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First off... this is not written by me. It was written by a fellow on stuntlife.com that said we could cut and paste it onto any other forumn. SOoo... I figured with the abundance of wheelie questions from newbies lately i would take the 2 minutes to post it over here.... so without further adddooo
First of all, I learned all of this from my own experience and from the advice of others on this forum. Following this advice won?t keep you from crashing, getting hurt, and breaking stuff; but it will, most likely, help you learn faster while crashing less often than if you figure everything out on your own.
Bike setup for wheelies
Oil: Many bikes will become oil starved when riding long wheelies, and doing 12 o-clock wheelies. Gixxers and cbr 900s ('93-'95 893cc model) are the most notorious for this. To keep the bike from becoming oil starved, either move the oil pickup in the oil pan back, or overfill the oil. Myself and some others on this forum run 1 quart over. Overfilling doesn't seem to cause any problems with hondas, but I have read of problems with gixxers as a result of this. So the best thing for a gixxer would probably be to fix the oil pickup. You can buy modified oil pickups for gixxers from www.stuntex.com .
Gears: For learning, gearing the bike down is unnecessary. Almost every sportbike will wheelie in first gear without any problem (maybe the ex250 is an exception). Also gearing to make second gear come up easier is kind of pointless because it just becomes more like first gear with big sprockets. If it doesn?t wheelie in first gear, it isn?t the bike?s fault. For the most part, gears are unnecessary until you are ready to learn highchairs (on a weak 600), no throttle hand wheelies, and circles.
Tires: When doing high-speed wheelies make sure you have a good rear tire. A tire with a flat spot in the middle can cause wobbles. I learned wheelies on a rear tire that was almost down to the cords in the middle, and it would often wobble like crazy when doing balance point wheelies. A new tire almost completely eliminated that problem. Run the tire pressure lower than stock. For doing wheelies above 20 mph, have the tire pressure between 20 and 30psi. For doing wheelies slower than 20 mph, lower the pressure to between 12 and 20. 18-20 psi makes for a good all around psi. Lower tire pressure makes the wheelie more stable from side to side.
Tip over sensor: Most (or all, I?m not sure) bikes with fuel injection have a tip over sensor. This can cause the bike to shut off when riding wheelies high. This should be disabled. For Hondas this can be done by cutting the wires going into the sensor, connecting the two outer wires, and leaving the middle one hanging. For gixxers, that method doesn?t work. The brass ring in the sensor must be removed, or immobilized with something such as silicone.
Steering Damper: While it isn?t imperative that you have a steering damper for doing wheelies, it might save your ass. If you come down from a wheelie with the front wheel crooked, it could cause a tank slapper. This shouldn?t be a problem, though; if you make sure the front wheel is strait when you put it down.
Exhaust pipe: If learning 12s, the pipe may have to be shortened. The stock pipes on some bikes touch the ground at about the same time as the tail when doing a 12 o-clock wheelie. If the pipe hits the ground, it may cause you to crash. My friend just went down a week ago because of this. The pipe can be shortened by simply cutting a few inches off the end of the pipe, and then re-welding / re-riveting the end of the pipe back on. Short pipes can also be bought from www.starboyz.com.
Cage: In the process of learning to ride wheelies good, you will most likely drop your bike. Crash cages provide the best protection. All of these cages will most likely save you a lot of money if you crash, but none of them will completely protect your bike in every crash. Here is a list of some crash cage websites in no particular order.
MXD cages http://eclipsebusiness.net/mxdcages.com/
Racing 905 Cages http://www.racing905.com
Powers Cages http://www.powersbikeworx.com/
Freestyle Ingenuity Cages http://www.freestyleingenuity.com/
Wicked Crew Extreme Team's Cages http://cantcuffus.com/cages_pics.htm
12 bar: Install a 12 bar if you plan on learning 12s. There was some debate as to whether or not to learn 12s with a 12 bar. I learned 12s with a bar and didn?t have any problems. You just need to be more careful because a bar is less forgiving than plastic. However, I think tail sections cost way too much to smash on purpose. You can buy 12 bars from Racing 905 or Freestyle Ingenuity. They are also pretty simple to build yourself, at a fraction of the cost.
