balance point wheelies

hey still trying to practice my 1st gear power ups but i'm a little scared of going to high or looping it, i can bring it up but i dont know if i should keep given throttle or not. how can you find that sweet spot to balance it ? an is it easier to stand or sit doing this ?

I wouldn't try to find BP in 1st gear, I'd step up to 2nd. Some people say find 2nd gear BP sitdown then do standups, others say go right to stand up because it's more comfortable. It is all preference. But definitely work on finding BP in 2nd, cover that rear brake, you don't have as much engine brake as you do in first. Good luck, take it slow, one step at a time.

hey still trying to practice my 1st gear power ups but i'm a little scared of going to high or looping it, i can bring it up but i dont know if i should keep given throttle or not. how can you find that sweet spot to balance it ? an is it easier to stand or sit doing this ? I would learn clutch ups and just keep going higher and higher until you find it. It helps me to get somone to video so I can see where I'm at.

2nd gear, stand up, clutch up. Best combination IMO. 1st gear, much more risky, 2nd gear is smoother, throttle inputs arent as jerky, stand up allows better balance, and clutching it up is just smoother and more predictable.

IMHO, I would remain in 1st gear until you master it before moving up to 2nd as the speeds will be much faster and you have less compression braking to safe your buns if you get it too high. No wheelie school will suggest you learn to wheelie in second gear nor will they have you doing clutch wheelies before you learn to do throttle wheelies.

IMHO, I would remain in 1st gear until you master it before moving up to 2nd as the speeds will be much faster and you have less compression braking to safe your buns if you get it too high. No wheelie school will suggest you learn to wheelie in second gear nor will they have you doing clutch wheelies before you learn to do throttle wheelies. I find nothing wrong with your advice except that He shouldn't be accelerating in any gear. If He found bp in ANY gear He would remain at the same speed.

I find nothing wrong with your advice except that He shouldn't be accelerating in any gear. If He found bp in ANY gear He would remain at the same speed. +1.. but i IMO it's way easier to use 1st when you're getting comfortable just getting the front wheel off the ground.. and then use second getting comfortable balancing em.. Once you find BP once you'll know exactly what it takes to get there no matter what gear you're in..

I find nothing wrong with your advice except that He shouldn't be accelerating in any gear. If He found bp in ANY gear He would remain at the same speed. Right......but he hasn't found bp yet. So if he's in 2nd, he may be doing 70+ before he's anywhere near it. Some people learn 1st gear, some people learn 2nd. 2nd is smoother than 1st. But I've wrecked trying to scrape in 1st twice and I've gotten right up with no injuries. Crashing in second could be a lot worse.

thanx im just gonna keep being safe and take some points and practice !

not at bp, he will also be accelerating in 1st which could be 50+. really i would not worry about bp just yet...just work on your throttle control and rear brake till you got all smooth, then start bringing it farther and farther back until you're at bp. then you can rock it behind bp, use the rear brake to save you and actually slow your wheelies down. also, i found 2nd to be much easier to learn in. if you are still working on throttle control, a blip in 1st could send you over, a blip in 2nd is much less likely to do that. just remember to cover your rear brake just in case...

when i get it up in first i feel like i can keep pullin her higher "like twisten on more throttle" but im not sure if i keep going"loop" or am i gonna just slow down once i hit bp ?

yeah i can't seem to get it up in 2nd yet :S i can get it up in first with the clutch or with rollon (usually they work haha) like in 2nd, what rpm do you cruise at, and then when you pull in the clutch, what rpm do you rev to and drop the clutch?! (p.s. when you do drop the clutch, do you POP the throttle a bit to bring it up?) vidoes make it looks SO easy..fuck

to find BP on first gear u gotta have balls.......to twitchy........i got first gear power up pretty high,but i'm scared 2 hit BP , i started 2 do 2 gear now (no clutch)...but i'm not way near hittin' BP yet.......U have 2 really take ur time 2 feel comfortable. PS...+ i'm scared 2 wreck my bike....:infrandom

