghost Rider Goes Undercover 2005
Ghost Rider: Back to Basics 2008
Ghost Rider 6.66: What the F**k 2012

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Blain 2012.
  2. ^ The Local 2012.
  3. ^ a b Spiegel TV 2003.
  4. ^ a b c MCN 2011.
  5. ^ a b Clink 2012.
  6. ^ Kerr 2006.
  7. ^ Pope 2014.
  8. ^ Young & Footman 2001, p. 226.
  9. ^ Fivella 2013.
  10. ^ Martinsson & Ovander 2002.
  11. ^ Johansson & Axelsson 2009.
  12. ^ Guerrero 2005.
  13. ^ Van der Valk 2005.

References

  • Young, Mark C.; Footman, Tim (2001), Guinness World Records 2001, Bantam Books,
    ISBN 0-553-58375-1
  • Martinsson, Viktoria; Ovander, Petter (October 5, 2002), "Omkörning i 273 km/h: Bilåkare utsätts för livsfara i ny mc-film" [Overtaking at 273 km/h: Drivers exposed to mortal danger in the new mc-video], Aftonbladet (in Swedish)
  • Van der Valk, Iwan (February 2005), "Interview—Ghostrider goes crazy in Europe—Waanzin", Moto73 (in Dutch): 22–25
  • Guerrero, Miguel (November 2005), "Fånga spöket! Ghost Rider extraknäcker som mc-snut i nya filmen!" [Catch the ghost! Ghost Rider moonlights as a police-stunter in new film!], Slitz (in Swedish): 82–84
  • Kerr, Ian (August 18, 2006), Euro Gossip August 2006, Motorcycle USA, archived from the original on August 4, 2011, retrieved September 5, 2014
  • Spiegel Tv Reportage Ghostrider Extreme (Streaming video) (in German).
    Spiegel TV
    . November 9, 2013. Event occurs at 3:05. Retrieved 2014-09-15 – via DragTimes.
  • Johansson, Anders; Axelsson, Hanna (January 14, 2009), "'Ghostrider' kan vara avslöjad: Har retat gallfeber på polisen i flera år" ['Ghostrider' can be unraveled: has taunted police for years], Aftonbladet (in Swedish)
  • "Ghost Rider wheelie bid", Motor Cycle News, August 18, 2011
  • Blain, Loz (January 4, 2012), World's most famous traffic outlaw giving away his 499-horsepower turbo motorcycle, Gizmag
  • "'Ghostrider' biker speaks out: 'don't even try it'", The Local, Stockholm, July 5, 2012
  • Clink (October 19, 2012), "Guinness Book Wheelie Weekend | World's Wildest Events", Super Streetbike, Bonnier Group, archived from the original on May 4, 2015, retrieved September 5, 2014
  • Fivella, Justin (April 16, 2013), "Guinness world records: two-wheeled achievements", Super Streetbike, Bonnier Group, archived from the original on March 24, 2015, retrieved September 5, 2014
  • Pope, Shaun (June 12, 2014), "Ghostrider talks to SuperBike", SuperBike, Blaze Publishing
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