First real try and wheelies today

Well today I took the bike (1998 srad 750) out to a deserted lot and tried and tried and tried to pull weelies. After reading the faq, I went about trying to bring the bike up with just power alone. Didn't have too much success, I could get the wheel off the ground slightly but I couldn't bring it up any further. So i switched to the clutch technique, and I figured out that if I got it going a bit, say to 20mph, then floored the gas, then dropped the clutch, the front would come up pretty quick. I got it up a few times to the balance point in this way, but I'd get so freaked out that I'd kill the throttle, and smash my nads ;). I tried doing this in 2nd, but I guess the road wasn't long enough for me to get it up to the proper speed. All in all it was very educational. Till next time... -Jason

good luck so far. I'm just testing the water with wheelies as well. I have an 03 750, and I can power them up just by getting on them when going not too fast, or from a slow roll. I can get them up decently high, but I usually either cut it a little, or all the way as well. When I mess with the clutch, it seems really jerky, I haven't brought it up that way, but I just mess with the rpms and letting the clutch out. that latter way just seems to jerky in comparison of the feeling of floating up the first way. Either that or its just me. but now I gotta wait until my bike is fixed. :damn:

still learning myself...with not much success. i have an 01 600. I started getting a foot or 2 off the ground by running in first to about 9-10K, killing the throttle till the front drops and then shotting back the throttle..but that seems too inconsistant, shot up pretty quick a cupple times causing me to cut the throttle....and i hate making a lot of noise by doing that. I got up real smooth while i was practicing my quick-starts when reved it up to about 7-8 and let off the clutch quickly...but not all at once. I loved that smooth feeling of floating it up. I still dont understand the whole "feathering" the clutch deal. any help would be appriciated.

trust me...if your cracking the throttle open and its not coming up in first..its rider error. ive got an 05 750,i bring it up from a simple roll on with little effort,second gear the same...3rd requires a bounce for me.even a 600 will come up in first....i think,and i speak from experience,.ive noticed that when i was getting used to the new bike and attempting roll ons in first gear that at first i had the same problem,but for different reasons,i was simply trying to figure out just how far i had to take it b4 i went past BP and at what RPM... i think what your problem may be that when you say you crack the throttle wide open...thats its actually not wide open,its human nature to grab a handful but not the whole handful so to speak,we all have that little voice in the back of our heads that says..whoa...wtf are ya doing man? its instinctual to want to preserve your ass. if your at around 7k to 8k and you crack it open the whole way,and i do mean the WHOLE way...that front end will come up quicker than you can yell shit! you dont even need to have the rpm's up that high to do it but for learning sakes its easier. get your nuts off the tank,relax..thats key as well...when your at 7k crack the throttle quickly and wide open and that thing will launch straight up! now mind you, a wide open twist will dump you just as fast...but its the easiest way for you to get familiar with it..once youre comfortable youll realize what youre doing right VS wrong..and that a full twist really isnt even needed in most cases. wear ur gear bro.

i power up my 600 all day.....remember this when learning wheelies.....its pretty hard to loop a wheelie due the the fact that in first and second there is a lot of engine braking....hell you could pass balance point by far and all you have to do is chop the throttle and you will come back down......if your powering wheelies up in first then your not going to get a long ride since your using a lot of rpm just to get it up......so i like to clutch personally and this is how i learned...even if you jsut clutch it up a foot you could power it up there....eventually you will start to feel more comfortable with clutching to the point where you will clutch it straight to balance point......sit downs are a lot more harder than stand ups......stand ups are easy to control ...especialy if your left foot is on the passenger peg.....drop a few lbs psi in the rear tire to that should help balance it so its not so wobbly side to side....say 21 psi.....you will know when you hit balance point cause you will hear the rpms drap fairly dramaticly.....and also you have to lean off the side of the bike to see on sit downs is a pretty good indication your close.......good luck guys ride safe and cover the rear brake.

take baby steps you dont wanna loop your bike slow and easy is the best advice anyone ever gave me...you wont be a wheelie pro over night...do it wrong 50 times and your bound to get it right once...and when you do mimic that every time...start with roll ons just to get the feel of the wheel off the ground whenyour comfertable with that feeling youll ride them longer smoother and everything thing else comes with time...such as throttle control, knowing when to let off, know what to high is, and most importantly not everyone does it but for me i like to keep my foot on my back brake and keep a little drag on it so when you do let off your already on your way down very important when your in higher gears(not alot of engine braking passed second) believe me your foot brake will save your life...ride safe and always wear your gear

^^^^ yup yup.....start off slow ......one day the thing will come up and you will jsut naturaly get it....everything will click all of a sudden.

