How does the air ride machines work?
Well, as I already told Metal Sonic, Air Ride Machines work entirely on willpower. It admittedly doesn't take too much to get it started, though- just channel your will and focus it on the Machine, and before you know it, the engine starts and you're moving! It's kinda like making one of those Dark Fountains, really. Just... without the knife.
Actually, it was from applying the logic of starting an Air Ride Machine that I was able to pull it off. If only doing it on another fountain actually just closed the fountain and not... you know. Summon a Titan.
Anyways, once you start an Air Ride, it will move forward on its own; However, you can use your willpower to steer, turn, drift, or even pull the brakes if you need to stop. It's a sort of mental link- they're kinda sentient like that. And while, no, you can't actually go faster than its top speed through sheer will alone, a strong will does allow you to better connect with your Ride- and thus, you perform better from it.
You can also use Patches to increase your ride's stats, but those are only found on Skyah and whatever that one city Kirby went to was when Air Ride Machines first appeared, and they are temporary for the most part.
...Is it the same place? I ain't really sure- it hardly looked like the same place Kirby described before I started frequenting it, but I dunno- places tend to change like that.
It should also be mentioned that there are five types of Machines: Stars, Bikes, Tanks, Chariots, and the Legendary Machines. But that could be a lengthy rant in of itself, so I'll only get into the specifics if there's any interest in it.