Wheelies
05-24-2007, 08:15 AM
#31
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My best advice would be to learn to wheelie on a dirtbike, on grass first. You'll learn the most important skills about wheelying, namely throttle control, rear brake, and body position. And when you crash it, it will hurt less and cost less money.
Anyhow, heres a quick 101 on wheelies. USE THE CLUTCH to wheelie. Pow pow power wheelies are stupid and dangerous. EVERY SINGLE pro stunter I know uses the clutch to wheelie. Basically, as you open the throttle, you slip the clutch. Thats all there is to it. You have to be sitting back on the seat a bit, and upright. (NOT having your weight on the bars) Open the throttle, pull the clutch in enough for it to disengage, (the revs will wind up) and then let it out quickly. The first time you try it, unless you're real ballsy or stupid, nothing will happen. Just keep practicing, and each time, give it a little bit more throttle. Easy! Keep your foot over the rear brake, and as the bike comes up, stiffen your upper body to minimize movement. (Brace your chest, shoulders, and back. You actually get an arm/shoulder pump - like from lifting weights - if you ride a wheelie for a long time, from having your upper body stiffened.) Throttle control is the key to wheelying, and its hard to come by. You dont want to chop the throttle, and when youre up on one your brain is screaming at you to shut it down. You have to learn to reduce the throttle slightly as the bike comes up to the balance point, then basically, hold it steady. Work on riding it at a constant height, even if it is 1 foot off the ground, because it will help teach you to be smooth on the throttle.
The SH has a real stout clutch, and power wheelies are stupid and dangerous if you are trying to actually ride on a wheelie. Too hard to control. Power wheelies come up slow at first, then, the higher the front wheel comes up, the faster it comes up, which is REAL scary, and also super hard to control. It could also lead to the dreaded mousetrap crash. When you learn to clutch it right, the front will jump up close to the balance point, and then just minor minor throttle inputs will hold it there. Most importantly, and its been said before, BABY STEPS will work the best.
Cheers!
05-24-2007, 01:22 PM
#32
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OK, this ought to get someone hurt... but here it is anyway..
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...lie+motorcycle
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...lie+motorcycle
05-24-2007, 05:30 PM
#33
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power wheelies are stupid and dangerous if you are trying to actually ride on a wheelie.
05-26-2007, 09:42 AM
#34
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Why clutching wheelies is the best method for launching wheelies
Clutching is by far the best way to get wheelies up, regardless of whether the bike has enough power to power it up. While it does wear out clutch plates a little faster than normal, the difference is not significant. I also have never read about any major problems as the result of the extra tension on the drive train. There are many advantages to clutching wheelies vs. powering wheelies. 1. It allows you to wheelie bikes that don’t have enough power to power it up. 2. You can wheelie at lower rpm’s, and therefore slower speeds. This allows beginners to keep a wheelie up longer, with out being at the balance point. 3. The launch is more predictable. When powering a wheelie up, the front end comes up relatively slow. Then when the front end is about 3 feet off the ground, the front end jumps up very fast under full throttle, making for a scary and unpredictable launch. When clutching up wheelies right, the front jumps up close to the balance point. From there you just play with the throttle to fine adjust the height. After a little practice, clutching becomes very predictable and not frightening at all. 4. All of the pros that I know of clutch every wheelie. You want to be like them don’t you?
05-27-2007, 06:04 AM
#35
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Well, J.J. power wheelies is neither stupid nor dangerous... that is... the whole concept of a wheelie is dangerous... but if you ignore that little bit of fact you can argue semantics the whole day... 
So spelling capabilities aside let's stick to wheelies OK?
J.J. quoting a "pro" stunter doesn't mean it's the absolute undisputed truth...
And the same goes for me... What I say may be open to debate..
Ok all of us including J.J. and jamesvtr seems to agree on dirtbikes being a good place for practice...
But I'll agree on a few points of the quote... in general a clutch-up wheelie can be achived at lower RPM/speed... and therefore "safer" in that respect... (altough less true on a VTR than on an i4 as a VTR can be power wheelied at low speeds pretty easily)
"More predictable launch" ??? well yeah... if you have done a couple of wheelies it's probably true... But I'd say it probably more dangerous for a beginner to clutch-up to near balance point and be off balance, off revs, off power and land hard than starting out with low (heigth) power wheelies and getting their balance, and putting down the front wheel in balance while on power... This is partly because once you go near the balance point your brain is screaming at you to go off throttle... and that is a very good way of getting yourself hurt...
