Need Wheelie Lessons

I've realised that as soon as you climb onto the SD you have a unmistakable urge to lift the front wheel. Unfortunately I'm seriously "wheelie challenged", have never been able to get any of my bikes to lift..... So anyone here willing to share their wheelie knowlege?? Anyone able to add to "An Idiots guide to lifting the SD"??

YouTube is your friend dude.

We had a spontaneous wheelie school on a sunday ride out last year with Motoronin. For first time wheelies the advice which worked the best was to find a level bit of road with minimal camber. First gear, accelerate and when the revs hit 4K just twist the throttle back open. The front wheel will lift and then it's all down to phycology as a novice will instinctively want to shut off as they are scared and think they will flip. It's not the bike - it's in your head that prevents wheelies . As you get your confidence up you will realise that what feels high is not really and you will gradually be going up higher and landing smooth. It is all about practice. I just go out on my own in the countryside and do them at every first gear opportunity if there is no traffic around. I've got better but still haven't got to changing up to second.

I starting trying to wheelie about a year and a half or so ago and even if i do say so myself my sitting wheelies are getting pretty nice now.

I started by watching a guy on youtube called downshift82 http://www.youtube.com/user/downshift83
He started a little before me but had the same bike hes alot further on than me now but he definatly has time to practice more than me too but i clutch up in 2nd gear and hit rev limiter now so i need to either start rocking or shifting gears.

Anyway first thing you want to do it Cover the rear brake (SO IMPORTANT) although not as important on our V-Twins as the engine breaking will get you out of shit 99% of the time.

Start by being in first gear find a quite straight road roll the throttle on and as you get to the power band bang the throttle on the front will raise and at first youll let off staraight away but once you get used to the feeling try and bang the throttle on then let off a little then hold it on so you keep the front up for a short distance (this should only be about a foot off the floor so no where near looping height.

Once you get used to the feeling of the front being off the floor and feel very comfy in this you want to start clutching. Its alot more controlled than powering up so now be in second (ive got a 40T rear and i goto about 4k revs) get to the power band again and you want to blip the clutch in with one/two fingers just pull in then drop out all in one smooth motion whilst doing this pulling on the throttle (not too much) the first few times you do this the bike will just lurch forward.

Once you have it lurching throttle a little more (its a very hard technique to show or explain its just practice and youll get the right feel) once its coming up chase the wheelie with the throttle so you stay up and long as you can.

Once you start getting better you'll reach the point that im at which is where you pop straight up to the balance point (DONT TRY AND GET HERE TOO QUICK) like i said its taken me a year to get here it can be done quicker but just dont try and go from never wheeling to being at balance point as chances are you WILL LOOP IT. Anyway youll pop it up to balance point which is the weirdest feeling as the bike goes weightless you cant feel any weight to the bike its like your sat on air then use minor adjustments in throttle to keep youself the safe side of the blance point but not dropping and not too much to loop it. Youll eventually run out of revs doing it this way and hit the limiter in 2nd which will just drop you down.

So thats the point im at now so i need to start either using gear changes while its up or tipping it further up and using the rear brake to bring it back down.

Its a fairly simple trick really just takes time and practice but looks one of the best looking things ever.

NOTE: dont try clutch in 1st unless you are VERY steady with the throttle as it will either come up very quikly and you could loop or if your not smooth in the technique youll end up doing a rolling burnout!

Yup, Bailz put it best. It is a move that takes practice, practice, practice.

Do you have a mountain bike or even a BMX bike? IMHO these are the easiest(and least costly) way to learn the feel of the balance point, and also how to use the rear brake to keep from going over.

You can also try it on a dirtbike, if you have access to one. Start slow, WEAR GEAR, and don't expect to be Chris Pfeiffer overnight. The more patient you are with them, the easier they will get.

Oh yeah; when the front end comes up, don't just look at the bars/guage cluster....look well off in front of you. Kinda like setting a goal or target spot to land your front wheel. This was hugely effective for me.

