Wheelies

[Tequila.Sunrise]

well.. I've only been ridin for 4weeks and just started gettin the hang of wheelies, but I'm gettin conflicting advice.

 

I'm use to landing with my upper body kinda relaxed and have no problems landing, but my mate who's been riding for 3yrs said that i should have my arms locked so when the bike wobbles the wheel is kept straight.

Needless to say he gets the wobbles sometimes.

 

hmm, is this advice recommended?

I'm starting to think that this is the cause for the wobbles.. since he is not relaxed enough to let the bike steer itself straight, but he manages to pull himself outta the wobbles.

[xtrmln]

absolutely do not take your friends advice. He is destined for a date with pavement using that method

[Balistic]

Lets see, riding for four weeks? How about keep both wheels on the ground for a while.

Will

[motorthings]

will, thanks for handling that....i couldn't muster up the diplomacy to answer the question in a reasonable way.

[Tequila.Sunrise]

thanx xtrmln

 

was expecting someone to say that -->ballistic hehhe

that was a lot more toned down than i expected

[xtrmln]

Lets see, riding for four weeks?

I was gonna say I been at it for a bit (riding) and I still don't feel very comfortable with less than two down. (unless under power off a corner for a bit)

[stuman]

Lets see, riding for four weeks? How about keep both wheels on the ground for a while.

Will

Maybe he's learning to ride one wheel at a time, nothing wrong with that

 

Seriously though, you "friend" is giving you very bad advice. Keep your arms loose when landign a wheelie. If the wheel does shake, being stiff will only make it worse.

[Rifleman]

first of all get some more time on the bike before trying to stunt unless you like buying parts and having your bike in the shop.

 

that said, Gary Rothwell is quite possibley the world renound master of the front end loft. 12'o'clocks, stops and starts, etc.

 

this will give you the basics. Becareful, this is how you can get hurt, break your bike (even if you don't dump it you can blow a clutch basket, twist a swing arm, break off your tripple tree), or worse, hurt someone else.

 

http://www.cybersportbike.com/stunts/wheelies.htm

 

Mr. Rothwell does recomend a firm grip on the bars when landing as well as trying to keep the front perfectly straight at touch down.

[Blue636]

I've been riding for almost a year now and I can wheelie my EX500 pretty good. I found that the reason my bike wobbles so much when I land it is because it compresses the hell out of the forks and, of course, when they rebound it causes some wobble.

[AndyIbbott]

Hi Guys,

 

Well as a long time 'Pro' wheelie idiot I always keep my arms loose. However, it is really important to set the bike down with the front wheel straight as the thing will slap like a ###### if not. Particulary on a modern sports bike, the 1999/2000 R1 was critical for this.

 

My advice is to keep your arms loose as if it does start off it goes away really quickly (2 to 3 shakes) and this is normally due to the wheel set down at an angle.

 

As for the advice, it's well founded, although I'm proud to say I have never flipped one yet. Ooops that's done it!

 

Andy Ibbott