Wheelies, is my SD running ok?

I have the '08 SD990, stock except for slip-ons and map. I ride often with a stock '07 FZ1. These bikes are dead even until I chicken out around 200.

Wheelies is not only about power, technic is just as important. If you know the technic you can easily do a wheelie on a GS500.....

Anyway if you sit upright, and move back a bit, just pull the handlebars when you 'crack the throttle' it will come up immidiately.

If your goal is to follow a R1 or Gixxer 1000, you might want to change your gearing. Following these bikes during flat out accelration, is nearly impossible, they are extremely powerful.

I am running 16/40 gearing, and the bike wheelies like hell in second (clutch not needed). On the track i can follow the powerbikes better, until around 180 km/h, the i have to give up.....

(Good old 4-stroke dirtbikes, are great for practising wheelies, if that is your goal..... )

I agree, dirt bikes are a great way to get good at one wheeling, and way cheaper to fix if you do end up of the back.

I can one wheel my WR450F up hills, down hills and round corners. I have overtaken 2 cars then carried on up a hill and round a corner before putting the front down in a puff of smoke once. When i got my SD a couple of weeks ago I was hoping the skill would transfer over easily. Not so. Its not that it doesn't have the power to loft the front, more the fact that i'm to concerned about throwing it down the black stuff if I muff it. I've had it up for a fair way through the gears in a power wheely but have not yet the confidence to get it to the balance point.

Also would love to master the stoppy, been practicing that also with limited success.

Best of luck with the one wheelers Joey. Dont give up mate, you have the right bike for it.

I am poor at wheelies, but if I quickly crack the throttle open in first gear on my 07, then the front comes up so fast that I often panic and chop the throttle. I'm 170lb. I can't imagine what would happen if I pulled the handle bars.

It took me a while to develop the confidence to crack it wide open. I try to be relaxed in the upper body and grip the bike with my knees. I exhale when I do it to help make sure my upper body is relaxed. If I flare my elbows up or pull the bars I know I'm not relaxing. I always cover the clutch and rear brake. I always look way down the road, and not down. I'm working on running them out to the rev limiter in first and slowly building height. Not sure I will ever get to changing gears.

It also will wheelie with much less throttle if I crack it open some to extend the forks, shut the throttle to compress the forks and then, as the forks extend, crack the throttle open a little more to bring the front up. It's all timing with this method. This is the method taught at a wheelie school I attended. The idea is that with practice you will need less and less speed/revs/throttle to get it to the balance point. Then you can get the wheel up and keep it there while moving slowly by modulating the throttle and rear brake. I'm not good so I've gone back to good old power wheelies.

I also tried clutching it up too, but I am no good and have much less control with that method so I haven't used it much. Too much poo in my pants.

I know lots of this is obvious, but I hope some of it helps.

There are no shortcuts to wheelies..it's all about training and technique. When you find the secret key , you can wheelie with almost everything. I'm not a guru at all , i do wheelies at the highway for some km's and in smaller roads if there are no sharper curves , but i can't go as slow as i would want. The ideal speed for me on the SD is around 130-140 km/h.

I "train" every time i'm out driving...to pop a wheelie at every speed between 0-160 km/h. I've found the technique now to lift the front wheel at 4'th gear , 150-160 km/h on a plain road....It's easy when you know it , but as always it takes a lot of training. I almost never use the clutch......

Here's an old movie.. :

Thanks all, I know technique has a lot to do with it, that is why I tried to point out that I wasn't actually "trying" to wheelie. I am still learning the bike, and so I get very apprehensive when the front wheel does start up, I tend to do a "knee jerk" throttle down that obviously drops the front end. the point of My question was more to get a feel of how "normal" My SD was, If wheelies require "technique" and dont just come from raw power the great, Mine is running fine, but if most riders have to fight to keep the front wheel down then..... possibly mine is not as strong as some.

Ok... all that said, The more I ride this thing the better it runs. I did an ECU relearn when I did the first oil change ( last weekend, ~630 miles ) and today I installed an HID headlight ( see other thread mixed ) and The Mar air filter. after the air filter install I did the recommended re-learn again and went for a test ride. I'll put it this way, if for nothing else than ease of service, weight reduction and sound quality the Mar air filter is worth every dime, however I have to agree with others who have installed it, it runs better too. It actually scared me! I hit it hard in first and as usual it carried the front wheel, hit second and the handle bar starts jumping all over, its pulling the front up in 2nd too! got a bit scary as I wasn't expecting it, so from whatever rpm it shifts down to in 2nd to 9800 the handlebars went crazy as the front wheel was bouncing off the pavement. It has NEVER done that before! The sound is great, may be offensive to some but I love hearing the intake, gives me a much more accurate sense of what the engine is doing that the ( for now ) stock exaust. I did get it to 130mph till traffic stopped me, I think It would have gone more If I had let it, so I think its up to par. Thanks All, Joe

Your Superduke would wheelie with half the power in the right hands. It would have to be seriously under-performing to lose that much grunt.

Don't ask your bike to wheelie for you, ask yourself to make the bike wheelie.

I can wheelie a 50bhp KTM LC4a any day of the week, and even my 950SM on a good day (much easier, but the fear factor is my limiter).

...so far I know I "could" wheelie the SD any time,.any day, but I seem to have a personal cut-out switch that stops me doing it... but it's categorically NOT the bike.

One word of caution... Wheelie often enough, and eventually you'll bin-it, so practice with that in mind.

Well, you can race the litre bikes, I have an 06 zx10r (171 RWHP) as well as several other bikes and my SDR will beat it up to about 70 MPH. Then you better get on the breaks because it will look like you put them on when they blow by you! The top end power of a litre bike will blur your mind.

Get a low powered ttr 110 or 125 and learn to wheelie on it. It will be much cheaper than fixing your SD when you loose it wheeling. Or if you are just looking for enough for some power wheelies then drop a tooth in the front sprocket.