Superbike guide on how to wheelie video....

Originally Posted by tricky

We're onto page two and no sign of the safety brigade, they must be slipping.

i was waiting for the "on roads your mad!!"

[northwind]

I'd agree that IL4s are easier to wheelie... But, they're far harder to wheelie slow, and for a coward like me it's far harder to wheelie fast

Power wheelies. Easy as pie.

Engage first gear. completely let go of the clutch and take hold of both grips firmly. Speed up to about 3000 revs fairly quickly. Shut the throttle off, the front will dive. As it starts to level again, yank the throttle wide open.


OR

Engage first gear. Completely let go of the clutch and take hold of both grips firmly. Yank the throttle wide open.

First way would be suggested for IL600's, especially fared bikes. Second way for more torquey bikes such as the SV.

Either way the front will come up and it will come up fast. Most peoples reaction is to panic, shut off the throttle and the front comes crashing to the ground. Result of this at best is crushed nuts on the tank. At worst you'll end up crashing.




Clutch wheelies. Easy as pie.

Find the clutch bite, a bit more revs than normal, and let the clutch out a little faster than normal. Control the rate of the rise of the wheelie on the clutch and not the throttle. If the wheelie is coming up to high to fast, dip the clutch slightly this will bring the rate of rise slower and more controlled. If it is not rising enough or dropping down too fast let the clutch out a bit more. The throttle should be constant all the time.

The nack to this is to have smooth and constant throttle control. If you have a snappy throttle with no play you will not be able to keep constant throttle. If the throttle has to much free play, then you will have too much hand movement to try and keep the throttle constant.

I have found that IL600's are harder to wheelie off the throttle. They just don't have as much low down torque as is needed to make this easy. They wheelie far better using the throttle only technique.

I would suggest that if you are looking to wheelie proper, don't try learning on a public road. Find somewhere away from the limelight and practise. I would also suggest you don't go on your own. Things CAN go wrong and you don't really want to be stuck there on your own with a broken bike and possibly a broken you.

I can wheelie using both methods. With the SV I prefer the clutch wheelie. It means that you can get the front up high at nice slow speeds and under much more control than the power wheelie. I find that the power wheelie is much more difficult to get to the balance point of the bike and things happen that much faster and gives you so much less time to get things back in control if it starts to go wrong.

The other thing with the power wheelie is the fact that you are only using the throttle to control the wheelie. The only way to control a power wheelie is either keep changing up gears to maintain height (this obviously means you'll be increasing your speed all the time and risking more when or if it goes wrong) or get the bike up to the balance point of the bike. If you are at the balance point and only using the throttle to maintain the wheelie, you will always be on the edge of going past the balance point and thus past the point of no return. Most people will keep their foot over the rear brake to control the speed and the balance point, it works if your good at it. Truth is a lot of people forget about the rear brake all together and just end up crashing.

Clutch wheelies I prefer simply because it is so much easier to control a wheelie. Using this method allows the bike to be nice and high and at slower speeds. I try to keep the bike up but not quite at the balance point. It is then just a case of slight finger movements to keep the wheel in the air. The speed increases all the time but much much more slowly than a power wheelie. Giving a nice show off wheelie that is up for a reasonable time.

My SV will clutch wheelie in 2nd gear with an extra tooth sprocket on the rear quite easily. I do however have the naked version, so far less weight on the front end than the S and a bigger rear sprocket as standard.

My old YZF 750 used to power wheelie in 2nd gear no problem what so ever. But again this is a different type of bike.

This is all based on my own experiences and so I can only say that it works for me.

have managed wheelies on bandits with success, first time i did panick and threw a nut either side of the tank. not tried it on a v twin yet though. good video mate.

When I arrived at the parking lot for my CBT the instructor was riding a vespa around on the rear wheel...

ok im going to have a bash at the wheelie game.

how fast do you have to be going to do the clutch one and in what gear. it said second gear is this right.

im on a curvy s so any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks

If you are going to do a wheelie off the clutch you can do it from stand still in first.

Originally Posted by SV Ste

ok im going to have a bash at the wheelie game.

Fair enough, but honestly be prepared to fork out for spare parts. Yes I pull wheelies, but only small ones, knowing that I'm simply putting off the day when it goes pear-shaped. BigApe's a complete hooligan but then he's good at it, certainly better than me, and even he's chucked it down the road. So while wheelies are great fun (actually they're pure bike sex), there is at some point a price to pay.


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Originally Posted by jonboy

Fair enough, but honestly be prepared to fork out for spare parts. Yes I pull wheelies, but only small ones, knowing that I'm simply putting off the day when it goes pear-shaped. BigApe's a complete hooligan but then he's good at it, certainly better than me, and even he's chucked it down the road. So while wheelies are great fun (actually they're pure bike sex), there is at some point a price to pay.


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Couldn't agree more (except the part about me being a hooligan of course). If you are going to try then at least EXPECT to fall off, if you are happy to continue then carry on. It really is lots of fun

Going back on my earlier comment. I actually think that if you are attempting this for the first time, I suggest that you actually have a bit of momentum before trying to lift the wheel. 10 mph should be fast enough. Don't try to be the hero on the first attempt. Go for it gradually, practise little ones first until you have got your front wheel up constantly and have got used to it. The most important part of the wheelie is the landing afterwards. Get used to landing the front wheel softly before you gain height. It's no good learning to do wickedly impressive wheelies if you can't land them. Constant slamming down of the front end will do all sorts of damage to your head stock bearings and possibly your front forks as well.

Best of luck

Yes I've just replaced mine .


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