 This article is not to be confused with the Flame Flyer or Flame Rider. |
|---|
The Flame Runner (also known as the Bowser Bike in PAL regions), is a Heavy Bike which appears in Mario Kart Wii. It's Bowser's signature vehicle.
Description[]
As the PAL region name suggests, the bike resembles Bowser; the coloring even mirrors Bowser himself. No other vehicles in the game bear physical resemblances to the other playable characters in the game. The kart counterpart for this bike is the Flame Flyer.
Color schemes[]
_Model.PNG "Flame Runner (Wario) Model.PNG (199 KB)")
_Model.PNG "Flame Runner (Waluigi) Model.PNG (199 KB)")
_Model.PNG "Flame Runner (Donkey Kong) Model.PNG (194 KB)")
_Model.PNG "Flame Runner (Bowser) Model.PNG (196 KB)")
_Model.PNG "Flame Runner (King Boo) Model.PNG (192 KB)")
_Model.PNG "Flame Runner (Rosalina) Model.PNG (220 KB)")
_Model.PNG "Flame Runner (Funky Kong) Model.PNG (200 KB)")
_Model.PNG "Flame Runner (Dry Bowser) Model.PNG (198 KB)")
_Model.PNG "Flame Runner (Large Female Mii) Model.PNG (223 KB)")
_Model.PNG "Flame Runner (Large Male Mii) Model.PNG (218 KB)")
Statistics[]
The Flame Runner is a bike that calls to the more advanced players of the game, having amazing speed, sharp drifting, a good weight value, and large mini-turbos. In terms of speed on straightaways, only the Spear or Sneakster can best it. The Flame Runner is also one of two heavyweight bikes to have inside drifting, allowing the bike to efficiently drift through sharp turns, albeit not as well as the Mach Bike or Bullet Bike, although it does much better outside of drifting compared to its sharper-steering rivals.
In contrast, the Flame Runner is very poor for beginners. Its acceleration is so pitiful that idly charging up a mini-turbo is better than letting the bike accelerate, its handling is very poor, as well as its offroad capabilities. Players that can't maintain top speed are best advised to ignore the Flame Runner.
Funky Kong and the Flame Runner is currently the most popular character-vehicle combination among Time Trials world records; holding an astonishing twenty-six world records, due to the powerful combination of speed, wheelies, and efficient drifting.
| Stat Name | Stat Value |
|---|---|
| Speed |
60/80
|
| Weight |
54/80
|
| Acceleration |
18/80
|
| Handling |
24/80
|
| Drift |
51/80
|
| Off-Road |
21/80
|
| Mini-Turbo |
51/80
|
| Total | 279 |
Trivia![]
- The Flame Runner is one of the seven vehicles in Mario Kart Wii to go through a design-change other than a palette-swap; the others being the Booster Seat, Bit Bike, Wario Bike, Shooting Star, Spear, and Phantom. In this case, Bowser's and Dry Bowser's Flame Runner have their exhaust pipes positioned lower than the other bikes. Also, Rosalina's Flame Runner features shorter handles than the other bikes.
- The Flame Runner, alongside the Mach Bike, are the most commonly used bikes used in the competitive Mario Kart Wii scene.
- This bike and the Spear are the only heavyweight bikes that drift inside the course, while all the others drift outside.
- Coincidentally, it is also the only heavy inside drifting bike that is unlocked from the start of the game. It is also the better inside drifting heavyweight bike than the Spear.
Gallery[]
| Mario Kart Wii vehicle parts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karts | Small | Standard Kart S • Booster Seat • Mini Beast • Cheep Charger • Tiny Titan • Blue Falcon | ||
| Medium | Standard Kart M • Classic Dragster • Wild Wing • Super Blooper • Daytripper • Sprinter | |||
| Large | Standard Kart L • Offroader • Flame Flyer • Piranha Prowler • Jetsetter • Honeycoupe | |||
| Bikes | Small | Standard Bike S • Bullet Bike • Bit Bike • Quacker • Magikruiser • Jet Bubble | ||
| Medium | Standard Bike M • Mach Bike • Sugarscoot • Zip Zip • Sneakster • Dolphin Dasher | |||
| Large | Standard Bike L • Flame Runner • Wario Bike • Shooting Star • Spear • Phantom | |||