What's the best gear for wheelies?

[2WheelTiger]

The Feej wheelies easily, clutched or not in first gear. Yes, it's easier with a passenger, but sometimes the passenger complains. Certainly the G1 bikes are easier to get up than the G2s.

I've done stoppies on my 04, but never on the 06. (ABS and all that.) It's a bit long for easy stoppies.... it takes a lot of body english to get the arse in the air.

 

[Scab]

it takes a lot of body english to get the arse in the air.

Ahhh, reminds me of a stripper named Roxanne...

 

[Bounce]

i think the best gear is this:

 

[Bustanut joker]

Hey waitaminute! I thought I was the Safty Nazi, after that rain ridin' post. What gives dude?

:jester:

 

[Scab]

Hey, Bounce, I've worn all those!

 

[Zoltan]

First or second gear at 5000 RPM grab a fistful of right grip and let her rip. It comes right up. You would be hard pressed to flip this heifer. I don't make it a habit, but it is fun now and again.

Zoltan

 

[dcarver]

Actually, getting to the balance point isn't all that hard.. cover the rear brake and modulate height with judicious application of rear brake. Throttle management is a handy skill to have also.. , and be very careful on the set down.

 

[HaulinAshe]

65 lb. passenger on the back seat.

Good back rest or top bag.

Wind to 7k in 1st.

Pop the clutch with a half-throttle shift to 2nd.

Front wheel comes up 12-18".

Decide what you want from there.

Shaft drive on the left causes the bike to torque/twist off center. You'll have to turn the bars a bit to the right for balance. If you don't force them straight before touchdown then you'll have a very bad day on the FJR. It will spit you off on contact.

Gen-I bikes are definitely easier than the Gen-II.

I've only done one stoppy that I'm aware of. Did it in front of Grumpy while trying to avoid target fixation on the cliff directly ahead. Not going to repeat that!

 

[Scab]

Somebody here once posted about an emergency stop, 2-up, that resulted in an 18 inch stoppie. With ABS, no less!

 

[jmarran]

Yeah, the last time I saw blown seals I was at Sea World! I understand Shamu is feeling better now though.

Seriously though, I work with a guy that has "the" other '05 FJR and he must have had helium put in the front tire for all the wheelies he seems to do. He's currently waiting to replace his fork seals for the SECOND time.

I personally feel that since it's so well documented that the FJR can wheelie, that I don't need to punish mine to prove it.

I also believe that the FJR can do stoppies. The only issue is they'd prob. be followed by floppies.

 

[Ari Rankum]

Awwww, that's EASYYYYY.

Wait, is this wheelie off a cliff, or the other kind?

 

[matey peeps]

 

[painman]

If I can wheelie on my old SoftTail HD, the FJR can do it with no problem. I didn't mean to though, really officer. Know what I mean Vern? But I do use semi-synthetic oil. PM. <><

 

[eeksnake]

Dang it PM! Ya beat me to the punch. <_<

In my early 20's, I used to wheelie my '61 Sporty like it was cool (it twarn't - damn near sh!t meself).

The point is, ANY bike can wheelie. It's just some can do it easier than others.

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

I wheelie my Trek.

 

[v65]

Having a longer wheelbase '06 and some girth (250lbs) my wheelies generally are more wheel skimming the pavement. I accidently discovered a method I don't recommend for getting more air under the front: get the bike up to 8k in first gear, chop the throttle and immediately hit it again. Made me rethink the quest for more HP, turns out the Feej just might have plenty! :clapping:

 

[ionbeam]

V65's throttle chop works great for initiating wheelies but offers almost no control. I've done this with my V-Max and Honda VF1100S and discovered that the RPM at which you do the chop will make a big difference between a little power lift and a blow-over. It's also really hard on the driveline. On a chain driven bike you can stretch the chain or bend the sprockets but on a shaftie shit breaks.

My FJR and the VF1100S do what I would call 'power lifts', kind of a gentleman’s wheelie. Mad Max does moon shot wheelies

 

[Randy]

Having a longer wheelbase '06 and some girth (250lbs) my wheelies generally are more wheel skimming the pavement. I accidently discovered a method I don't recommend for getting more air under the front: get the bike up to 8k in first gear, chop the throttle and immediately hit it again. Made me rethink the quest for more HP, turns out the Feej just might have plenty! :clapping:

Problem is, depending on how far you let the RPMs drop, you're going to be in the upper RPM range and getting close to the rev limiter which will make the front drop like a rock if you hit it.

 

[v65]

Having a longer wheelbase '06 and some girth (250lbs) my wheelies generally are more wheel skimming the pavement. I accidently discovered a method I don't recommend for getting more air under the front: get the bike up to 8k in first gear, chop the throttle and immediately hit it again. Made me rethink the quest for more HP, turns out the Feej just might have plenty! :clapping:

Problem is, depending on how far you let the RPMs drop, you're going to be in the upper RPM range and getting close to the rev limiter which will make the front drop like a rock if you hit it.

Ohh I am not recommending it, after the front came back down there was a what the hell just happened moment followed by an underwear check. Maybe the clapping hands left the wrong message, that was for FJR power not throttle chopping.

 

[bandito]

Ya reek of troll dude.

don't know the meaning of that.

I have only had this bike for 3 months and haven't opened it up hard out of the box yet, just wondering what to expect from the front end. On the 1200 Suzuki Bandit first time I really nailed it I popped a wheelie and it was quite the surprise, 230kg bike came right off the ground!! Second gear with my 70kg son on the back leaning against the rear handgrips, I couldn't open it up more than half way if I wanted to ride on two wheels.

Ditto for stoppies, before I have to do a full-on major braking event, to manage the rear end coming up. Hard to imagine that weight coming over the top, but physics can be surprising!! Stoppies are pretty scary when you don't expect them.