The best way I think is to start of with low heigth powerwheelies... and as you get the balance rigth and can go longer and higher then you can start doing clutch-up wheelies to pop up a wheelie a lot faster and (here i agree fully) a lot more controlled in low speeds... but that's only after mastering the long slow rising power wheelies...
On a VTR you can very easily do power wheelies in 2-3'rd gear... with a bit of coaxing you can get it to power wheelie in 4'th gear too, but there it's a lot eaiser on the clutch...
Oh... and no, I do not want to be like the pro's... because all the pro stunters I see from the US are riding around in jeans and a t-shirt... some without a helmet on... and doing that while riding on two wheels is sligthly stupid... doing it while on one wheel is like begging to be put in either a closed casket or on two wheels permanently...
BTW looking at that movie... it's actually pretty good advice... a nice How-To on wheelies...
So spelling capabilities aside let's stick to wheelies OK?J.J. quoting a "pro" stunter doesn't mean it's the absolute undisputed truth...
And the same goes for me... What I say may be open to debate..Ok all of us including J.J. and jamesvtr seems to agree on dirtbikes being a good place for practice...
But I'll agree on a few points of the quote... in general a clutch-up wheelie can be achived at lower RPM/speed... and therefore "safer" in that respect... (altough less true on a VTR than on an i4 as a VTR can be power wheelied at low speeds pretty easily)
"More predictable launch" ??? well yeah... if you have done a couple of wheelies it's probably true... But I'd say it probably more dangerous for a beginner to clutch-up to near balance point and be off balance, off revs, off power and land hard than starting out with low (heigth) power wheelies and getting their balance, and putting down the front wheel in balance while on power... This is partly because once you go near the balance point your brain is screaming at you to go off throttle... and that is a very good way of getting yourself hurt...
The best way I think is to start of with low heigth powerwheelies... and as you get the balance rigth and can go longer and higher then you can start doing clutch-up wheelies to pop up a wheelie a lot faster and (here i agree fully) a lot more controlled in low speeds... but that's only after mastering the long slow rising power wheelies...
On a VTR you can very easily do power wheelies in 2-3'rd gear... with a bit of coaxing you can get it to power wheelie in 4'th gear too, but there it's a lot eaiser on the clutch...
Oh... and no, I do not want to be like the pro's... because all the pro stunters I see from the US are riding around in jeans and a t-shirt... some without a helmet on... and doing that while riding on two wheels is sligthly stupid... doing it while on one wheel is like begging to be put in either a closed casket or on two wheels permanently...
BTW looking at that movie... it's actually pretty good advice... a nice How-To on wheelies...
05-27-2007, 11:22 AM
#36
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haha my spelling is terrible i know that i just thought the "stupid" comment was a little much thats all. i know stunters use clutch but at the same time they do a lot of slow wheelies. most of mine are on the freeway and or out of the way 
06-01-2007, 01:15 PM
#39
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I would have to agree with you 100%. The only time I ever clutched them up was when I going to slow in first gear to power one up. Never in second or third gear. Stand-ups are just easier for me in those gears.
06-01-2007, 07:20 PM
#40
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I've been trying both ways on my hawk, and STILL can't get them in 2nd gear. First is no problem, clutching or power. but I can't get past alittle foot tall wheelie in 2nd using the clutch. 40-50 mph, hard acceleration and while acclerating I slip it a bit. Sitting back as far as I can on seat with minimal weight on the front end. Running 15/41 gearing with stock mufflers with the baffelectomy mod. Power wheeling in 2nd and 3rd? I'd have to see it to believe it. Does standing up on the pegs alittle bit help at all?
Signed
Wheelieing newbie
Signed
Wheelieing newbie
06-01-2007, 08:17 PM
#41
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Mine certainly powers up in second.
Especially when rowing thru the gears fast.
Also, some of the time it will want to pull up in third. It needs some convincing to take it up in third. That is why clutching up a whellie needs to be mastered to do consistant stable wheelies.
By working the clutch into a more controlable RPM you can really modulate the power input to the rear wheel.
This also helps to maintain the balance point. Well executed clutch and throttle inputs will balance the bike in the sweet spot.
Also---- Always cover the rear brake. It will save your ***.
Especially when rowing thru the gears fast.
Also, some of the time it will want to pull up in third. It needs some convincing to take it up in third. That is why clutching up a whellie needs to be mastered to do consistant stable wheelies.
By working the clutch into a more controlable RPM you can really modulate the power input to the rear wheel.
This also helps to maintain the balance point. Well executed clutch and throttle inputs will balance the bike in the sweet spot.
Also---- Always cover the rear brake. It will save your ***.
