Motorcycles

World's most famous traffic outlaw giving away his 499-horsepower turbo motorcycle

World's most famous traffic outlaw giving away his 499-horsepower turbo motorcycle
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
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Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
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Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
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Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
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Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
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Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
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Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
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Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
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Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
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Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
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Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
View gallery - 9 images

Of all the colorful characters in the motorcycle world, few polarize opinion as strongly as Sweden's mysterious "Ghost Rider." It's not hard to see why - with five DVDs full of heinous traffic law violations, including 300 km/h (180 mph) wheelies, police baiting and near-suicidal top speed time trials around the Swedish freeway system, he's probably the most famous flaunter of road rules the world has ever seen. And now, his most famous steed, a 499-horsepower turbocharged, naked Hayabusa, is being given away through a website lottery. Only ridden to church on Sundays, it's the perfect practical getabout to take down to the shops.

A little background for the uninitiated: Ghost Rider (widely believed, but never legally proven to be Swedish Wheelie Team member Patrik Furstenhoff, or possibly an amalgam of Patrik and his friends) is an ex-racer, stunt rider and generally rather handy chap behind the handlebars of a motorcycle.

Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs

He shot to Internet fame back in 2002 with the release of Ghost Rider: The Final Ride - a DVD video featuring an anonymous rider, clad in black leathers, black helmet and a dark visor, pushing a black GSX-R1000 to top speeds of around 300 km/h on public highways around Uppsala, Sweden. The images of this maniac weaving between traffic and almost magically avoiding lane changing cars and trucks that could never possibly have seen him coming were an instant sensation, for better or worse.

To some, he signified the pinnacle of skill and sheer cojones, an ethereal figure flashing through the grey mass of law-abiding commuters, flipping the bird at traffic police and leading them on high-speed chases until either he tired of the game or the helicopters came out, at which point he'd stop hanging around, hit the gas and vanish.

Of course, to the vast majority of people he was viewed as the worst kind of road menace - the kind with the genuine potential to cause serious harm to others and not just himself. To people looking to demonize the motorcycling community at large, he was a symbol of every reason why these damned deathtraps should be banned from public roads. As a result, the majority of the riding fraternity hate him for the way his actions reflect on bikers in general, while perhaps just being a tiny bit impressed.

Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs

But there's no questioning his skill or bravery - even in the legal world, Furstenhoff holds the official world record for high speed wheelstands, hitting a blistering top speed of 215 mph (346 km/h) on the back wheel. Anyone who's taken a sportsbike on a racetrack knows how powerful a force air resistance can be as you approach 180 mph (300 km/h) - the idea of raising the front wheel at those speeds is frankly terrifying. The air itself would be like a brick wall - you'd be hanging onto the bars for dear life, let alone trying to deal with that force getting under the bike and trying to flip it over backwards.

Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs

There's also no questioning the credentials of his machinery. The Suzuki Hayabusa was not only the fastest bike ever produced, with early models able to hit 200 mph (320 km/h) before they were reined back in to a governed top speed of 180 mph (300 km/h) in subsequent years - it was also massively over-engineered to make it a tuner's delight.

Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs

With relatively few modifications to strengthen engine internals, you could turbocharge a 'Busa engine and draw very serious power out of it - and that's what Ghost Rider did to build his most famous ride - the 499-horsepower, naked Hayabusa turbo in the photos here.

Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs
Ghost Rider's 500-horsepower turbo Hayabusa - up for grabs

You can see the bike in full flight by searching "Ghost Rider BusaTurbo" on YouTube - we're a respectable publication, we won't link to such shenanigans here, but you can see the bike in question, painted flouro yellow, pulling ultra high-speed wheelies down a runway and then doing similar stunts on the highway.

And now he's giving it away, in a lottery through the official Ghost Rider website. I've already put in my entry - I need something practical to commute on. I wonder if I can fit a luggage rack on it?

View gallery - 9 images
36 comments
36 comments
Marius Gruita
Crasy Bike, insane biker, nice article!
Tim Pattinson
THE STIG
Mr Stiffy
I have seen this idiots videos, and seeing him ride his bike through city streets and suburban areas, and in traffic at 200 to 300Kmh, running red lights etc, having so many near misses, putting so many innocent lives in danger - I tell you what, I\'d like to get hold of him and break his n... help him see the error of his ways.
I am really sorry the cops were not able to kill him outright in a chase, when they tried to block his escape.
He would have made a good hood ornament.
He is an idiot and a dangerous one.
christopher
LOL - so poetic - breaks all the laws to make movies, then gives away his bike in protest to viewers breaking laws by downloading his movie for free.
Bill Bennett
I know EMTs, they call them donorcycles, this clown is a organ donor waiting for the place to happen, hope he does not take normal people with him when it happens
gizmaniac
You all sound like a fun bunch of people.
I don\'t condone breaking the law or putting other peoples lives at risk, which is why I choose to take it to the race track, but wishing death on someone or calling those of who like to ride fast bikes donors, shows the depth of your character, and the level at which you understand anything. I also hate to inform you, that risk takers are the people that move society forward. If it weren\'t for people like us who were willing to take risks and do things you might not (probably never will) understand, you would all still be living in caves banging sticks together.
Have a lovely day all you pleasant, fun-loving individuals. LOL
Burnerjack
With that much power output during his stunts I\'m surprised he didn\'t run out of fuel while police were giving pursuit. I agree that he isn\'t helping anyone with his stunts. Arrest should be not too much of a challenge for a real police force either by the above stated reason or by him trying to collect on his lottery. It would seem as if the police are not really interesting in arresting him. How does one evade aerial pursuit? Surely he brags about his exploits to someone, right? with enough cash reward, someone will come forward. Maybe he has to kill a child first. Just goes to show that skill and intelligence do not necessarily go together. Too bad he doesn\'t just race Pro. or maybe he does.
Kim Scholer
@ gizmaniac; There\'s a line between taking risks in exploring new frontiers and taking risks that may well end the lives of people not even being asked to participate in whatever high-risk game someone want to play. Ghost Rider crossed that line again and again. Much as I admire his skills beind the handlebar, the picture of him and his bike hitting a car (with - say - a family with kids) going 200 kph slower than him was all too realistic.
Those of us wishing he\'d been caught early on do not oppose taking risks (otherwise none of us would be riding motorcycles in the first place.) If he had only risked his own life, no one would have raised hell about his exploits.
Apollo19
I think he`s a genius. Fact: He hasn`t killed anyone. He`s a far better rider than many bikers on the planet. He has faster reaction times than most and therefore is able to pull off the kind of stunts that he does. If you haven`t seen any of his Uppsala freeway missions, I suggest you do. Sure it`s highly illegal etc but he`s not an idiot, more of a highly skilled biker who happens to enjoy taking taking chances and is skilled enough to get away with it. Ghost Rider, whoever you are, shot for the awesome footage mate. You`re a true entertainer.
Iván Imhof
Apollo19: He isn\'t a superhuman. And humans used to make mistakes. Even extremely skilled ones. He has no right to endanger others just to chase his own egoistic wishes to be famous. His luck will not last forever...
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