My First Wheelie

**shadyone** · 03-11-2009, 03:33 PM

does anybody do what i call crest wheelies, where there is a sharp peak in the road and you can roll on the throttle over these and the front will just slowly lift and carry its self. very fun and can be done on any bike. did it on my roommates 87 nighthawk 750..

**GenStvyP** · 03-12-2009, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by BlueStreak R6

Thats not a bad idea actually. I was thinking of getting a bike fot stunting practice too, till I am good enough to do cool stuff on the R6. I think the best way to go here is to get a gixxer to stunt on. That way when you wreck it and bust it up you wont cry.

I bought a 2000 gsxr 600 last summer exclusively for practicing wheelies. No joke. Of course, it's gotten more use than that. I also ride it when it might rain...gotta keep the R6 clean.

**sihondalove** · 03-12-2009, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by blindboy2k1

hey my first post ! i have been lurking here for a year or so , but never posted

anyway , i agree on that i thought u were going like 4-5 feet in the air , but really were going like 1.... same thing when i first started popping them up , i thought i was like 10 o clock !!! then my buddy said i was only like a foot and a half of the ground !!!

but as a tip to people learning wheelies , if u want to wheelie , learn how to do a clutch wheelie , power wheelies are no good , way too unpredictable and just look ugly IMO.

and when you want to start getting to BP.... and easy way to tell your thier , is when your balls jump up into your stomach and you feel like your going to die , thats how i found my bp for the first time ! after you get over that , you can ride them for miles with no problem !

GO TO THE WELCOME CENTER NEWB!!!! haha jk, but seriously go to the welcome center

**tdonnell** · 05-21-2009, 12:04 PM

Hey, be extremely careful doing power wheelies in 1st gear! ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS cover the rear brake and practice using it on the smaller power wheelies so when it gets past balance point you know what to do. I'm saying this because I got good at doing power wheelies, could carry them from 1st into 2nd, but one day I cracked on it in 1st and boom, 12 o'clocked her and fell the hell off lol. Normally I would shift to second and keep her going but this time I didn't. And I wasn't supporting my weight on the pegs either, so I literally fell off haha. Was probably going between 50-60 because I was at the top of the rev range in first gear, which made it continue past balance point all the more fast.

Now I'm sittin at home all day for 6 weeks not able to walk (OR RIDE! - damnit) because I broke my left foot in 3 places (the three middle metatarsels). Thanks to my Joe Rocket jacket and Alpinestars gloves my skin is mostly unharmed. My problem was I NEVER covered the rear brake, or used it at least. Mainly because I only got up to about 45 degree angles (I always had to be on the throttle to keep it up). Yeah, I'm a supreme dumbass I know, but if/when I do wheelies again, I will most certainly be thoroughly practicing the use of the rear brake. The bike only needed some fairing work (bondo and touch up paint), a new stator and stator cover, and new sliders. So I got lucky in that department, but not being able to ride or drive clutch cars for 6 weeks totally blows! Especially in late spring early summer!!!

So make SURE you are always ready to use the rear brake man, it will totally save your ass. And always wear your gear.

Sorry for such a long post and for not posting in the introductory section lol.

**SpecterGT260** · 05-22-2009, 04:54 AM

^ made sense... but i was drinkin' and only read a little. someone give a technical response. i assume u cover the rear break so ur already there incase something goes wrong..... any other explanations of his technique?

**Frankie6** · 05-22-2009, 08:54 AM

Originally Posted by tdonnell

Hey, be extremely careful doing power wheelies in 1st gear! ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS cover the rear brake and practice using it on the smaller power wheelies so when it gets past balance point you know what to do. I'm saying this because I got good at doing power wheelies, could carry them from 1st into 2nd, but one day I cracked on it in 1st and boom, 12 o'clocked her and fell the hell off lol. Normally I would shift to second and keep her going but this time I didn't. And I wasn't supporting my weight on the pegs either, so I literally fell off haha. Was probably going between 50-60 because I was at the top of the rev range in first gear, which made it continue past balance point all the more fast.

Now I'm sittin at home all day for 6 weeks not able to walk (OR RIDE! - damnit) because I broke my left foot in 3 places (the three middle metatarsels). Thanks to my Joe Rocket jacket and Alpinestars gloves my skin is mostly unharmed. My problem was I NEVER covered the rear brake, or used it at least. Mainly because I only got up to about 45 degree angles (I always had to be on the throttle to keep it up). Yeah, I'm a supreme dumbass I know, but if/when I do wheelies again, I will most certainly be thoroughly practicing the use of the rear brake. The bike only needed some fairing work (bondo and touch up paint), a new stator and stator cover, and new sliders. So I got lucky in that department, but not being able to ride or drive clutch cars for 6 weeks totally blows! Especially in late spring early summer!!!

So make SURE you are always ready to use the rear brake man, it will totally save your ass. And always wear your gear.

Sorry for such a long post and for not posting in the introductory section lol.

Good posting. Personal experience speaks for itself. How's the bike?