I have also been experimenting with being my bike up aswell. I have a '05 600 and I know I can power it up in 2nd, it's just when it starts to come up I want to just shout it down, time will make me feel more relaxed. Does the bounce really help and if so when should you do it??????

if your not comfortable with the bike being high up in a wheelie dont bounce cause it will shoot up...get more comfortable with what your doing first then start bouncing...yes it helps a lot...but be careful and cover teh rear break...let out some tire pressure as well ...i run 20psi in the rear and do highway stuff....it helps with the stability.

oh and bounceing is simple to answer your second part of that question.....right befor you whack the throttle let of and when it compress's the suspension give a bounce and whack away.

way to go man, just keep practicing and you'll get it. By the way, the best way to learn the fastest is to have someone film you and then watch it right after. Trust me, even though it feels like you're going to flip you had plenty of room left, that's where the camera helps, you do a wheelie that feels wicked high, then you watch it on the tape, and you see the wheel was only 1 1/2 feet up.

yup balance point is high as hell.....and feels even higher.

good job on being safe/smart abou it bro! i power up my '04 600 all day...roll on the throttle to 6-7K then let off/whack back on it...it pops up pretty decently, then i just give her more throttle and the front just eases up more n more..never tried powering up 2nd due to the speed required to do it..i dont wanna risk it on the street. as for not being able to power it up..its because you are too far forward on the bike..this was my problem for weeks until i gto comfortable sitting back a little and relaxing my upper body as to sort of "embrace" the front coming up. your natural reaction is to lean forward and press down with your arms...once you get over that fear, you're good to go.

oh yeah, and don't hump the gas tank when it comes up, almost everyone has a tendancy to through their weight foreward when it comes up high, don't do it, work on getting on the rear brake, brake control is so important

oh yeah, and don't hump the gas tank when it comes up, almost everyone has a tendancy to through their weight foreward when it comes up high, don't do it, work on getting on the rear brake, brake control is so important unless u stand on both rear pegs then ur just F$$ked like me. No brake control cuz its all throttle control LOL but seriously keep up the good work u'll get mile wheelies like nothing.

I have an 03 750 - does anyone know at about what rpm I would need to bring it up in 2nd if I am rolling to a certain rpm, letting off and wacking the throttle back on? I can bring it up in 1st by getting to about 7k and smacking the throttle open.. I haven't gotten the balancing act down yet but it will come in time... I had someone video me and it did seem like I was up a lot higher than I actually was when I saw it on tape...

Start on a dirt bike if available and learn the rear brake and balance point (I use a honda 50 & an xr80, see my avitar). Just take it slow and dont push your limits at first.

call me a squid but I just did it... was rolling across an overpass just getting to school and no other cars were too close (I thought) so I pushed it to about 40 in first, layed off the throttle for a moment, whacked it open, and the bike jumped right up... I had to quit in a real hurry though, as I was catching up to the car ahead a little too quickly.. I'm not really that interested in stunting (couldn't afford to fix the bike, and I don't like getting hurt) but it was a bit of fun to have it pop right up with so little effort. What's the danger turning the wheel and causing the bike to go down (or other stupid mistakes)? I felt totally in control, but was a bit worried that I was more lucky than anything else..

isent really a problem as long as you straigtn up before you set down, ill ride stnad ups with the wheel off to the left its just comfertable you just have to rememeber straightin up or you go where the wheel is pointed or worse wobble and weave

Anybody got any tips about clutching wheelies at speed. I have a 03 600 Alstare and I was down in San Diego. It was a bright March day. I went to a spot down in San Ysidro, down by the border of Mexico in an industrial park. It was only myself and three friends. We were all out popping wheelies. I was throttling them up in first like nothing. But as we all know, your usually at 14000 revs before the balancing point. I decided that a second gear clutcher would be a good idea. I stood up on the front pegs, covered the rear brake, brought it up to about 8000 revs, and as I got ready to pop the clutch, I hit a small dip in the road. It kind of threw me off balance and I rolled the throttle to about 12000 revs and popped it. Before I knew it, the bike had rocketed up, slammed me on the chest, threw me off and I started sliding down the road on my left knee. I got a good sight of my 600 on a perfect wheelie for about 50 feet, then the horrible roll over the top and slam down on the gas tank. Then it fell on the right side and slid about 50 more feet. Ground through the stock can, destroyed my right peg, gas tank, upper fairing stay, headlight, windscreen, both mirrors, tail light, rear seat, right clip on. Damage came to about 3000. (Thank God for ebay.) So, I know the dangers of clutchers, but I still want to perfect it. Any advice would be helpful. By feathering the clutch, what exactly does that mean? Until I know, I'll continue powering up in first, and sometimes in second, however second requires jumping on the pegs to compress the front end enough. After this my buddy gave me the best advice ever, Keep the rubber side down.

start about 40 mph pull the clutchin about 1/2 way get the revs up a 1k everytime till you feel comfetable i normally take it up about 5 or 6 grand more but just do it 1k at a time, the wheel will shoot straight up you just need to get used to it...it will come in time take it slow and stay sitting down at first once you get the wheel in the air the rest is cake youll learn to clutch it right ot the b/p and its will be perfect everytime...to be honest the go big or go home thing, well doesnt apply to streetbikes unless your rich or just plain dont care, baby steps ask qeustions and take its slow it will all come in time..