Be careful, take your time, and have FUN!

....and try to stay outta jail!

I always clutch up my wheelies, it gets the bike up to height lower in the rev range. When you are running out of revs apply pressure to the gear lever, dip the throttle and it'll snick into gear.

Just be sure you know what gear you are in, clutching in first mistakenly brings the bike vertical in an instant!

I still haven't wheelied the SD, I need to get over that block, I kinda stopped doing them and lost all the confidence I used to have, but one thing just popped into my head from my younger days of wheelies on my NC24 and that was the sudden realisation that on a dark road your headlights don't work too well when they're pointed into the sky, it hadn't occurred to me until the first time i did it on an unlit road.

Clutching it up in 2nd makes it much more controllable for most because it comes up fast, and you can get to the balance point quicker to kinda "stall out" your forward momentum. When you get it right, very little acceleration is happening, if any.

Just remember to leave yourself a little bit of runout for the front wheel touchdown....just chopping the throttle makes for a ROUGH landing.

And smashed balls.

Or so I've heard....

If you don't already know how to wheelie, don't start learning with the clutch! It'll take twice as long to get comfortable and you'll probably grenade the clutch into 300 pieces by the time you're any good at doing basic wheelies.

Just take off from a stop nice and steady and then go wide open in 1st gear. The wheel will loft itself up in the air slowly. You gotta get comfortable with the sensation first, then you can worry about technique. If you cruise along in 1st gear at around 5000rpm then go wide open, it'll come up. Keep your upper body steady, don't lean back or forward, and don't jerk on the bars... it's a stupid thing to do when you have an engine with 130hp between your knees to loft the front up in the air.

You won't learn how to wheelie on a forum, so just get out there and start practicing in 1st gear.

I have been learning mine just off the power. I do not like to use the clutch as I am trying to avoid any premature wear from my crappy technique.

It will come up at any rpms in 1st gear no worries, and mine comes up easy as on flat ground in 2nd once into the power, which is perfect for just cruising at 70-90km/h, then bang the throttle open and it comes up easy, as high as I want. Off crests/bumps it will lift in 3rd/4th too.

I suggest just accelerating from a standstill at a quick pace, like you are trying to get away from the car next to you, then when half way through 1st, twist in a bit more power, this should make it come up a bit nice and easy for you.

Just take baby steps, and don't try to impress anyone. You should be learning to do this because you enjoy it, not because others think it looks cool.

For a bike like the SD there is no need for the clutch in the lower gears.

I think there are pluses and minuses to both clutch and power up wheelies

Obviously power ups are easy to get the wheel up but can be alot harder to control as you raise the wheel and the front gets higher the less power you need to raise it even higher so if you just power on and hold it at that it will start coming up slowly and as you approach balance point will raise very quickly this makes it quite hard to then back off the throttle and rethrottle at a point that will hold you there and obviously powering up like this means if ur not ready for it you can loop quite easy when powering on towards the balance point as the speed it approaches this point is so much quicker than the initial lift.

Also if you power up in say 2nd gear at 4k rpm by the time you hit balance point your going faster and at 7k or so rpm or more where as if u clutch up in 2nd at 4k rpm your at balance point straight away at 4k rpm and whatever speed u were doing. Obviously the technique for clutch needs practice but once you have it there's no way you should wear clutches more than just riding (maybe chains) but clutch is ultimately the way to go long term but as has been said practice power ups first get used to the feeling then try clutches only when your comfy with the feeling of being mono

Think about professional stunt riders they only ever clutch up the only time they use power up is for stunts they don't need balance point control for (like a wheelie sat on the bars) and I spoke to a stunter who did displays and he uses the same bike for practice as well as shows and he's not changed a clutch in his bike he's used for 2 years so proves if you use the right technique your clutch will be fine!

There was a long thread on this subject last year some time that might be useful if you can find it.

