Practicing wheelies

[SpannerMonkey]

Okay, So I know this sounds wierd but I'm the kinda lad who'll give anything a go...
I am otherwise a sensible rider as anyone who rides with me will tell you. I'm the least likely to overtake purely because I can and I like to save fuel so I'm normally in too high a gear to pick up speed anyway =P
But.
I was watching my friend pop wheelies on a CBR125 so I thought HEY... how hard can it be?
So astride my NS125F, I get it into gear and I thought you had to position yourself more to the rear of the bike... I did this, full throttled...hit the two-stroke typified powerband and pulled up and back... Nothing.
Didnt really expect much as it's only a 125.
Next I thought to rev it at standstill and drop the clutch, but I keep letting it slip.Something inside me believes if I dump the clutch then it will just flip on me
Is there a more gradual way to get into practicing wheelies?
I dont do this on main roads just in an abandoned part of an industrial estate =P
I know I sound like a twat for posting this... but hey, you're only a teenager once.

[lewis87]

Loads of "how to wheelie" videos on youtube that might help you.

Look at my hands in this video, it is just a quick flick of the clutch with a handful of throttle at the same time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rocCWSryKA

Just roll along at a steady speed where your bike makes good power, then try it. Start with small amounts of throttle and it won't jump up high.

[SpannerMonkey]

[lewis87]

[SpannerMonkey]

[tvr321]

It doesn't really have enough power to wheelie, less torquey than the CBR. The only way you're going to do it is at slow speed, and use your body to get it up, you won't be able to rely on the power completely.

[SpannerMonkey]

[lewis87]

[lewis87]

[TUG]

Clutch is your best bet but getting used to it so you dont panic is key, i've almost flipped my VTR so many times that if i would of paniced instead of stayin calm and pressing my back brake it would of been a write off months ago.

Get used to it coming up etc first, as its only a little 125 you might have to sit back a tiny bit but you will fint your own technique.

Dont rush it, take your time slowly puttin on the revs.
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Haz ER-5, innit!

[G]

You're unlikely to ge amazing kept-up wheelies on that without a lot of skill, but it certainly will wheelie.
Try starting at different speeds, then dump the clutch (it has to be properly dumped) at higher and higer revs. Start with just a little bit extra, then increase them so you're not making a big jump.
Providing you're only going a bit more at a time, I wouldn't worry too much.
Note that having your whole body back (leaning back) can be more useful than sticking your arse back which can push your body forward, though probably less so on a bike like the NS.

[Misc]

How easy are 1000cc bikes to power wheelie?

On 600s i know you have to accelerate hard or do that snapping motion to get it to power wheelie, is this the case with a 1000 or does it take no effort to smoothly lift the front?

I ask because i've had the Bandit 600 power wheelie accidently a few times now & each times it's been so smooth i hardly noticed it. When i've tried to replicate the power wheelie i just ended up red lining the bike. Not sure what i done. Had the same on the Ninja once.

[G]

Holding a modern sports 600s throttle open in first should see the front coming up smoothly (anything from the last ten years or so). More so on a modern litre bike, but they do tend to be geared higher too.
If you're harsher with the litre bike, it's going to come up faster and harder relatively.

[Misc]

I didn't like the feel of holding the throttle open, seems you have to snap it wide open straight away for it to lift which made me feel uneasy & even less in control then 'attempting' to use the clutch, not to mention the screaming engine. I thought the 1000s would be much less effort at lower speeds & feeling more in control when power wheelying.

One thing that puts me off a bit is that i've never felt comfortable with any of the rear brakes on my bikes. Probably because i'm tall & could do with a custom set.

[G]

If you look, stunters often choose the 600s because they're a bit less frisky.

The extra grunt means you can feel less in control and smooth in some cases.

In the end, if you want to do wheelies you need to get used to the feeling of that initial flick up - ideally with a clutch, but power is fine too. Remember it's pretty easy to adjust the rear brake angle.

[Teflon-Mike]

Well first off, there are so many ways to get it wrong trying to wheelie, you can seriousely mangle your bike, without MUCH effort what so ever.....

That acepted......

Practice, Practice, Practice!

If you are going slow and 'snap' the throttle open, you get 'lag' in the throttle, and the impotus to get the front end up is lost by the time the engine responds.

You need the motor spinning at a responsice speed, with a bit of gas before you begin. THAT is where having a bit of clutch control comes in.

Trickle it, wind on the throttle, getting the revs up without increasing road speed, then use the clutch & throttle to feed the power in hard, at say 7K revs, opening the throttle progressively, and feeding in the clutch, without dumping or snapping, AS you apply a little rearward weight shift to aid upwards momentum, BUT keep enough weight over the front that you can PUSH it back down if its coming up too much.

You need to work up, to the point of balence, where it will 'flip' and get to the point where you can hold it 'just' before that flip-point on balence and throttle.

ONE 'trick' worth a thought is the 'dive' wheelie. Used all the time in trials and off-road, you throw your weight forwards just before you start the manouver to compress the forks, THEN as they start to come back up, you wind throttlke and feather clutch, using the 'rebound' to get the initial upwards imputus for the wheelie.

THE most important thing about wheelies is dont do ANYTHING suddently of violently.... any sudden or violent actions, (like dumping the clutch!) have violent re-actions..... and thats what either makes the bike bog, stall, or flip!
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
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[Misc]

Cheers. You're completely right about getting used to it, that initial jolt when you clutch it in puts me off, just need to get more of a feeling for it. A wheelie day would be good for this, or i could man up & practice in a carpark.

[G]

[dragstaar]

The one thing I'll tell you is this:

No matter what everyone says, it'll all be gibberish to you untill you actually get that wheel up for the first time.

I still remember my first wheelie, i was trying for a week before i got it. I was doing everything right, rolling slowly forward, slipping the clutch, but the damned bugger just wouldn't come up, and thats embarrassing seeing as it was a 600 bandit!

But now i can wheelie my dad's turd CG125.

1. You're stationary.

2. Start rolling forward in 1st gear, you'll be doing about 5-7mph.

3. snap the throttle on (not all the way, but give it some umph. you can increase the umph as you get more comfortable)

4. literally, a split second after you snap the throttle open, pull the clutch in a tad and let go, all in a smooth motion that lasts less than a second

5. your front wheel comes up!

if it didnt, then try again. When you open the throtte just before you slip the clutch, it throws the weight back, then the clutch slip lets the front wheel come up easier.

You will inevitably close the throttle as soon as you feel the wheel come up. this is normal, you gotta becom fearless and hold that throttle open.

Just before you land a wheelie, give it some throttle and it'll land oh so smooth!

[Teflon-Mike]

[P.]

[joncwl]

i know this may sound weird but i used to pull wheelies on my suzuki rm80 and no clutch was needed to lift that it would just lift if i opened the throttle fully on 1st 2nd or 3rd,
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currently being a cager cause winter......the bike will be back out during the summer now

last bike, 1990 yamaha tzr125 (2rk model) - still after a fairing kit for it !!!!!

[J D]

Go on paddy lets see a wheelie vid
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m0l0t0v wrote: Chris, just so you know, JD is a nutter

[r0b]

[Jayy]

I learnt to wheelie properly on the ZX6R... took a good 3-4 months of slowly increasing the power and time I could keep it up. It would only do it in 1st gear though, no matter how hard I tried in 2nd, it wouldn't do it.

KTM is so much easier than the ninja, you just snick the clutch and rev and it pops up so easily. Do it around 30mph up to about 60.

Also, swapped bikes with TUG a few weeks ago and popped a few wheelies on his VTR and it was easier than the ninja + you're doing like 80 - 90 before you know it.