why is it safer to do 2nd gear power ups, im in the same situation dont know if i have hit bp yet, if i knew how to post a pic i would, when i tape myself i look high enough to be at bp. If you get to balance point isnt there still throttle control involved, you cant just hold it at that throttle and u will stay steady

you will know when you hit bp. it has a kinda wieghtless feeling. your rpms will level out and you will not gain anymore speed as long as you stay at bp. yes there is still throttle control involved and if you go behind bp then i hope there is rear brake control involved too. when your forks are about parallel with the ground you are close to bp. also slippin the clutch, don't just pull it in, rev the motor and then drop it. just barely pull it to where the clutch disengages them pop it back out as fast as possible.

also slippin the clutch, don't just pull it in, rev the motor and then drop it. just barely pull it to where the clutch disengages them pop it back out as fast as possible. do you give it more throttle when you disengage the clutch or just stay the same?:hmmm: I can do some power ups in first but I redline too quik by the time I get it up so I cant ride it for very long. also I dont want to loop my bike so I dont want to push it too far, I've hit the bp a few times but its a little scary when the bike just gets really light all of a sudden, makes me want more but at the same time makes me not want to go as high the next time. I guess I just gotta grow me a set and git-r-done!!:lol:

Be careful on the 1st gear:headshake

For all you Throttle Jockeys out there that want to master the art of that oh so illusive wheelie, do yourself a great favor, disregard all the experts on the internet and spend twenty five bucks on a dvd by Kyle Woods called "Wheelies from Dummies". You'll get the straight scoop on how to set your bike up as well as how to safely learn to loft the front wheel up. Wheelies are fun and easily mastered but it takes practice. Lots and lots of practice. If you only practice once a week for fifteen minutes you'll never reach a point of comfort. It's not mandatory to crash in order to learn but it is mandatory to practice as often as possible. Take baby steps, don't rush things. It takes years to get good, not weeks. I haven't heard anyone on this thread ask the most important question, "What's the proper tire pressure". Kyle Woods covers that in his video. Buy it, you'll get a good understanding of what and how before you develop bad habits.

so how much air pressure is it?

i looped it today. it aint that scary

its 20-25psi in your tires. I bought that video, and it actually isnt that great. The one thing i did learn is throttle control, they show a good angle of what is bad throttle control and what is good throttle control

its 20-25psi in your tires. I bought that video, and it actually isnt that great. The one thing i did learn is throttle control, they show a good angle of what is bad throttle control and what is good throttle control It's a dvd for beginners. If you already know how to set your bike up and have already mastered the BP, you are correct, it's boring. However, if you are a beginner and pay attention, there is a great deal of information to be consumed that will expedite your learning curve. If you do know how to wheelie, Kyle also has a video you may find interesting called "Advanced Wheelies II".

whats the proper setup for wheelies?

It's always the same, everyone says it comes up easy.. on my 07 gsxr 1k first gear clutch up's are no problem i can ride them out to redline, but second gear i can't get to come more then a foot off the ground let a lone ride them... I have seen many GSXR1k's ride wheelies upwards of 100 mph...how is they are getting them off the ground in second? or any gear higher then first, i agree with the person above, i hit redline much too quickly for my taste...

if it's only coming a foot off the ground then either you need to give it more gas when clutchin it, or you are not shifting your weight right. also, to solve the problem of red lining, just bring the wheel up higher. i know it is a lot easier to say than to do. just practice. a lot. and i would not suggest wheelies anywhere near 100mph.

[QUOTE=splymale;428551]do you give it more throttle when you disengage the clutch or just stay the same?QUOTE] yes, give it more gas when slippin the clutch. just take it a little at a time till you feel comfortable. and get used to using your rear brake, until you do it without thinkin about it. it can save your ass

So Second with the cluth should be relativly the same as first then? just a lil higher speed right? nothin is done differently? i do the same thing as when i do it in first maybe i need more speed? i will try some tomorrow and see what happens.