**tdonnell** · 05-22-2009, 12:01 PM

Thanks.

The bike is a raven 08 r6s. It looks like new thanks to my mad skills! LOL. JK. No it really wasn't that bad, the left slider bent up and crushed the frame a bit from slamming down from a 11'oclock wheelie right on it but I TIG welded all the small cracks (about a 2" diameter circle area was crushed in from the edge of the slider bending up and being pushed into it). And it is covered up for the most part by the fairing anyway, as long as it is structurally sound I could care less how it looks, but the welds look good anyway so... Other than the minor frame damage I had to replace the stator and cover, also the left slider and spool, as well as the left handlebar. I just used some bondo over the scraped away section of the left mid fairing and bought some matching factory aerosol paing from colorrite.com (very good stuff). For the gloss black lower fairing I got some brush on touch up paint from the same site and it came out good too. Also did an oil/filter change too since the stator cover was cracked open and about 1.5 quarts drained all over the road. I couldn't help myself and ordered a set of Pazzo shorty's too, just installed them and I can tell I'm gonna love em. I actually rode the bike around the neighborhood to make sure it tracked straight and shifted through all the gears when I finished fixing it. I could't resist haha. But now I am just taking it easy and trying to finish healing my foot. My one month accident aniverssary is today so hopefully I'll be walking and riding in another couple of weeks!

As for the rear brake it is an absolute must to do wheelies safely, it is your only insurance from looping your bike if you pass balance point. You just tap it a bit to bring the front down, then get on the gas a bit once you've leveled out to soften the touchdown. The stupid part is that I KNEW this and still never utilized it, I've definately learned from my mistakes. I am going to try not to do wheelies anymore but if I start again I will be practicing my rear brake technique fo sho.

Sorry I'm a long poster.

**tsefreeflow** · 05-23-2009, 02:16 AM

I posted this on another R6 forum, but I will paste it here too:

Congrats on the wheelie, I just began doing wheelies myself a few weeks ago. My buddy can ride wheelies for miles and one night we had wheelie school. I will explain how he told me and you can try if you wish. He taught me power ups (I think they are called that or at least I will in this post hehe) out of first gear. Keep in mind that I have a 2005 R6 with PCIII, level one pipe, scotts stabilizer, full gear etc...
Now these are all power ups, as I have never done a clutch up, but this is very stable for me and I like it and feels easy to control if you take your time and not jump into doing too much too soon.

First night (Wheelie school in session):
Steadily ride in first at 20mph. When she is steady quickly goose the throttle and let off allowing the front forks to compress. As it recovers goose it again and the front will pop up. Timing is kind of important as you goose it when the forks are springing back to normal position. Dont over goose it and start slow getting use to the feeling of being jolted back and the light feeling of the front. Do this over and over again till you get tired then rest a day or so. You will pop some good ones this night.

Second night (few days later)
By myself going out to practice I continued doing it this way (like above) eventually getting more comfortable with the feeling and getting the front up further and further. I noticed that I needed to go faster and realized I could get it up easier and further if I raised the speed in first to about 23-25mph. She came up pretty good and much faster and further at this speed. Remember to take your time and do not push it too far. This is where problem could arise I am told. I practiced for about 2 hours each time also. I also realized I was choking the shit out of the bars and so I started concentrating on easing up on that, especially after getting blisters. This allowed me to not allow my body being forced back to affect the front coming up or the front tire to turn (one side pulling harder than the other). THis is still being worked out, but just sqeeze the tank with your thighs.

Third night (day trip into the twisties):
Its 105 degrees and I could not pop a wheelie if my life depended on it. Maybe the heat made the bike less powerful or maybe since I was with a few others I was scared or I was focused on going into the twisties. Who knows.

Fourth night (tonight a week later):
Figured that I can do a wheelie everytime I try without problems. Goosing from 26-27mph is the best for the wheelies right now. I can get it up easily and feel very comfortable at this speed. I ride them out some now also depending how far the front comes up.

One thing to keep in mind is controlling that throttle hand. Two times after I sat the wheelie down I accidentally goosed the throttle again giving me a good jolt. Pretty scary if you did not mean to do it. I just make sure I actually turn the throttle off (basically keeping the control all the way from start to finish of the wheelie), not just letting the throttle to snap back. Cause once you weight the bar again it can goose it unintentionally. Also the harder, quicker and further your snap that throttle the faster, further that front will rise. Take your time.
Well, this is just food for thought, I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but if you want to try power ups this works pretty well, especially coming from a guy who thought he would never do a wheelie. Now I never have done a clutch up, but this is VERY controllable IF you take your time and dont do too much too soon.

As for the rear brake, I think its good to cover it especially if you go to BP, but your control is throttle. The brake is like an OH SHIT handle. This is why I was told to start slow and low and get a good sense of what is going on when you do a wheelie. Its no different then hitting the twisties, your level of Throttle control can either make you or break you. Of course the same goes for brake control also, especially in a corner at lean.

Ride safe