Protection: Wear a helmet, jacket, jeans, and gloves if you don?t want to get messed up.
Rear Brake: I recommend you get atleast a Rear Braided Brake line. It will make the feel of the brake much better and less "squishy". Also lower the rear brake pedal about a 1/2 to 1" lower than the factory position. This will make the angle between your foot and leg less stressfull on your ankle. I feel it gives me a better feel of the rear brake.
Before riding wheelies on a bike
If you have access to a quad, a dirt bike, or a fiddy, learn wheelies on that first. What you learn about throttle control and the balance point will help you in learning to ride a wheelie on a bike. If you?re ready to learn on a bike then: 1. Make sure the rear brake works and adjust the lever to a comfortable height. 2. There should be 1in. of play in chain slack. A chain too tight or too loose will wear out the chain and sprockets faster than normal. 3. Make sure there are no cracks in the foot pegs, and make sure all of the bolts are tight.
Speed and riding position for learning wheelies
I recommend that beginners learn wheelies if first gear. It is easier to launch the wheelie in first gear, and there is more engine breaking in first gear. This means that you can ride a wheelie higher without the danger of looping it. It also hurts much less and breaks less stuff when you crash in first gear. For that reason i don't think it is a good idea to do highspeed wheelies until using the brake is second nature. It is also much easier to go from riding out first gear wheelies to second gear wheelies than vice versa. The only downfall to learning wheelies in first vs. seconds is that the wheelie won?t be as smooth. The throttle will feel much more sensitive. I think fifteen mph is a good speed to launch wheelies while learning; any slower and the wheelie may feel unstable to a beginner. I also recommend learning wheelies standing up with the left foot on the passenger peg, and the right foot on the front peg, covering the brake. While it may feel awkward at first to wheelie while standing, it will be easier after you get used to that part. Most people think it is easier to balance and control a wheelie standing up vs. sitting down. It is also easier to launch the wheelie from standing up.
First of all, I learned all of this from my own experience and from the advice of others on this forum. Following this advice won?t keep you from crashing, getting hurt, and breaking stuff; but it will, most likely, help you learn faster while crashing less often than if you figure everything out on your own.
Bike setup for wheelies
Oil: Many bikes will become oil starved when riding long wheelies, and doing 12 o-clock wheelies. Gixxers and cbr 900s ('93-'95 893cc model) are the most notorious for this. To keep the bike from becoming oil starved, either move the oil pickup in the oil pan back, or overfill the oil. Myself and some others on this forum run 1 quart over. Overfilling doesn't seem to cause any problems with hondas, but I have read of problems with gixxers as a result of this. So the best thing for a gixxer would probably be to fix the oil pickup. You can buy modified oil pickups for gixxers from www.stuntex.com .
Gears: For learning, gearing the bike down is unnecessary. Almost every sportbike will wheelie in first gear without any problem (maybe the ex250 is an exception). Also gearing to make second gear come up easier is kind of pointless because it just becomes more like first gear with big sprockets. If it doesn?t wheelie in first gear, it isn?t the bike?s fault. For the most part, gears are unnecessary until you are ready to learn highchairs (on a weak 600), no throttle hand wheelies, and circles.
Tires: When doing high-speed wheelies make sure you have a good rear tire. A tire with a flat spot in the middle can cause wobbles. I learned wheelies on a rear tire that was almost down to the cords in the middle, and it would often wobble like crazy when doing balance point wheelies. A new tire almost completely eliminated that problem. Run the tire pressure lower than stock. For doing wheelies above 20 mph, have the tire pressure between 20 and 30psi. For doing wheelies slower than 20 mph, lower the pressure to between 12 and 20. 18-20 psi makes for a good all around psi. Lower tire pressure makes the wheelie more stable from side to side.