06-02-2007, 02:44 AM
#42
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How much throttle application are we talking here for second and third? twist to full stop from a low RPM? Aren't you going like 100mph at that point?
I think that part of my problem with wheelies is that I don't give it enough gas. I really want to be able to "wheelie on demand" and thats what clutch whellies seem like. Power wheelies seem like I need to be in an Ideal situation and "set up" to go,
I think that part of my problem with wheelies is that I don't give it enough gas. I really want to be able to "wheelie on demand" and thats what clutch whellies seem like. Power wheelies seem like I need to be in an Ideal situation and "set up" to go,
06-02-2007, 05:18 PM
#43
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Power wheelies are just that. You need to have full throttle and be in meat of the power curve, especially in third.
The third gear power wheelie only happens to me when I shift from second into third and I run second to the redline. It seems to unsettle the front end and make it come up.
I caution anyone learning to take it slow. Once you reach a certain height in a wheelie things change. It takes far less power and the bike can drift side to side. This is the point where a wheelie can be steered by shifting body weight.
The third gear power wheelie only happens to me when I shift from second into third and I run second to the redline. It seems to unsettle the front end and make it come up.
I caution anyone learning to take it slow. Once you reach a certain height in a wheelie things change. It takes far less power and the bike can drift side to side. This is the point where a wheelie can be steered by shifting body weight.
06-15-2007, 01:16 PM
#44
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I have the same problem. I can clutch or trottle it up in first but second is another story. I can only clutch it up about half way up standing up in second. and I wouldn't even try it in third . but my bike is all stock. once i wheelie in first I get to the balance point and then speed shift. but my trottle response is so slow at low rpm's in second it just floats back down . i need some help with tips , tricks , and what gearing should I switch to ?
06-16-2007, 04:34 AM
#45
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Since I read this thread, I started to fool around and started to tickle the clutch, I progressively got the front chicken wing off the ground and had a hell of a good time out of it. Homo Sapiens becomes very stupid when it sees his friends walking on the street, I got used to do wheelies in 2 nd gear, so I down shifted to what seemed like a second gear and clutched the hell out of it, the chicken squeaked like a dog bit his ***, all I could see was a gas cap.
So when done contemplating the all mighty gas cap I entered panic mode, and slammed the brake while closing the throttle, somehow I lost my pegs on the way down while the front end violently hit the ground. For a little while I was traveling faster than the hawk and the first thing to hit the bike was my crotch, likely squeezing all the remaining testosterone out of them since the ride home was quite boring.
Rule # 1 : learn slowly and progressively
Rule # 2 : know what gear you are in
Rule # 3 : If you feel like showing off, there should be a voice in your head that warns you that if something got to go wrong, it's probably right freaking now and go practice more (fully geared)
So when done contemplating the all mighty gas cap I entered panic mode, and slammed the brake while closing the throttle, somehow I lost my pegs on the way down while the front end violently hit the ground. For a little while I was traveling faster than the hawk and the first thing to hit the bike was my crotch, likely squeezing all the remaining testosterone out of them since the ride home was quite boring.
Rule # 1 : learn slowly and progressively
Rule # 2 : know what gear you are in
Rule # 3 : If you feel like showing off, there should be a voice in your head that warns you that if something got to go wrong, it's probably right freaking now and go practice more (fully geared)
06-16-2007, 10:17 AM
#47
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06-16-2007, 10:39 AM
#48
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I've been trying both ways on my hawk, and STILL can't get them in 2nd gear. First is no problem, clutching or power. but I can't get past alittle foot tall wheelie in 2nd using the clutch. 40-50 mph, hard acceleration and while acclerating I slip it a bit. Sitting back as far as I can on seat with minimal weight on the front end. Running 15/41 gearing with stock mufflers with the baffelectomy mod. Power wheeling in 2nd and 3rd? I'd have to see it to believe it. Does standing up on the pegs alittle bit help at all?
Signed
Wheelieing newbie
Signed
Wheelieing newbie
Well I'm running a bone stock engine... stock mufflers with bafflectomy and carbs re-adjusted but not re-jetted.... At the moment stock gearing...
And I can quite easily power wheelie it in second if I have some room... Third takes some coaxing or a clutch-up... (i recently swapped back to stock gearing...) So performance wise your bike should easily be able to do it too...
06-16-2007, 10:44 AM
#49
Out of my mind, back in 5
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gboezio... Rule #3 seems like a good one... I wish I'd listen to that voice a tad more sometimes... But as far as wheelies I have done something similar to your stunt once and only once... (so far...)
I wish I'd listen to that voice a tad more sometimes... But as far as wheelies I have done something similar to your stunt once and only once... (so far...)
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