Australian stunt motorcyclist Robbie Maddison just took adventure sports to a whole new level – he rode his bike through one of the world’s toughest sea waves.
The video “Robbie Maddison’s Pipe Dream”, which went viral over the past few days, features the 34-year-old stuntman riding waves along the coast of Teahupo’o, a village in the South Pacific island of Tahiti.
In the stylishly shot video, produced by adventure footwear company DC Shoes, Maddison rides past surfers on his KTM 250 SX dirt bike as the waves rise up like a wall of water behind him.
Watch the complete video of his amazing stunt:
Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, he was a bit nervous before the stunt.
"I'd become quite terrified, trembling in my boots," he said.
He spoke about how he had experimented for more than two years with different custom skis and then approached DC Shoes for funding.
He also explained the trick behind riding his motorcycle over the waves.
"During our development, I could ride out onto the lake at 50 mph on top of the water, turn the bike around and ride back to the shore. But a wave only travels at about 15 mph, a speed that would normally sink the bike. I was able to release the power of the bike and use more of the power of the wave to actually surf it," he told Rolling Stone.
He added: "Each time the bike went under, we had extensive mechanical work to rebirth it for another run. We knew we were bound to sink the bike a few times in Tahiti, so we switched from a 450cc four-stroke motor to a two-stroke motor for the advantage of having a less-complicated engine and less electronics and wiring to deal with."
Technology news website The Verge a behind-the-scenes video that shows Maddison sinking slowly into the water while shooting his stunt.
Watch the behind-the-scenes clip:
Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, he was a bit nervous before the stunt.
"I'd become quite terrified, trembling in my boots," he said.
He spoke about how he had experimented for more than two years with different custom skis and then approached DC Shoes for funding.
He also explained the trick behind riding his motorcycle over the waves.
"During our development, I could ride out onto the lake at 50 mph on top of the water, turn the bike around and ride back to the shore. But a wave only travels at about 15 mph, a speed that would normally sink the bike. I was able to release the power of the bike and use more of the power of the wave to actually surf it," he told Rolling Stone.
He added: "Each time the bike went under, we had extensive mechanical work to rebirth it for another run. We knew we were bound to sink the bike a few times in Tahiti, so we switched from a 450cc four-stroke motor to a two-stroke motor for the advantage of having a less-complicated engine and less electronics and wiring to deal with."
Technology news website The Verge a behind-the-scenes video that shows Maddison sinking slowly into the water while shooting his stunt.
Watch the behind-the-scenes clip: