Riding Skills

The Launch

There are several ways to launch a wheelie. The three main methods are throttle, suspension, or clutch—and which you choose will depend on your preference and possibly your bike. The lower your power-to-weight ratio, the fewer options you have. However, whichever methodology you choose your timing and ability to control your throttle will determine your success.

Throttle – If your bike is powerful enough or is geared correctly you may be able to lift your front end simply by rolling on the throttle. Go to about 1/3 of your tachometer range in 1st gear, and then in the amount of time it takes you to say one-thousand-one, have the throttle at full.

Suspension – Using the action in your front suspension can help you get your front end up enough for the throttle to take over. If you whack the throttle open, the front end will come up but wont leave the ground. At its peak, if you shut the throttle down, engine braking, in combination with the weight of your front end will cause it to go back down. When it's at the bottom of its stroke, if you whack the throttle back open again, you can use the expansion of your front springs, along with your acceleration, to help lift the front wheel.

Clutch – The most consistent and controlled wheelies are done using your clutch. However, this is also may cause the most wear on your engine. You’ll want to start-off fairly slow in first or second gear, getting your rpm’s to about 1/3 of redline. Pull in the clutch and fully open your throttle. When your revs hit about 3/4 of redline drop the clutch. The closer to redline you release the clutch the stronger/quicker your front end will lift.

Shifting

Ok, so now you have the front wheel up. How do you keep it up? Shift! It's actually much easier then it seems. When you can ride a long ways in first gear without being full-throttle, you are more than ready to shift. My favorite way to shift, is without the clutch. If you haven't done clutchless shifts before, practice on two wheels first. To do a clutchless shift, apply upward pressure to the shift lever, while you are full on the gas, then just briefly snap the throttle, off and on again. This is the fastest way to shift. When on one wheel, you have to get the front wheel really high, to the point where you need to let off the gas from tipping over. At this point, shift! Balance and practice are both important steps here.

Landing

So now your front wheel is going down. Make sure that your front wheel is pointing straight ahead, and keep the throttle open Wide! You want to set the front wheel down as easy as possible. If you chop the throttle, your landing will be very hard, so stay on the gas! Or if you need to come down, just briefly roll off the gas, then get right back on it again, until the front wheel sets down. Expect a chirping noise, and sometimes at higher speeds a bit of a wobble, but as long as the wheel is straight, it's not a big deal.