Getting the front wheel up

I just got back from a nice week long vacation in sunny Florida and I have a question. I went riding with a friend who just purchased a 1996 suzuki bandit 600 and while my 1999 sv650 was considerably faster, he was able to get the wheel up under hard acceleration. We realized this when we were seeing which bike was faster...even though I knew my bike probably was. We would start from a slow roll in 1st gear and then get after it. I would take him very easily and quickly by several lengths, but his front would also come up every time while mine didn't.

The question is does my modified and extremely stiff rear suspension account for the front tire of my bike not coming up while his squishy rear suspension allows his to come up easier. I only ask because I have heard it is very easy to get the front wheel off the ground on these bikes if you are carefull with the throttle in first. I have only had my sv for 3 months and it is my second bike. During the trip i believe my front only came up once when we were "racing" (basically just flying through 1st gear) and it was just barely noticable when the tire came down...I suspect it didn't come up much at all.

Mines restricted and i can get mine up but it is very slow pull off in first then crank her right open. Wouldnt recommend this on a non restricted SV. Its all about trial and error, but dont go all out first time just incase, and keep the back brake covered.

I've heard before that SVs are wheelie machines but I've only had the front end up once, when I thumped open first gear to get past a subaru which cut me up on a round about.

They do come up quite easily but i always use the clutch, seems abit kinder to the engine.

Squishier rear would surely produce less wheelies than hard rear as energy isn't absorbed by rear squashing?

Bandits (esp the 1200s) used to be known as the wheelie machines. It's probably just down to gearing (eg a lower first on the bandit = more wheelies), more grunt and higher gearing on SV = faster getaway. Or it may just be the way power is delivered on the bandit (presuming more peaky).

I wouldn't worry about it Worry about what sharp and pointy objects you're heading towards as the front wheel is pawing the air

My thought process for blaming the wheelie on the squishy rear was the transfer of momentum. When you get on the pedal in a car that has a squishy rear suspension...especially rear wheel drive like mine, the front end is raised as the back end dips. Such is also the case on my full suspension mountain bike. I have always found it easier to pop a wheelie on my full suspension by bouncing off the rear shock as opposed to not bouncing a hard tail...either way my bike still beats the bandit hands down although we didn't get to test out the top end as the concrete interstate was not ideal for high speed riding.

Still curious to see if anybody else has insight on the effects of the rear suspension on wheelie-ability.

Hmm. Basically wheelies are about transferring the weight of the bike. Theoretically, it'd be easier to transfer the weight away from the front on a squishy bike, coz the rear would compress easier, making the front lighter.

Of course, there are many other factors to consider: body weight, body position, throttle technique etc. It may have been worth switching bikes to see if it was the same result.

Yeah, switching bikes would have been a good idea, but I really don't like other people on my bike...bad experience. I also thought I had the advantage weighing in at under 60kg with my friend at about 90...we will find out one day. I attribute the difficulty of getting the front wheel up to my stiff suspension. It sags about a quarter of an inch and when I jump up and down on it only about 3 inches max travel...

or maybe his extra 30kg were sitting over the back wheel!
Remnember the characteristics of a inline4, It is much easier to whack full throttle on and wait until peak power lifts the front wheel. Whacking full throttle on an sv in first rips your arms out instantly! and then the power tails off. If you really did put full throttle on in first quickly there is no way it wouldn't wheelie if your bike's engine is healthy.

Sounds like your mate had extra teeth on his rear sprocket. The 1/4 mile times are fairly similar, about a second difference. So having a different rear sprocket will give you extra acceleration, but lower top speed. But you dont accelerate as fast with one wheel up in the air