Can you Wheelie?

Zascar

I’d really love to know how, but I’m too chicken to try properly. If I dropped my bike it would cost me about a grand in fairing damage, just not worth it. A mate just asked me would I be interested in going to a wheelie school in the UK. Has anyone ever done this? Or do they ever do them in Ireland?

jimgoose

These guys do a wheelie "seminar" sort of thing in Tullow, Co. Carlow every so often:

http://www.stuntireland.com/

KTRIC

My bike can wheelie, I just go along for the ride !! :P

jimgoose

KTRIC wrote: »

My bike can wheelie, I just go along for the ride !! :P

I saw Gary Rothwell at Mondello Park back in the '90s, wheelieing his Ile Biler Gixxer at over 100mph while sat on the handlebars. That man is a loo-lah! :pac::pac::pac:

chrismon

Zascar wrote: »

I’d really love to know how, but I’m too chicken to try properly. If I dropped my bike it would cost me about a grand in fairing damage, just not worth it. A mate just asked me would I be interested in going to a wheelie school in the UK. Has anyone ever done this? Or do they ever do them in Ireland?

Lads tried to organise a fella from England a few years ago, think he couldnt get insurance over here to do it :pac:

jimgoose wrote: »

These guys do a wheelie "seminar" sort of thing in Tullow, Co. Carlow every so often:

http://www.stuntireland.com/

Best job

blade1

Yep, came off once though doing 80mph about 8 years ago.
I have the 6 broken bones to prove it lol.
Got on the bike with a cast and wheelied it again.

Basically if you're worried about your bike or yourself getting hurt,don't bother.
If you dont give a ****e, go for it!

BrokenArrows

I'd love to do one of those courses but there is no point unless youre wiling to wheelie your own bike. And I wouldn't want to risk it.

serious3

yup, come out to clifden i'll let you loose on the trials bike, that thing will wheelie with its eyes closed!!!

batman_oh

Once you get over the initial fear of it you probably won't stop. The best I've managed on the R1 is picking it up in 1st and shifting into
3rd at some unmentionable speed. I prefer the KTM for them though as everything is easier and generally slower!

PlayerA

Oh just tried my first wheelies last sat... without playing with the clutch though i was hoping that the full gas in second gear and a bit of proper balance would rise the front wheel, but nothing happened except that i thought I was going to lose my arms (im quite a light weight ). But I didnt try my best yet lol was scared also to damage the bike by trying to do more than i can handle :pac:

Vikings

I did once when my diversions brake calipers seized holding the front discs tight. Front wheel had to go somewhere when the back was pushing it. Wasn't pleasant when it hit the ground mind, over the bars I went!

Frigga_92

Does it count if you do it by accident? :P

dwelby101

two wheels good, one wheel bad!

Max Headroom

I prefer to get me knee down...........:)

Zascar

http://www.learn2wheelie.co.uk/ - I think this is the place. They give you the bikes so no need to risk your own. You start off on quads to get the feel for it, then, the bikes they give you have a tilt meter to stop you from coming off the back. Once I learnt properly and could do it ok I’d give it a go on my bike no worries, but first time with no training – no thanks

ScumLord

I was always lead to believe that it was almost easier to do a wheelie on a motorbike than not do one. That bikes were always trying to lift the front wheel when you accelerated? Maybe I just keep meeting lunatic bikers, the last story I heard was a guy accidentally (sort of) doing a wheelie over a small crest with two wheels off the ground as he looked down on the roof of the garda car going in the opposite direction.

Zascar

Depends on the bike. My mate has a Triumph Street Tripple and he says the front lifts all the time. I've gunned mine from the lights and never got the wheel up anything significant, but I've definitely hit a crest in the road and got air.

K.Flyer

Zascar wrote: »

I’d really love to know how, but I’m too chicken to try properly. If I dropped my bike it would cost me about a grand in fairing damage, just not worth it. A mate just asked me would I be interested in going to a wheelie school in the UK. Has anyone ever done this? Or do they ever do them in Ireland?

Best thing to do is to buy a cheap dirt bike and practice on it in an empty field until you build your confidence and skill. If you drop it, it won't cost you too much and if you fall off the grass and clay are a bit softer than asphalt and concrete.
And soon enough you can do it like this...

batman_oh

Max Headroom wrote: »

I prefer to get me knee down...........:)

They don't have to be mutually exclusive
Need a better pic - the photographers timing was a bit off when I stole this panigale and the Ktm one was leaving a friends apartment. Wanna set up some photos for proper shots!

arybvtcw0eolkf

If you're in Dublin (or close by on any Sunday) and you want to learn to wheelie drop me a PM and I'll give you a heads up where we practice.

