Stunt rider Robbie Maddison cheats death in his latest video, in which his modified motorbike surfs a 30ft wave
We’re not called Motor Bike & Yachting magazine, but for this remarkable video, we’re willing to make an exception.
With their thin base and high centre of gravity, motorbikes don’t seem particularly well suited to water, but stunt rider Robbie Maddison has proved us wrong by modifying his motorbike to surf a wave.
The Australian motocross rider has achieved the seemingly impossible on board his heavily-modified KTM 250SX, which was fitted with a two-stroke engine for the stunt.
The reasoning behind this was that if he sank and the bike needed to be rescued, it would be easier to restart than a standard four-stroke.
The spot chosen to film this daredevil video was Tahiti’s infamous Teahupo’o Bay, which has been responsible for five deaths in the past 15 years.
However, the former surfer was confident he could complete the ‘Pipe Dream’ stunt after eight-mile test runs across San Diego’s Mission Bay, during which he recorded a top speed of 43 knots.
The video ends with a 30ft wave crashing on top of Robbie, resulting in a near-fatal crash, as he told Rolling Stone magazine:
“It was the most violent ride I’ve ever been on, tumbling beneath the surface in full gear,” he said.
“Over the next four or five minutes, I only had two split-second moments when my head broke the surface and I could take in a fast breath, only to be yanked back down and tumbled with my bike.”
Thankfully a support crew of boats, jetskis and helicopters were on hand to make sure he made it back to land safely, otherwise this stunning video may never have seen the light of day.
To watch the motorbike surfing video, which has racked up more than 7million views in the past 48 hours, click on the player above.