What I do instead of slippin the clutch is be in 2nd gear at 4500 rpm and bounce the front by tryng to pop a wheelie then it preloads and try it again and it comes right up, also have ur left foot on the rear passenger peg and right still next to the brake, ive only been ridin 2 months and I can ride those from 35mph all the way to 100 +.

is bp even possible in 1st gear? im convinced its not....because when i get high enough for bp i feel any more gas it will loop so i let it down....the only way i can wind out all of first gear is when the wheel is slowly rising constantly? first gear wheelies are TWITCHY AHHHH

is bp even possible in 1st gear? im convinced its not....because when i get high enough for bp i feel any more gas it will loop so i let it down....the only way i can wind out all of first gear is when the wheel is slowly rising constantly? first gear wheelies are TWITCHY AHHHH I think i can agree with that, I am not sure if there is a BP for 1rst gear wheelies, I can finally say i am at stage 2? I can consistantly power it up in first, and get it pretty high, let off, and as it starts to fall, I can re apply gas to keep it up, I dont think its bp though, as its not where my forks are parrallel. but still pretty high, and the front getting light, doesnt scare me as much anymore, and I am not slamming the front end down either, its all smooth now, I think i am ready for 2nd gear clutch ups, which I have tried, and are unsuccessful at, it sounds really bad on the bike...

all my second gear attempts to slip it are failed also.. tried last night maybe im not getting my weight far enough back, maybe i should try standing... Maybe i should just try to preload and bring it up in second with out the clutch? More attempts tonight...

i will try to make a video showing the right way to slip the clutch later on today. clutchin it up in 2nd should be no problem. what happens when you try to do it?

i will try to make a video showing the right way to slip the clutch later on today. clutchin it up in 2nd should be no problem. what happens when you try to do it? A vid would be awesome matt. I'd like to have an idea where in the rpms to clutch 2nd and hear how fast you let out the clutch. With stock gearing all my 06 600 would do is surge forward and uncompress the front forks. I recently geared -1/+2 so it should be easy as shit. I've given it only a few tries as I haven't found anywhere to practice yet. Now the front will come up about a few inches. Guess I"m not giving it enough gas. Just seems like a lot of gas especially with the gearing. Am I popping the clutch too fast? Also, approx what rpm is it good to clutch? 6k? Lower for lower speed wheelies? Do I have to be careful of the powerband kicking in like for power wheelies? Just been hearing a lot about looped bikes lately and want to be careful.

Have you learned power ups in 1st yet? If not I would go there 1st . IMO My key to doin wheelies and from what I have learned from talking to people, is to get use to the ft wheel coming off the ground . If something happen I would rather it happen a little slower than a 40 to 90 mph wheelie but thats just me . The ft wheel will feel a lot higher than you think at first it was just a little then a little more then I thought wow this is gettin high as hell untill I had a friend take a pic and I was like wtf it isn't even 2ft high and the more I practiced the more it came up and once I was riden 1st gear out then I moved to 2nd gear clutch ups and thats where I found b/p O what a feelin so I hope this helps It just takes a lot of pratice and taken your time . IMO learnen wheelies to fast = crash section

Well yes i have learned 1st gear clutch ups i can ride them out to redline :S but its second gear now :) When i do it in second it usually just kinda lifts up maybe a couple inches and falls as if the bike doesn't have enough power to pull it up in second (182.5hp) im sure it does :) just gotta twerk it tonight i guess. About what speed should i start to try my second gear with cluth? or without?

my k6 600 will pop up first gear.. but it's never very smooth.. and forget riding it out for very long. .. .. a lot of talk about "try to learn first gear power-ups".. but what good is it if it only pops up and never rides out.. (usually lack of gear) I grab the throttle when the bike's at about 9-10k and can sometimes get it to come up pretty nice.. others is just crazy acceleration. /shrug.. perhaps some more practice 'popping' it.

