Wheelie Fails
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"covers eyes"
I really want to learn to wheelie, but it scares the bejesus out of me. My biggest fear is not getting the front wheel down straight. I got that wrong once on a jump line on the mountain bike ... a concussion, a new helmet and a new phone later, I decided it wasn't something I wanted to repeat.
I really want to learn to wheelie, but it scares the bejesus out of me. My biggest fear is not getting the front wheel down straight. I got that wrong once on a jump line on the mountain bike ... a concussion, a new helmet and a new phone later, I decided it wasn't something I wanted to repeat.
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Please do not learn on the street. Buy a cheap dirtbike and practice on that. You have to learn rear brake and throttle control or you will end up on your ass. You WILL end up on your ass anyways when learning, which is why i recommend dirt and proper gear for learning.
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Dirt isn't necessarily safer. I was down and out for 6 months looping it in the dirt :-(
CRF50 makes a great wheelie bike. I had a blast with mine. I sold it, missed it, and replaced it with a Grom. Little bikes for the wheelie win
You can put your feet down and save it like you can a bicycle.
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Yeah, I was down a few months this year with a broken leg from dirt riding. It isn't safe (what about motorcycling is?), but it is safer than pavement. I fall off at least once every time I go enduro riding. If I did that every time I rode on the street, I wouldn't be here.
I'm still waiting on a good deal on a Grom to come my way. I keep hoping I will lose the desire for one, but no luck so far. Little bikes are just too much fun.
I'm still waiting on a good deal on a Grom to come my way. I keep hoping I will lose the desire for one, but no luck so far.
Little bikes are just too much fun.
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To bad you are not closer because both my Grom's will be for sale in the next 30 days.....It's time for my son to move up to a bigger bike...Yeah, I was down a few months this year with a broken leg from dirt riding. It isn't safe (what about motorcycling is?), but it is safer than pavement. I fall off at least once every time I go enduro riding. If I did that every time I rode on the street, I wouldn't be here.
I'm still waiting on a good deal on a Grom to come my way. I keep hoping I will lose the desire for one, but no luck so far.
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182 Posts
The only wheelies I have ever done were entirely by accident and not design. Power wheelies aren't too bad, but I don't imagine I will be doing clutch up wheelies till I try "wheelie school". I want to do knee down and a few bits of track training first though.
I feel a lads weekend booking coming on
I feel a lads weekend booking coming on
I once had a Yamaha TTR 250 trailie sort of bike. It was one of the best wheelie machines I've had. It didn't have a lot of power and being four stroke it was very soft with no power band.
You could pop it up in 1st off the clutch and just hover the back brake whilst doing clutch less gear changes. It would easily get up into 4th although I never managed 5th.
You could pop it up in 1st off the clutch and just hover the back brake whilst doing clutch less gear changes. It would easily get up into 4th although I never managed 5th.
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888 Posts
I've done a ton of wheelies on my CRF50, but never any on purpose on a full size bike. I can wheelie a CRF50 all day long though. I never transferred that to big bikes.
I've done a few accidentals on big bikes, twice in absolute spectacular fashion. First was back in the late 90's sometime. I had a CRF600F3 that I commuted to work on. We had a long straight in road to work. Speed limit was 25, but people sped triple digits sometimes. Private road, dead arrow straight, for a long ways, you get the idea. Company finally installed 15MPH speedbumps. They were pretty far apart. One day I'm coming in to work, and I am behind co-worker in his Honda CRX Si. I decided to show off by blasting past him on the bike (we always raced when we were in our cars). I got over into other lane a tad too early, so I gassed it just as I was hitting the speed bump, which sent me into a wheelie. I was full throttle and bike kept coming up and up and up. Never having done a wheelie before, I had zero reaction to this situation, so I kept doing the wheelie and I kept accelerating and slowing going up more and more. I was in a pretty tall wheelie when I finally got alongside him (he floored it too trying to race) and flew past him still in the wheelie. Luckily the next speed bump knocked me back down onto two wheels. Later inside work, he thought I was a badass. I never told him that was totally by accident haha.
2nd time was 8 or 9 years ago on my 2007 CBR1000RR. Came to a stoplight, and next to me a Mustang pulls up. 2 lanes in same direction, but on other side of intersection it starts to merge into one lane. Anyways, as we're sitting there, Mustang starts inching forward, revving engine, etc. Light turns green and he gets me on the jump, I give it full tilt throttle and pass him in a wheelie. At this point, I've done plenty of accidentals, so wheelies weren't scary anymore. I looked over at him, in a wheelie, and the look on his face as I passed him in a wheelie was priceless. He was full throttle and I still easily passed, in a massive wheelie haha. I ruined his day as I'm sure it looked like I was mocking him.
I've done a few accidentals on big bikes, twice in absolute spectacular fashion. First was back in the late 90's sometime. I had a CRF600F3 that I commuted to work on. We had a long straight in road to work. Speed limit was 25, but people sped triple digits sometimes. Private road, dead arrow straight, for a long ways, you get the idea. Company finally installed 15MPH speedbumps. They were pretty far apart. One day I'm coming in to work, and I am behind co-worker in his Honda CRX Si. I decided to show off by blasting past him on the bike (we always raced when we were in our cars). I got over into other lane a tad too early, so I gassed it just as I was hitting the speed bump, which sent me into a wheelie. I was full throttle and bike kept coming up and up and up. Never having done a wheelie before, I had zero reaction to this situation, so I kept doing the wheelie and I kept accelerating and slowing going up more and more. I was in a pretty tall wheelie when I finally got alongside him (he floored it too trying to race) and flew past him still in the wheelie. Luckily the next speed bump knocked me back down onto two wheels. Later inside work, he thought I was a badass. I never told him that was totally by accident haha.
2nd time was 8 or 9 years ago on my 2007 CBR1000RR. Came to a stoplight, and next to me a Mustang pulls up. 2 lanes in same direction, but on other side of intersection it starts to merge into one lane. Anyways, as we're sitting there, Mustang starts inching forward, revving engine, etc. Light turns green and he gets me on the jump, I give it full tilt throttle and pass him in a wheelie. At this point, I've done plenty of accidentals, so wheelies weren't scary anymore. I looked over at him, in a wheelie, and the look on his face as I passed him in a wheelie was priceless. He was full throttle and I still easily passed, in a massive wheelie haha. I ruined his day as I'm sure it looked like I was mocking him.
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