Ghost Rider (motorcyclist)
"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", whose YouTube videos have achieved a "cult following" with millions of views.
Biography
Ghost Rider performs in a series of independently produced DVD movies where the recurring theme involves Ghost Rider himself performing illegal maneuvers on his motorcycle on public roads across Sweden and other countries in Europe. The movies show Ghost Rider, mostly in the perspective of cameras mounted on his motorbike, riding at extreme speeds on busy roadways, 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.Ghost Rider's motorbikes of choice for the movies are the Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Suzuki GSX-1300R. He has used a variety of different year models with differing modifications to each, including a fully carbon fiber 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 Furstenhoff. Furstenhoff is listed at Guinness World Records as holding the record for the first documented wheelie on a turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa, and an earlier wheelie record.Notable feats
- In Ghost Rider: The Final Ride, Ghost Rider does a timed run in Sweden from Stockholm to Uppsala in 14m 55s with an average speed of 273.1 km/h in heavy traffic. He breaks his own record in Uppsala Run 2 with a faster bike by a mere two seconds with even heavier traffic present.
- In Ghost Rider Goes Crazy in Europe, Ghost Rider does a timed run in Paris, France on the Paris Peripherique 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" 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 in 20m 32s.
Vehicles
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 the 15th of 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 |