Here are the main points from my experience to make things easier and as risk free as possible.

Flat level piece of straight road without traffic

Relaxed, upright body position. Don't lock arms or pull on the bars.

Second gear, roll up to 4K, dip clutch, full throttle, release clutch. The clutch movement is in just enought to disengage and then release immediatly

Look well ahead - this is essential. If you look at the clocks, bars or front wheel you will freak. Look well ahead and it's all much more gentle

The key is timing the clutch dip with the throttle but you will feel this through practice.

On the SD in my experience the back brake is not needed as angine braking will slam the wheel down when you close the throttle.

Once you get the swing of it you might remember to press up in the gear lever, a small dip of throttle will then see her change into third while still up. My experience is that full throttle in third allows the front to float down gently and makes for a long, elegant and impressive looking wheelie. Some people can just change up through the box while still on one wheel but they have better ballance and bigger bollocks than me!

Hope that helps a little.

Awesome!! Thanks guys.. I'm in JHB in South Africa so we suffer from about 25% less power here due to altitude.. So i think just getting it up with standard gearing on the throttle might be a bit tough.. I am planning on going up to 40t rear sprocket so hoping that will help.. Also waiting for my LSL damper to arrive, I tend to hold onto the bars like a vice grip so i'm hoping it will help keep the bike a little stable when the wheel rises and when it drops.. I tried to wheelie some 600c bikes when I was younger.. but never got it right.. Maybe the mature head will get it right.. only time will tell!!

if u don't fall of a bike you ll never learn...

lol.. i'll give that one a miss!!

I know a guy who can wheelie for miles at well over a ton bring it down straight into a stoppie, still over a ton!. best advice he gave me about learning to wheelie is learn on someone elses bike.

i am not very good, i can get it up a bit on power and tried a few times on the clutch in 1st. I wouldn't try clutch in 1st again though, had me poo me pants and slam the throttle closed. all the kids round were i work ask me to wheelie, but I am just crap. does learning to wheelie a cycle help? after all the balance point must be simular? and crashing is cheaper

I actually cant wheelie a push bike and can wheelie my bike alot better than i ever could a push bike.

The problem i have with a push bike is making my legs keep peddling whilst the wheel is up lol.

Having said that i can definatly see how it can help it will teach you balance point control, fine "throttle" peddling and rear brake control.

As has been said dont clutch this bike in 1st it is far too hard to control. Use second much nicer to control and smoother.

Younger brother had a pedal bike back in the sixtys with a store bought wheely training attachement that used skate board wheels. Great fun. He got good at it and took the training wheels off and did not tell me. It was on for a long time and I got use to it there all the time. Well, you can see where this is going. Yep, I jumped on the bike pulled it up waiting to ride the wheels, and no friking training wheels! Flat on my back! Luckly it was in the back yard grass, but down hill with a little speed. And yet another story. My buds son goes to the coast with his buds and dirt bikes. They were on the hard packed shore riding the wheel, and he gets off at speed, rang his bell real loud. Next thing he knows he is riding in the truck and asking where we going. His buds say, read the note you are holding in your hands. The buds got so tired of telling him what happened and where they were going, they wrote a note for him to hold and read. I keep the wheel down most of the time but have dreams of riding the wheel. In the dreams I can ride as far and as long as I want. Did manage (for real) to pull a nice long one on my Honda XR650R about 10 miles to the finish on a DS ride. Up hills are best for me. Anyway, lofted a nice power wheely and ran out of steam. Damn if there was not a pointed rock connected to the center of Earth that I had to land on. Bent my front rim so bad that I thought I would for sure pinch the tube. Did not want to fix a flat so picked up the pace. The guy putting on the event noticed the rim on return, it was that bad. Ok, one more. So I had this 87 1100 GSXR. Take my gal on a mountian pass ride and needed to get around a slow poke. Make the pass slower than usuall because she was a little green. So then noticed another car coming around the bend and had to gas it. Lofted the front wheel. Shitttt. Hit the rear brake to bring er down. Still out in the wrong lane, gas it again another wheel ride till I got out of harms way. One more wheely with her when we banged helments bring er down and that was it. She will not ride with me any more.

