Author Topic: Wheelie Ability (Read 14746 times)

ZenMan · « **Reply #30 on:** July 22, 2007, 12:30:40 PM »

After you've passed the age of 50 or so, the length of time it takes to heal, along with the greater pain factor, makes most people think twice about doing things like that.

When I was younger a bunch of us had old beater motocross bikes (RM's, KX's, YZ's and the like) which we used to blast WFO around the strip mines and any other "insane terrain" we could find. The only time the front wheel on my old RM465 ever touched the ground was when it was sitting still.

Going through my Kawi 2-stroke triple phase resulted in a lot of broken frames and blown forks.

These days the only wheelies I do are the occasional power-lifts, and I make sure they don't get more than a few inches of air.

bnrboy775 · « **Reply #31 on:** July 23, 2007, 02:04:33 AM »

okay so i have a 99 600s with a holeshot stage 1 jet kit and yoshimura exhaust.. and i've been trying to wheelie for a while, I have got the front wheel off the ground several times, sometime high and sometimes only a few inches off the ground. i don't use the clutch don't want to mess something up with that. but i can only ride the wheelie a short distance maybe 5 feet. i want to be able to ride them for a longer distance and have a more consistant wheelies. what's the easiest way i can do that? i know ill probably get some responses like get a bigger bike but i can't afford that right now..

ZenMan · « **Reply #32 on:** July 23, 2007, 02:45:53 AM »

Quote from: "bnrboy775"

okay so i have a 99 600s with a holeshot stage 1 jet kit and yoshimura exhaust.. and i've been trying to wheelie for a while, I have got the front wheel off the ground several times, sometime high and sometimes only a few inches off the ground. i don't use the clutch don't want to mess something up with that. but i can only ride the wheelie a short distance maybe 5 feet. i want to be able to ride them for a longer distance and have a more consistant wheelies. what's the easiest way i can do that? i know ill probably get some responses like get a bigger bike but i can't afford that right now..

I'd say practice on an old beater 2-stroke dirt bike... on the dirt. It's softer.

Just about any 125cc or bigger will wheelie if you dump the clutch with the revs up, like between 1st and 2nd gear.

Red01 · « **Reply #33 on:** July 23, 2007, 09:41:31 AM »

Quote from: "ZenMan"

I'd say practice on an old beater 2-stroke dirt bike... on the dirt. It's softer.

Just about any 125cc or bigger will wheelie if you dump the clutch with the revs up, like between 1st and 2nd gear.

+1

If you wanna learn to balance the wheelie so you can ride it for a long time you will make mistakes and go too far or off to the side. Dirt bikes will take this kind of punishment better than your Bandit... and like Zen said, crashing in the dirt is usually a little less painful... and you'll never get a ticket for wheelies off road.

bnrboy775 · « **Reply #34 on:** July 23, 2007, 02:08:16 PM »

okay that's a good tip... it may seem as though i want to be able to wheelie all the time... i just really want to be able to do it once in a while... but whats the easiest and most consistant way to get the front end up? would that be using the clutch? if so anyone know the revs it has the be at? or will i just have to play around with it.. i have no problem with the balance side to side or anything it's just keeping to front up i have a problem with

heath3n · « **Reply #35 on:** July 23, 2007, 02:38:42 PM »

Quote from: "bnrboy775"

i have no problem with the balance side to side or anything it's just keeping to front up i have a problem with

Side to side balance won't even come into play until you can keep the front wheel up. That's a pretty bad time to be figuring out you actually do have trouble with side to side balance. Easiest way to get the front tire up is to whack the throttle once you get to about 6k. Good luck. Have someone film while your practicing.

orionburn · « **Reply #36 on:** July 23, 2007, 02:40:16 PM »

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qncPBZ9DRRk

That's a decent vid that explains some of the basics. At least they tell you not to bother with the trickier stuff until you get the basics down. From what they say it's easiest letting the clutch slip to get the front end up, and yeah, you'll need to keep the rpm's up pretty high.

