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While the work Lost Island and their contractor certainly made the ride better than I expected  there are still several really rough spots on Nopuko that riders need to be prepared for.



 The rough parts are those points where Nopuko transitions from having its weight supported from the road wheel that sits on top and the upstop wheel that locks the train to the bottom of the track. 



Vekoma has always had about an inch of a gap between the the three sets of wheels that lock the train to the track.



When the train goes from being supported from one wheel to the next with that gap there is a really rough slam when the wheels fall down onto the track when the train inverts. 



Without these painful transitions as you invert through Nopuko's double inverting roll over and the sidewinder loop about ninety percent of Nopuko's roughness would go away.  Maybe one of these days Vekoma will create a train with wheels that are held firm against the track with a little suspension to deaden the jolt as outside of that the rest of the ride is really fun.



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Paul B. Drabek