Wheelie Chicken
 

I dont know what it is but anytime I make an attempt at doing a wheelie on any Street bike as soon as it comes up I back off on the throttle and drop it down but if im on a dirtbike or a Quad or something I have no issues whatsoever I can do awsome wheelies on my Dirtbike but on the Superhawk I just cant get it up more than 10" without feeling the need to drop it down.

Wow, that's funny because I'm the exact opposite! I wheelie my VTR daily, most of which bounce off the limiter in first. For the life of me I can't seem to do a good one on my YZ. It's just a 125, which doesn't help, but the only time I can lift up a good one is when I crest this hill through a farm field in third. If I'm standing on the pegs I can yank the bars and it will be lift. First gear has no problem doing a wheelie, I just can't seem to carry one out very well.

I like the way a 4-stroke pulls better. When I ride a 4-stroke dirtbike I can wheelie better, but still not as good as the VTR.

Jamie Daugherty
http://members.iquest.net/~daugherj

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

well, i used to be like you jamie, doing wheelies everyday sometimes all day...untill i looped it. just gotta get comfortable with it, dreded; and find the balance point, but never go past it (for more info see my post, "OUCH").... i didnt do any good wheelies until i had the bike for about a year.

yeah right now I'm not very comfortable doing wheelies... I kinda want it to come up a lil but I'm always too scared of hitting the throttle too hard

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

Mine won't come up no matter -what- I do. I think it's the altitude of 6000 feet. There's a rev-limiter on the bike? Well, I suspected so but it's nice to know beforehand. I don't think I've ever gone above 7k rpms yet in the 5400 miles I've had it.

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

i garuntee it'll come up at 6000 ft. specially in 1st gear....

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

....i second that. im at 5000 and i was riding 3rd gear stand up or sit down wheelies no problem. and i dont see how mikecronis has never had his rev's above 7k!? especially in 5400 miles... i new exactly where the rev limiter was so as not to hit it (very often)

shit man mine comes up in the air 2nd gear pulling off the ramp into traffic, lol sometimes a really sharp downshift and rail on 3rd she feels airborn for a half second on the highway.

mikecronis - Twist the throttle man! You are missing out on the best parts of the VTR. Mine hits the limiter about everyday, though I was easy on her this morning. I don't experience the same 2nd and 3rd gear stuff like the others mention, but first will lift the front even when you don't want it to. I've learned how to pin it in first without it coming up, but it takes practice for sure.

Balance point? I don't go back that far. I don't ride wheelies that are constant speed for long distances. Mine are fast, let's shift into second and bring this thing down kind of wheelies. I like speed more.

Jamie Daugherty
http://members.iquest.net/~daugherj

yeah im 215lbs and if im leaning back, that shit will come up if i nail it cominig on the highway in 2nd, 1st gear is HARD AS HELL to keep down.

im beginning to think mine is geared, i have to pull my clutch cover off and count teh teeth someday.

Well here's the 411, sorry I didn't see this post until just now.

It depends so much on your gearing. For wheelies, especially on this bike, you want torque. The bigger the difference between your front and rear, the more torque your bike will generate (and the higher in the rev range it will run).

First gear shouldn't be a problem for anyone, no effort required. That's not to say it doesn't take skill. These are my toughest wheelies to do, not because of fear, just because first gear is so powerful and torquey that if you give it too much you will end up on your ass. I've seen a few superhawks do just that. This is definitely one you want to feather the throttle, and if you get better with it, you can launch directly from stopped at a stoplight into a wheelie, but be careful.

Second gear depends more on your gearing. With second, I've found the easiest way is to give it some gas and get it to anywhere over 3k, then back off the throttle for about a half-second. Then, when the revs start dropping, nail it and pull up on your bars with moderate force and keep it WOT. Even with stock gearing and jetting, the bike will come up and should keep coming up. The cool thing to do in these wheelies, is when you are coming up to the redline, hardshift into 3rd and keep the front wheel up all the way through 3rd, even 4th. Don't have to worry about the balance point yet, just make sure you are accelerating.

Third gear. This one is very hit-or-miss, because superhawks dont have a gazillion HP to work with like a GSXR1000 or 999R. Here's how I pull 3rd gear (highway wheelies). You are more than likely gonna want your RPMs in the powerband at 6k. It's far easier to do at this range, and you don't need a ton of room in the RPM range to use up. I do this standing up, some people can clutch it up and stay sitting, but I find it way easier to power wheelie it. Same technique as the 2nd gear wheelie, as far as backing off the throttle just before you launch, but the main addition is that you jump down on your pegs hard right as you get off the throttle. This makes your bike dip even more. Then, on the rebound, nail it full throttle and pull up hard. At the very least, the front should come off the ground and with any luck it should stay up. It has to be at least one foot off the ground to stay up with this kind of wheelie. Third gear are the most fun kind, because you can hold them indefinitely given you aren't swaying too much or the idiot in the beemer doesn't cut you off. Make sure you have plenty of space in front of you, and it helps if hot girls are watching.