All you hear is power-ups to learn, but you know what, all the people who really know how to wheelie say to learn clutch-ups because you can loop a power-up easily. Especially with these 06 600's you really have to be at high rpm to power-up. Clutching first isn't too bad, you get it up at a much lower rpm. Still pretty scary with all the torque in 1rst. I'd like to talk to people who clutch. Like do you have to worry about the powerband etc, etc.

the process of clutching a wheelie up is one solid motion. the actually slipping in of the clutch should only take a second if that. just enough to increase rpms from whatever speed your originally going. what i do: cruising 2nd, roll on throttle, w/ two fingers, barely engage clutch, roll on throttle and start slipping the clutch out as you increase throttle.

the process of clutching a wheelie up is one solid motion. the actually slipping in of the clutch should only take a second if that. just enough to increase rpms from whatever speed your originally going. what i do: cruising 2nd, roll on throttle, w/ two fingers, barely engage clutch, roll on throttle and start slipping the clutch out as you increase throttle. soundz easy...but i cant clutch it up 4 shyt (maybe not used2 it)...........for GSXR J1K.....2nd gear should not b a problem,watch ur speed might b goin' 2 fast....?.......50-55 mph..rev's around 6500 7000 rpms +gas gotta come up.:headscrat

practice pratice pratice if my 600 can clutch up in 2nd & 3rd a 1000 should be no problem! its all in the technique. DONT FOCUS on what speed, or what RPM your going. it will throw u off get a feeling of the bike, the sound, how the throttle reacts when your lifting a wheelie up. Ive never once even looked @ my rpms(or speed) when i lift a wheelie up. i focus on my body position, and TIMING!!!! TIMING is everything when doing a CLUTCH UP

Are you sitting down for these? I have a hard time believing you can clutch up a 600 in third sitting down.

I found bp this week I think for the first time. I was sitting in second at relatively low speed (about 70 km/h) and freaked when I reached BP. Even though I tell myself all the time not to take a foot off the pegs and to use the rear brake, I still lifted my right foot off because I thought I was going to loop. The front came down luckily when I cut the throttle but I had a bit of a scare. I can usually do 2nd gear clutchups sitting or standing for about 100m or so and have even learnt to change from 1st to 2nd and then to 3rd while doing a wheelie, but I always keep accelerating. I keep getting close to BP but there is definitely a fear factor. I am slowly overcoming this and hopefully I can avoid looping while getting there. I have been riding road bikes for about 6 months now. Previously dirt bikes only and I could never successfully wheelie them.

i can clutch em up in 2nd sitting down no problem but yeah when i clutch em up in 3rd im standing, plus preloading the front suspension. im sure its possible to clutch in 3rd sitting down(with a hell of a bounce). havnt tried though, maybe tomorrow........................

OK so many failed attempts quickly led to success tonight. Actually rode my first 2nd gear wheelie tonight. Deffinitly can already tell the differnce in throttle and balancing the bike in second. Even though i rode it till about 90mph from 40ish. I felt more at ease trying to balance the bike then when i clutch it up in 1st... But I had to rev the hell outta it even sitting back....Should I have to? my bike being a 1k and all?

OK so many failed attempts quickly led to success tonight. Actually rode my first 2nd gear wheelie tonight. Deffinitly can already tell the differnce in throttle and balancing the bike in second. Even though i rode it till about 90mph from 40ish. I felt more at ease trying to balance the bike then when i clutch it up in 1st... But I had to rev the hell outta it even sitting back....Should I have to? my bike being a 1k and all? no. you shouldnt have to. maybe ur slipping the clutch movement time is slow just keep working on it. you'll get it . roll in second slip in the clutch and hit the throttle till u hear that VWOOOM! noise it sounds bad as hell :D and just let it back out ..being a 1k i see no problems for it to clutch up in second =)

well more practice tonight, i dont think im actually doing the whole "slipping" the clutch. I'm working on that now but when i first started trying to to Clutch up's in first i was "Dropping" the clutch...not good...

i can clutch em up in 2nd sitting down no problem but yeah when i clutch em up in 3rd im standing, plus preloading the front suspension. im sure its possible to clutch in 3rd sitting down(with a hell of a bounce). havnt tried though, maybe tomorrow........................ how do you bounce when sitting, wieght the foot pegs for sec?