The whole thing of shifting while the wheel is up in the air just seems nuts to me.

okbandit · « **Reply #37 on:** July 23, 2007, 03:13:53 PM »

The shifting thing is really not that crazy. Once you get the balance, you just shift it without the clutch when you feel the bike is coasting I.E. the chain is not loaded positive or negative.

mademiriam · « **Reply #38 on:** July 24, 2007, 03:18:08 PM »

Finally had the bandit out a couple times now and can say with some authority that I find is easy to wheelie. I've only done straight power wheelies without any clutch, and had a couple times when I wanted to simply float the front end have it pop up higher than I'd intended.
Don't really want to have wheelie practice on my baby, and am somewhat regretting never having a dirt bike as a kid. I'll probably get a dirt bike next year to make up for the lost time. No sense in dumping the bandit over something silly.

StangMATA · « **Reply #39 on:** July 25, 2007, 08:21:05 AM »

Quote from: "bnrboy775"

okay that's a good tip... it may seem as though i want to be able to wheelie all the time... i just really want to be able to do it once in a while... but whats the easiest and most consistant way to get the front end up? would that be using the clutch? if so anyone know the revs it has the be at? or will i just have to play around with it.. i have no problem with the balance side to side or anything it's just keeping to front up i have a problem with

Don't use the clutch for wheelies. That is just brutal on every aspect of the bike.

If you want to learn on the bandit, practice first gear power wheelies. Get the RPM's up to about 5k, then just give a QUICK twist on the throttle. Do that and feel how the bike responds. As you get more comfortable with the front wheel coming higher and higher, find the balance point.

Once you get that far, you can get a little pull on the handle bars to get it up quicker. Then, once you are just comfortable lofting the front end up to the balance point, you can start jamming second.

Just don't start chopping the throttle to bring it down. Let off a bit and as the front start coming down, throttle back up so that you get a smooth landing. Wheelies are hell on the forks.

If you get real daring, throw the passenger left footpeg out and start doing staggered wheelies.

But really....clutching is horrible, bounce a wheelie or go home if you ask me.

As for the article. With a good bounce I can loft the front wheel up in 2nd, I can't get much of anything out of 3rd with stock gearing. I'm not willing to throw my weight too far back though. I'm 6'4 and that just gets unstable on a Bandit. I just love throwing it up in first and banging through the gears.

orionburn · « **Reply #40 on:** July 25, 2007, 12:15:21 PM »

Power wheelies are what I'm sticking with. I do want to get used to them so when the front does lift up an inch or so I know what to expect when it comes back down. Few weeks back I was riding one of my favorite roads. Came out of a hard downhill right hander that immediately goes up a short hill then a long downhill straight. Powered up the hill and when I hit the crest the front came up on me unexpected. Was fun, but took my breath away for a second...lol

Dave 02 1200 · « **Reply #41 on:** July 25, 2007, 02:03:32 PM »

StangMATA is right about the extereme wear and tear that can result from using the clutch.

Also, I think it is kind of cool to be able to just roll on the power to get it up. When you have the power to do that, it makes the clutch method seem like something that lesser bikes must do to "look like they have power".

I'll never forget a Dodge Coronet that a neighbor had in 1967 with a hot 426 Hemi. He didn't have to use the clutch to induce massive wheelspin, he just blipped the throttle with the car rolling and the clutch out and the whole thing went up in smoke. The other cars with hot-rod small blocks had to use the clutch to get a "look-alike" result.

Again, using the clutch to do wheelies can do some very bad things to the driveline if you don't take all the slack out by slipping it first before letting go.

And it just does not have the impact of a "real" roll-on power wheelie.

My 2 cents.

Dave

Red01 · « **Reply #42 on:** July 25, 2007, 02:53:33 PM »

Quote from: "Dave 02 1200"

I'll never forget a Dodge Coronet that a neighbor had in 1967 with a hot 426 Hemi. He didn't have to use the clutch to induce massive wheelspin, he just blipped the throttle with the car rolling and the clutch out and the whole thing went up in smoke.

Too bad he didn't have better tires... I'm much more impressed by cars that can do wheelies than I am by smokey burnouts. Wheelies were my favorite thing to do in my '65 Mustang with it's poor little hot-rodded small block 289... but 10" slicks and 4.63 posi helped.

Bob Holland · « **Reply #43 on:** July 25, 2007, 03:58:35 PM »

This is a power wheelie

orionburn · « **Reply #44 on:** July 25, 2007, 10:17:29 PM »

Quote from: "BHolland"

This is a power wheelie

Damn Ninja riders

Cool pic man