There was a video posted here (from a member I think) doing clutchless wheelies in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and even 4th with a bit of help of the road. Cant find it anywhere though.

Start with power wheelies in 1st gear, then in 2nd gear. First few times, you need to get the sensation of the front wheel leaving the ground and the feeling of landing. Don't even think about the balancing point until way later. Next, practice clutching it up, and youtube can be a help in that.

Best advise is if you have a mountain bike or something, start with that, because that will make the learning curve easier.

Also, someone else said this, but ALWAYS cover the rear brake.

Wheeling a litre bike is a little daunting.

So it's official... If I can't wheelie a Duke.. I can't wheelie anything ..LOL

Finally...The SD is one of the easiest bikes to wheelie... I bought mine almost just for that reason...Needed something with longer legs to do some supersport touring...but love the antics that can be done with my Supermoto... blows people away to watch a bike with soft bags. top bag and tank bag go by clicking 2nd..3rd...4th gear wheelies. A good part of the advise here was correct, spelling excluded. Try just rolling the bike up in first with the throttle...all you have to do is open it up all the way! The bike is so light with so much torque that as the instruments come up in your face, with some practice you can just dip the throttle and pull on the shift lever with no clutch and catch second. Then if you are lower in the power band you can gradually bring the bike up close to the balance point, and do the same thing in into third. My friends called my 690 Supermoto the Unicycle..but they are amazed that the SD can be ridden just the same way...I'm 53 years old now, but I started practicing when I was 21 years old and had no sense of mortality...on stuff like a Honda 400 hawk! Fan the clutch when shifting into second at low rev's, and it snaps up to the balance point... then to click the next gear, you bring it up just a bit higher and then dip the throttle and snick the next gear...All so simple to write...but the most applicable advise for someone who isn't just naturally talented is to practice, practice, practice....

If no one else said it here, I will: get an old DS bike, and practice in the grass!!

Hey davey sprocket & rob1, i grew up in honeydew, back in my day and that whole area was pure dirt roads. Small world hey? syringa still going?

No surprise i come from a moto-x background, in the UK now and had my SD a couple of months and after reading this thread i am starting to think i might have a dud as there is no way my SD will power wheeelie in 1st, never mind 2nd.

I recently had akras and 40T rear sprocket installed and still the beast (well mybe not now i am thinking) wont power wheelie if i open the tap rapidly at around 4k RPM in 1st. my mx bikes i could wheeelie right up to 6th gear so no stranger to the back wheel.

Starting to get a little cheese'ed, as my romantic ideas before i got the SD where poppping the front on power when coming out of bends etc.

Am I missing something here guys? or should i start looking at the bike.

Cloonster

I think you either need to crack the throttle harder, or there is something seriously wrong with your bike, especially with that 40T rear.

Are you sitting on the front guard or something?

those were the days, new that network of dirt roads and trails like the back of my hand.
Had Mates that stayed in mulderdrift, good to hear syringa still going.

Right, this weekend Iam going to sit on the tail light and crank the throtlle and see where i get, i am getting worried.

WIll post back my results, hopefully without a roasted arse.

Thanks Stratkat, thats reassuring.

Got a ride orgnasied this sunday at 06h30 so will be definately experimenting.

Its most probably me no doubt, will post back after the weekednd.

Start with a power wheelie first to get used to the front wheel coming up. Then use that away from lights, junctions etc. Once you get comfy with that start lifting it off every hump-back bridge, ridge in the road in whatever gear you're in. Just get used to the front wheel being in the air. After that you can clutch them up.. I've sort of learned over a year or so and the best bit of advice I can give you is this. Don't practice. Just do it on your ride out. React. If you think too hard you will over think it. Good luck..