I push down on the front forks (bounce) as im slipping the clutch out. also known as the preload method this is a must when im doing a sitdown clutch up on my 600. Stand ups I can usually just clutch up just for the fact i have more weight to the rear end.

sorry guys no vid yet... just bought a house and been trying to get things ready to move in. my girl called me yesterday at lunch to let me know that we were painting lastnight...so ill try to get that vid done asap. the whole process of disengage clutch, give throttle, engage clutch should take no more than a second.

I found bp this week I think for the first time. I was sitting in second at relatively low speed (about 70 km/h) and freaked when I reached BP. Even though I tell myself all the time not to take a foot off the pegs and to use the rear brake, I still lifted my right foot off because I thought I was going to loop. The front came down luckily when I cut the throttle but I had a bit of a scare. I can usually do 2nd gear clutchups sitting or standing for about 100m or so and have even learnt to change from 1st to 2nd and then to 3rd while doing a wheelie, but I always keep accelerating. I keep getting close to BP but there is definitely a fear factor. I am slowly overcoming this and hopefully I can avoid looping while getting there. I have been riding road bikes for about 6 months now. Previously dirt bikes only and I could never successfully wheelie them. Dang dude, you have got some serious skills for a guy who's only been in the saddle for six months and no previous wheelie experience. Reaching BP in Second at 70 km is something I wish I could do and I've been doing wheelies for longer than I can remember? I have a 1K as well and I can't get it up in second gear that slow. If I do second gear, by the time I reach BP I'm looking at tripple digits in km. Maybe those 1K's over there are crossed with a kangaroo? :lol:

Here is a little video I made some time back that may give you some help on doing clutch wheelies. Actually, I would recommend practicing clutch wheelies exactly as in the video until you get good at it. Clutch it up in 1st gear and quickly shift to second. Turn the sound up on your computer so you can listen to the bike. Clutching it up in 1st is much easier on your bike than 2nd. Actually, I would recommend finding BP in 1st and getting comfortable before moving to 2nd. Much easier on your bike at much slower speeds. If you happen to have a get off, you'll be grateful you were in 1st. Linky (http://s101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/WebfootCompany/Sunshine%20Shadow/?action=view¤t=Sunshine_Shadow.flv)

Sorry guys, I don't understand how some of the 1000 riders are having problems getting the front tire up in 2nd and have to clutch first??? Shit, at 3k rpms in first I can simply crack the throttle (not all the way) and the front tire shoots right up to about BP. And 2nd gear when I'm at 7-8k rpms the same thing with the cracking of the throttle but a bit more than first gear. As far as clutching 2nd (never bother clutching first), I get to a slow speed in 2nd which is around 20-25 mph and rev the bike to about 9k rpms and release the clutch with my one (only) finger on the lever and then start throttle controlling as in give a little/ back off a little with the throttle until the bike pretty much "locks-in" to a comfortable position. Now I am by no means a great wheelie rider but I am good enough to ride them out for a good mile or 2 and keep them staright with a little turning around minor curves. Sad thing is I am better at sit-down wheelies than I am at stand-ups. I don't have my passenger pegs anymore and with both my feet up front I have a hard time getting comfortable with my body upright cause my ass sticks out alot which I think is from my legs being kinda long:headscrat . Anyway, like people have said already it takes time and practice. I didn't start riding a "real" wheelie until the second season with my K2 and it wasn't until the 3rd season where I really made some progress on the whole riding them out. But then again, the first 2 seasons on my K2 I focused on my turns and smooth throttle imputs. But I bet if I or you spent just 1 whole season dedicated to just wheeling, you/I would pick it up faster.

OoOoOoOOOoO :yumyum: that video was HAWT! i want to be able to shift into second while my front tire is off the ground...too scared ima take it oVer though... Rained today in AZ...no wheelies for me.. :(

for my opinion i think standups are better than sit downs becasue wouldnt you rather be looking where you are going then sitting down...plus when you do a stand up the balance point feels like the bike is light..so light that you feel like your riding nothing..but tremember have the right foot on the rear brake!! good luck...you have to eat it before you perfect it:thumbup:

you have to eat it before you perfect it:thumbup: worst advice i have ever heard.