Wheelies: a legitimate street techniquie, or stunt stupidity?

[Bueller]

Definitely a legitimate dirt riding technique, and wheelies are fun, but the cops wont buy it as an excuse.

[BigE]

Definitely a legitimate dirt riding technique, and wheelies are fun, but the cops wont buy it as an excuse.

hmm, personal experience with the KTM???????

[Bueller]

Not yet

[wulf]

Technique? No way, other than a very few scenarios it's pretty well for the cool factor.

However, sometimes you may wheelie when you don't intend to. Knowing how to control it, and how to set it back down without causing problems, is useful.

[DeeStylez]

I could only think of maybe a pothole or something if your reaction time is fast enough. Maybe try a "bunny hop"

[tarded400]

However, sometimes you may wheelie when you don't intend to. Knowing how to control it, and how to set it back down without causing problems, is useful.

I've been noticing the tard wants to come up pretty bad around tight corners. Maybe its just my heavy right wrist.

[James]

I'm glad I read this thread. I have held off joining this site because I thought it was full of teenage guys with something to prove. It's nice to know there are other sport bike riders who aren't always about stunts and driving wrecklesly.

[Xtremjeepn]

So I sat here thinking about this topic for awhile before answering and realized that the ability to wheelie has probably saved me twice in about 250,000K miles of riding.

(Bare with me for a second)

Both incedents were more than 10 years ago so I may be a bit foggy on the detail.


Let me fist say that the more things you can do on a bike the better and more skilled you will be for what ever may cross your path.

In the first situation I was riding down a concrete roadway at about 50ish mph and came upon a trench that had been cur across the entire roadway. It was about 1.5 foot across and about a foot deep Simply did not see it with enough time to stop. I was able to only lift the front end maybe 3-6" but it was enough to not drop the front tire in the trench. I would hope road work has evolved since then and those trenches are filled or marked these days. Of course if I had simply been looking farther down the road that day I may have seen the trench with time to do something else. Riding a heavily modified fzx700. FWIW


The second time I was sitting at a light all by my self on south College Ave in Ft. Collins at a traffic light on a barrowed 1990 ZX6. I glanced down at the rear view mirror at the car coming to the light behind me and realized that they had not seen the red light or me. In a massive panic I slipped the clutch at probably about 9k to try to get out of the way. I left the light in a massive burst of wheelspin and wheelie. The car behind me ran right through the light at 40+ like I was not even there. About half way past the intersection the 2 teen girls realized what they just did and slid to a stop. Had I not been fairly used to riding with the front end up I'm sure I would have crashed as I blasted away from the light or been run over. Obviously it was not the wheelie itself that saved me but rather not additional panic when if came up and having the and practice to keep going instead of totally letting off and being in the way of the car.

I would not say that being able to ride a wheelie in and of itself is a valid street technique. I do believe that the more things you can do with a bike and the more comfortable you are on it the better off you are.

I could not imagine trying to ride a big wheelie to get over something in the road. If you have time to plan one you have time to do other things.

There are plenty of very very safe riders out there that can't wheelie and do just fine.

[Devaclis]

Not to bring this up, again, but when, EVER, will you need to rock a 2 mile long wheelie to assist you on the street?

Fun? Hell yeah!! I wish I could do it. But Wheelies as "technique" for street riding? Well, I may as well jump the fountain at the Mirage in Las Vegas as a Street technique

[Xtremjeepn]

To be fair he asked if a "wheelie" would ever help NOT "rockin' a 2 mile long wheelie".

A "wheelie" could be as simple as being able to lift the front end 3" off the ground for 2 feet distance.

[Devaclis]

Yeah, no changing my opinion. It is not a street technique.