Tip over sensor: Most (or all, I?m not sure) bikes with fuel injection have a tip over sensor. This can cause the bike to shut off when riding wheelies high. This should be disabled. For Hondas this can be done by cutting the wires going into the sensor, connecting the two outer wires, and leaving the middle one hanging. For gixxers, that method doesn?t work. The brass ring in the sensor must be removed, or immobilized with something such as silicone.
Steering Damper: While it isn?t imperative that you have a steering damper for doing wheelies, it might save your ass. If you come down from a wheelie with the front wheel crooked, it could cause a tank slapper. This shouldn?t be a problem, though; if you make sure the front wheel is strait when you put it down.
Exhaust pipe: If learning 12s, the pipe may have to be shortened. The stock pipes on some bikes touch the ground at about the same time as the tail when doing a 12 o-clock wheelie. If the pipe hits the ground, it may cause you to crash. My friend just went down a week ago because of this. The pipe can be shortened by simply cutting a few inches off the end of the pipe, and then re-welding / re-riveting the end of the pipe back on. Short pipes can also be bought from www.starboyz.com.
Cage: In the process of learning to ride wheelies good, you will most likely drop your bike. Crash cages provide the best protection. All of these cages will most likely save you a lot of money if you crash, but none of them will completely protect your bike in every crash. Here is a list of some crash cage websites in no particular order.
MXD cages http://eclipsebusiness.net/mxdcages.com/
Racing 905 Cages http://www.racing905.com
Powers Cages http://www.powersbikeworx.com/
Freestyle Ingenuity Cages http://www.freestyleingenuity.com/
Wicked Crew Extreme Team's Cages http://cantcuffus.com/cages_pics.htm
12 bar: Install a 12 bar if you plan on learning 12s. There was some debate as to whether or not to learn 12s with a 12 bar. I learned 12s with a bar and didn?t have any problems. You just need to be more careful because a bar is less forgiving than plastic. However, I think tail sections cost way too much to smash on purpose. You can buy 12 bars from Racing 905 or Freestyle Ingenuity. They are also pretty simple to build yourself, at a fraction of the cost.
Protection: Wear a helmet, jacket, jeans, and gloves if you don?t want to get messed up.
Rear Brake: I recommend you get atleast a Rear Braided Brake line. It will make the feel of the brake much better and less "squishy". Also lower the rear brake pedal about a 1/2 to 1" lower than the factory position. This will make the angle between your foot and leg less stressfull on your ankle. I feel it gives me a better feel of the rear brake.
Before riding wheelies on a bike
If you have access to a quad, a dirt bike, or a fiddy, learn wheelies on that first. What you learn about throttle control and the balance point will help you in learning to ride a wheelie on a bike. If you?re ready to learn on a bike then: 1. Make sure the rear brake works and adjust the lever to a comfortable height. 2. There should be 1in. of play in chain slack. A chain too tight or too loose will wear out the chain and sprockets faster than normal. 3. Make sure there are no cracks in the foot pegs, and make sure all of the bolts are tight.
Speed and riding position for learning wheelies
I recommend that beginners learn wheelies if first gear. It is easier to launch the wheelie in first gear, and there is more engine breaking in first gear. This means that you can ride a wheelie higher without the danger of looping it. It also hurts much less and breaks less stuff when you crash in first gear. For that reason i don't think it is a good idea to do highspeed wheelies until using the brake is second nature. It is also much easier to go from riding out first gear wheelies to second gear wheelies than vice versa. The only downfall to learning wheelies in first vs. seconds is that the wheelie won?t be as smooth. The throttle will feel much more sensitive. I think fifteen mph is a good speed to launch wheelies while learning; any slower and the wheelie may feel unstable to a beginner. I also recommend learning wheelies standing up with the left foot on the passenger peg, and the right foot on the front peg, covering the brake. While it may feel awkward at first to wheelie while standing, it will be easier after you get used to that part. Most people think it is easier to balance and control a wheelie standing up vs. sitting down. It is also easier to launch the wheelie from standing up.
