Last night my friend went up on his 04 600 RR. He tried doing a wheelie with having barely experience riding, let alone the know how of doing a wheelie.

He saw me and my buddy doing wheelies, little fun tricks, etc... This was his first time riding with people. We got to our destination and he wanted to show off and try a wheelie. He went up, 12 oclocked it, then the front wheel started to come down, and I wish he would have let it, but he tried to pop it back up, he gunned it, and I think I heard the rev limiter, the bike came back up, flipped over, he fell off, the bike slid about 100 ft, and he slid about 50 feet. His helmet came off with initial impact and his head hit the curb numerous times.

He has a lot of road rash, on his face, shoulders, legs, arms, etc... He went through surgery last night, had pins in his knee and elbows. He'll be laid up for a while.

New riders, I will tell you what I told him initially before we went riding.

Go at your own pace when you ride with experienced riders. If you can't make a turn, slow down so you can make it, it's better to slow down than to go off into oncoming traffic, or off the road, or fall on your side. Don't try to keep up if you can't. Don't be too proud to back off if you can't do something. After a couple months you will know what you're doing and you can do stuff like that. We all were new at one time, there is no need to try and act like you've been riding forever if you haven't. Never be too proud, it could cost you your life.

And I told him this 100 times last night, before the accident. KEEP THE WHEELS ON THE GROUND! Until you have a feel for the bike, and before you know what you need to do to perform a wheelie, DON'T DO IT. I had been riding for 5 months before I tried playing with wheelies. I can pull a wheelie and ride it out, but when I first started riding I could never do it. I didn't know what I needed to do, I didn't have a feel for the bike, etc...

Keep those wheels on the ground, new guys. It's fun, and it's cool when you know how, but no need to rush, it's not that important. It will come to you in time and with experience.

This was a good wakeup call for me.

And for guys in states that don't require helmets, wear it. The initial impact with the ground, had he not had a helmet, would have for sure killed him.

Take it easy guys. Be safe.

 

Great advice dude, you gave me a wake up call with that tale as well. Thank you for that.

TooL

 

Hope your friend has a speedy recovery. It's impossible to get some people to listen to good advice so don't blame yourself. That's the main reason I don't do any group rides -- seems there's always someone who has something to prove. I try to only ride with people that I know. Doesn't mean we don't rip up the asphalt - just means that we're on the same page before the trip begins. Again, I wish your friend a full, speedy recovery.

 

good advice, I wish more newbie squids would listen, but they seem to be the ones that have the most to prove for some reason. Im glad your friend is gonna pull through, Ive read many that have not...

 

Sorry to hear about your friend. Glad to hear that he is still alive and hope for a fast recovery. Just to comment on your wheelies and experiece. The safest thing is to keep the wheels on the ground all the time no matter how long you have been riding. These bikes and the roads are not made to horse around on. When you do it enough its gonna eventually bite ya in the butt. I know I will never try a wheelie.

 

I have been riding since 16 (Now 36) and have owned 6 bikes and have just bought a CBR600 F4i and have never pulled a wheelie or burnout or anything.
I have just riden on race tracks in Australia (Philip Island and Eastern Creek) and get buzz doing over 200+ kmph and have no need to do stunts.
The bike is not designed for stunts and you will come off sooner or later doing it.
PLEASE keep both your wheels on the ground.

 

Keeping the wheels on the ground at all times is the best practice, yes this is true.

 

thanks for your advice on my post about wheelies. sorry to hear about your friend. that sucks. its stuff like this that i want to learn about. like he got it up but he tried to ride it and messed up instead of putting it back on the ground. crazy stuff dude.

 

Nothing safer than that. Or at least keep it to a parking lot where it'll keep you from going too fast and going down.

 

You know what's sad? It's that this is about the 50th time I've heard this same story from different people on every bike forum I've looked at. Some people just don't learn. Darwin awards should be handed to all of them.