Ok so I'm trying to learn to wheelie, I read the thread at the top of the page a couple days ago with instructions on how to clutch it up and all that. So I went out to give it a try, and after a couple tries nothing was happening so I started to give it more gas. A couple times I was able to get the front wheel maybe 6 inches off the ground, but then it sat right back down before I could give it more gas, so I started giving it more gas and the rear wheel just spins. I've tried varying the speed I'm going when I clutch it, and nothing seems to help. I was running 30 psi in the rear tire, so I dropped it down to 20 and the rear wheel still just spins. I think my natural tendency when I get on the throttle is to lean forward somewhat, so should I try to focus on keeping my body upright, or do I need to soften up the rear suspension? I'd appreciate any help/advice.

 

stay relaxed (don't have a death grip on the handle bars). keep your bodyweight towards the rear. increase the gas and your tire will come off the ground more. lots of practice. stop chopping the throttle. start learning rear brake. lots of practice.

that should get you off to a good start

EDIT: BABYSTEPS! take your time.

 

practice makes perfect.

if ur rear tire is spinning....

1. either ur tire is cold/wet
2. you're NOT clutchin it right (most likely the issue)

u started out good...u went out and practiced....now do it again....over and over again, until u learn and get the feel for clutchin it.

 

thanks for the advice guys. i've made sure the tire is plenty warm before i attempt a wheelie, so i suppose i'm not clutching it right. how quickly do you let the clutch back out? i think i might have been getting anxious and just letting the clutch out too fast, causing the rear tire to break loose. since i just bought this bike not too long ago, i haven't done any adjustments to the rear suspension. it does feel a bit stiff, i know the guy i bought it from was pretty heavy, so perhaps i need to take some preload out of the rear spring. once again thanks for the help, i'll practice some more and if i have any more questions i'll direct them here.

 

oh forgot that one. drop your rear tire to 20-25psi.

let the clutch out quickly

 

the way i do it is with one finger pull in the clutch just enough to disengage it and let it out at the same time i give it gas....should come up every time if you do it right....on my stock f4i i do it at about 5k rpms

 

thanks for the tips. i think the rear-tire spin was a combination of a couple things. first of all, i live in west Texas and since i was practicing on county roads with little to no traffic, there was a light film of sand on top of the pavement that was preventing grip. so i tried it in town, wheel spin happened again. i figured i was going too slow, so i took it up to about 15 mph and the front end launched right up. after practicing a little while longer, a cop up the road saw me and busted a U-turn (ihave no clue where he was sitting, he came out of nowhere)so i took a side street and hauled *** until i found my way to the highway and got as far away from there as i could. fortunately for me, i'm not the only guy in town with a black sportbike.

 

never ever ever run on the highway from a cop, stay on sidestreets and backroads!

 

i was in a residential neighborhood and hauled *** through there until i had lost him, then used the highway to get away from that neighborhood. he didn't see me get on the highway, otherwise i'd probably be in jail right now.

 

how about in second gear? ive been having hell trying to get it to come up very far in second. im on a cbr929 which i know should have no problem wheelie-ing, but sure enough the last few times ive gone out i sit back in the seat get going about 50 or so and pull the clutch, rev it almost to redline and let the clutch out and it only comes up about a foot maybe and then right back down....one timeit started to come up but i ran out of gear before i could get it high enough and just hit the redline and it sat back down.... comments?