Almost any bike will wheelie (some a lot easier than others), you just need the practice.

Its also easier to learn from someone, or with someone.. You'll need someone who can tell you just how high and long you're wheeling otherwise most people just get scared and the wheel is only inches off the ground.

Cienciano

Some bikes are a lot easier than others. Some a simple twist of the throttle will do it, some you have to dump the clutch.
I did one once on the GS in a race off the lights with a subaru impreza. When the wheel came off the ground I realised why steering dampers are useful! Little bump in the road helped (crossing the luas tracks, coming from long mile down the nangor rd).
Scramblers/supermotos are good with soft suspension, weight shift to the back and bike comes down easier. They're usually light bikes too. Had a dominator and it was easy enough to do them.

jimgoose

ScumLord wrote: »

I was always lead to believe that it was almost easier to do a wheelie on a motorbike than not do one. That bikes were always trying to lift the front wheel when you accelerated? Maybe I just keep meeting lunatic bikers, the last story I heard was a guy accidentally (sort of) doing a wheelie over a small crest with two wheels off the ground as he looked down on the roof of the garda car going in the opposite direction.

You'll have a hard enough time keeping the front down on some of the more ridiculously powerful bikes, but most of them aren't always trying to spit you off the back, no. And bear in mind that a lot of fellas in pubs seem to turn into Michael Dunlop on Ballaugh Bridge for some reason!

MonstaMash

Had an RD350 back in the day...couldn't keep the front wheel down on the bugger

jimgoose

MonstaMash wrote: »

Had an RD350 back in the day...couldn't keep the front wheel down on the bugger

Don't talkta me about them hoorin' things! :pac::pac::pac:

batman_oh

jimgoose wrote: »

You'll have a hard enough time keeping the front down on some of the more ridiculously powerful bikes, but most of them aren't always trying to spit you off the back, no. And bear in mind that a lot of fellas in pubs seem to turn into Michael Dunlop on Ballaugh Bridge for some reason!

Most people I find are very wary of actually using full throttle on big bikes in the lower gears - even when bolt upright and going straight. They will slowly roll it on and then when they hit 3rd/4th get more brave. On any litre bike if you simply nail it from the bottom end and let it drive it will lift on its own. The older ones came up much earlier in the rev range as the combination of higher rev limits, gearing and longer swingarms/lower COG on the newer stuff (since around 04 onwards) has meant that they don't quite come up as easily (relatively speaking!).
600 sportsbikes will almost all lift fairly handily by just rolling on - the odd one takes a bit of a coax on standard gearing (steady the throttle at the meat of the power and pin it). All will clutch up in 1st and 2nd no bother at all. Pretty much everything can be clutched in first if the roll off, roll on method doesn't work.
Change your gearing and you can make it a lot easier too!
Would love to get a stunter at some point as it looks like great fun

CJhaughey

[QUOTE=Cienciano;
Scramblers/supermotos are good with soft suspension, weight shift to the back and bike comes down easier. They're usually light bikes too. Had a dominator and it was easy enough to do them.[/QUOTE]
Dommies wheelie well, trouble is if you do it for too long 50-100m the top end starves of oil as the pickup runs dry.
Doug Domokos was brilliant, love that old aircooled 2T sound

arybvtcw0eolkf

Here's some Irish stunters recently if the OP wants to PM me for details.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmKwFsXgNoM

rat_race

Zascar wrote: »

http://www.learn2wheelie.co.uk/ - I think this is the place. They give you the bikes so no need to risk your own. You start off on quads to get the feel for it, then, the bikes they give you have a tilt meter to stop you from coming off the back. Once I learnt properly and could do it ok I’d give it a go on my bike no worries, but first time with no training – no thanks

I would be on for doing this, a very fun day for £200 from the sounds of it!

BrokenArrows

rat_race wrote: »

I would be on for doing this, a very fun day for £200 from the sounds of it!

And then your confidence is up as you leave the training ground so you try it with your own bike!!

rat_race

BrokenArrows wrote: »

And then your confidence is up as you leave the training ground so you try it with your own bike!!

What's wrong with that? That is half the point...

folbotcar

The old RD350LC was easy to wheelie.....and fall off. My mate wrecked his doing just that. I was more sensible but one day I put in a spectacular show in front of a big audience. If you know Newlands Cross at rush hour. You know what I mean. Every day a piece of crap Suzuki 250 would beat me off the line. So I decided to show him the power of the mighty elsie. Green light and go, full throttle. The 250 disappeared into the distance while I wondered why I wasn't accelerating and why the front end felt so light. After I put the front wheel back on the ground, I knew.
I bet every car driver at lights thought: "Wxxker" They weren't alone!

I never saw the Suzuki again.