In second and third gear wheelies it's far easier to find the balance point, which for those of you who don't do wheelies regularly is going to be WAY further back than you gonna be comfortable with. I suggest not even worrying about that until you can pull wheelies like it's second nature.

I used to stunt as well, but I've reconsidered since I know too many stunt riders who fkd themselves up and their bikes. I considered them better riders than me, and it's just not worth it to try and sit on my handlebars and look a little more daring. For me the thrill is just feeling the power, not how much cool shit I can with one wheel on the ground. Everyone is free to ride however they want, but just stay within your limits and if you don't feel comfortable trying this, DON'T

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

Ok so I think I have this figured out now.
From my Bird Intervention post I learned that I need to be riding lower in the revs and from this one I see the need to bang the rev limiter on shifts.

So here it goes.....
I ride around at 2500-3500rpm then when I want to shift I pull in the clutch rev to the limiter and release.

WEOW!
Thanks guys your great!

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

Call me "chicken" but I like to keep both wheels on the ground. I don't have anyone to impress and it seems more reckless than fun.

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

That's clutching it up.. my setup is for power-wheelies. Either one works.

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

Whew!
Thanks for clearing that up.
I don't want to get hurt.

Wheelies are a whole lot of fun, but last year I got into spinning the tire around turns. I don't mean a little bump-slide. I mean the engine screaming, tire shredding kind. That's fun! Next up is stoppies, I think a brake upgrade will help with those.

Jamie Daugherty
http://members.iquest.net/~daugherj

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

I've done WOT but the bike seems like it's gonna vibrate/explode above 7k and it feels unruly and spastic there. Isn't redline in 1st like 90mph? I"ve been 140 on it around 7k rpms. I find that after I took down a tooth that shifting around 2k to 3k rpms as per the manual suggests is a LOT of power and I'm passing everyone at lightspeed. I can't imagine ever needing to go above 6k rpms unless I'm at a dragstrip, and even then 6k from the straigtaways I've done seems ludicrous acceleration and I can barely hold on.

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

I don't think you should take first to 90mph that might be why it vibrates so much. Give the other gears a chance to play.

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

Well if redline in 1st is 90mph then how is it possible to even REACH 2nd gear or higher redlines unless you're in the desert or something? Here in Denver I can't get past 120 mph on most days and most cars on I-70 seem to be going maybe 45 mph (with nothing in front of them).

Maybe I need to get me to a track!!!

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

I'm going to try going to redline in first at a stop, then let out the clutch.
I'm not sure what the final speed will be but it think it will launch pretty quick.

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

That would be a quick way to loop over. from a stop the bike will wheelie at about the 3000rpm area with effort an easy wheelie is at around 5000rpm launch and I weigh 290lbs now you bring that to 6000 or higher and without alot of experience thats gonna just wind yourself on yer ass.

If you wanna try something like that gradually go up 1000rpm so launch at 3000rpm then try 4000rpm then 5000rpm so on and that way you can see where your skill at a quick launch is versus the bikes power. dont forget this bikes powerband lies in the 6000rpm area so be a little more careful in that area :)

Redline in first is only about 60 with stock gearing, the top of second is just barely over 90! The engine should smooth out around 6000 rpm and rev like crazy after that. It's only rough down low. When I feel like a Grandpa I shift at 3000, that's about the minimum for upshifts. The only reason your bike is rough up high would be a bad state of tune. It's like a drug: once you rev it up, you never go back!

Jamie Daugherty
http://members.iquest.net/~daugherj

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. :shock: :shock: :shock: Do NOT do this. It sure as shit will launch! It will launch your ass 5 feet backwards onto your head. This is not an extended drag frame bike with wheelie bars. First gear is absolutely TOO torquey to go full clutch from a standstill. You don't even need to use the clutch, except to get moving like you normally would. You needn't go any higher than 5k if you want a wheelie from a stopped position.

Jesus man. I don't want to be responsible for people going ass crazy with their bikes and hurting themselves and their gorgeous machines.

Practice makes perfect and BABY STEPS please!

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

Well now I'm all confused.
I better go borow my kids training wheels back on till I get this right.

But that always messes up my lean angle :roll:

Note to self:
Get a good back protector.

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

Ha ha ha, these guys think you are serious. I guess humor is lost on some unless there is a punchline. :wink:

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

OH!

You caught me.

I like to keep my rubbers where they belong.......down low :wink:

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

Take those training wheels and make some SWEET extenders for them and turn them into a wheelie bar! Oh, and then you can take it off some SWEET jumps too! You could get like 3 feet of air!

Re: Wheelie Chicken
 

Hmmm...love the wheelie bar idea then I could do 1st gear redline starts.