Wheelie Machine

[pixel 6]

Well, been working on this for some time now... and finally the last of the fabrication and welding got done today, so I figured I'd share my project with you and see what you guys think.

Welding moves steel around a bit, so a couple of the internal pieces need to be ground a bit more, and I'll be ready to test it. The work is paid for, and I'll be picking it up by Friday.

Got a trailer for it, and still need to reinforce that, bolt the wheelie machine to it... and build a spring board for the front tire. So still have more work to do on it, but I should be able to test my prototype by this weekend.

I'll be sure to get it all on video and post it up =)

Btw... I have 2 matching dynos... so if the prototype looks good... I'll get to work on building a 2nd one. Denver will not only have 1, but 2 of these to ride!

Here's a few pics, and links to my MySpace page that has a bunch more pictures on it.

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/inde...lbumId=2147356

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/inde...lbumId=2120432

So, anyone want to do a wheelie? Lol

- Pixel -






- I kill threads -

- Pixel -

[chad23]

cant wait to see the finished product and vid

[pilot]

Nice. Keep up the great work. Now what we need is a cornering/body position machine.

[PsychoMike]

i want to try that. always looked fun.

[PROFLYER]

I must be missing something or another thread. WTF is this thing?

[chad23]

I must be missing something or another thread. WTF is this thing?

here's a clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HNuD...eature=related

[Moveman]

Nice... so when is the first test run?? I want a try..

[PROFLYER]

Thanks Chad.

THAT DOESN'T SUCK! I WANNA TRY!!! Would probably help find balance point on a new bike quick.

[pixel 6]

The machinist asks me... "you going to be riding it this weekend?"
Me: "Dude, I'm going to be on it so much... I'll probably have to test it at a gas station!" lol

Had this idea for a few years now. Wrote a 20 page business plan for making a company around it almost a year and a half ago. And finally got started with it about 4 months ago. So it's been a long time coming.

This should be a fun weekend... but there is more that I need to do to it.

They're reinforcing the trailer, so that the dyno and system bolts directly to the chassis of the trailer. I'll probably want to clean it and paint it so it looks nice... rather than all the raw steel.

I still need to make a spring board and riser plate for the front tire to get the tire level with the dyno, and to take up some of the impact off the forks as the bike comes back down.
I also need to start checking craigslist to find a descent fan and a small generator.
Need to make a safety cable system for it to keep it from looping... and an adjustable 12 o'clock mount on the trailer so I can learn how to "scrape" or at least learn to get back far enough to park it on the bike's 12 bar. Safety cable for everyone else... bar for me =)

I didn't want to get clowned by everyone, so I've only told a small group of friends until now. I guess it's time for clowning? lol

Yeah, so I've busted myself up a few times over the last year, so this should be nice to have to take that edge off of the learning curve on a bunch of things I've been wanting to learn like hand brake. (crashed last year when mine failed after 3 months of learning on it)...

I've been afraid of learning spreaders and seat standers since my HB failed... so this will get those no prob. And I've felt really awkward trying to learn foot in bar, so I think just a little time on this will make those more comfortable... Want to learn coasters, and how to get to the bar. I'm not sure how it will feel, but the machine should be able to let the bike catch idle... so I should be able to keep the bike at 10mph or less I hope... then I can apply what I learned on the machine back to the lots, which is ultimately what I'm hoping to get out of this machine.
The ability to learn things outside my comfort level, and then apply the things I learn on the machine in without it. Time will tell. But I'm pretty confident that this machine will have an actual practical application as that goes.

I'll let you know when I learn hi chairs lol.

Anyways, I babble.

I still have a lot I need to do to let anyone outside my close friends and team use it, and treat it as an actual business concept. But that will take time to setup. Got to cover my bases first ya know?

- Pixel-

[chad23]

good luck with everything and take lots of pics and video for us to see the success and some failures that come with new endeavors

[firefghtr]

i wanna play with that

[pixel 6]

The anticipation is killing me lol.

Picked it up from the machinist today... so that part is done!

Now I need to make a springboard for the front tire... I have a cool idea for that to make a combo ramp/springboard for it. Should be sick. But anyways... will be spending the better part of tomorrow working on it so I can give it a twist. Soon! Soon!

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/inde...6-fa5f78e99195

Here's a pic, and the link to updated pics on myspace.

- Pixel -

[Centrios]

Im jealous! that looks awesome!! You'll have to start a thread when you get to the point of renting time slots on it! Ill be first in line!! Ive always wanted to learn to wheelie but was to scared of smashing up the bike.

[biship660]

nice invention. make sure that you get a paton on that bad boy or someone will and you will be out MILLIONS. PS i would love to check that thing out. if you want any help in fabing some parts let me know I got some crazy ideas

[HR636]

someone else already has the patent. good luck getting any traction on it sitting on the tank. wheelie machines were made for people who don't know how to ride motorcycles as an attraction, no matter what it will never have the same response as when it's not on the machine, so you won't gain anything in muscle memory which is 90% of the skill you need to stunt ride.

[HR636]

Well that's awful nice of you to say. Lemme guess, you're a "real" STUNNA and have taken too many falls on your head?

Haters aside, I think it looks sweet! If you get it to where you can put a bike on it quickly, start bringing it to bike nights, you could probably charge for a few minutes on the thing. It may not be like riding a "real" wheelie but props for seeing it through, it looks like fun.

Well, first of all it wasn't hating. It's constructive criticism from personal experience. Yes, I'm a "real" stunt rider. No, I've never taken any falls to my head and I rarely even drop my bike. Yes, it would be a good attraction for bike nights, but it's not a useful training tool. There almost always needs to be someone to help the bike up because of the lack of traction.

[Kole.S]

nice invention. make sure that you get a paton on that bad boy or someone will and you will be out MILLIONS. PS i would love to check that thing out. if you want any help in fabing some parts let me know I got some crazy ideas

[PROFLYER]

Well, first of all it wasn't hating. It's constructive criticism from personal experience. Yes, I'm a "real" stunt rider. No, I've never taken any falls to my head and I rarely even drop my bike. Yes, it would be a good attraction for bike nights, but it's not a useful training tool. There almost always needs to be someone to help the bike up because of the lack of traction.

It didn't read that way. Anyway, maybe he could devise a system in the supports that would pull the axle down onto the rollers...

[HR636]

It didn't read that way. Anyway, maybe he could devise a system in the supports that would pull the axle down onto the rollers...

What is the point? Does this machine teach side to side balance or correct posture or throttle response? No. It's an attraction not a training device.

[2wheeltuesday]

Cool stuff man, looks like fun.

[Bueller]

What's the point of you asking a question then answering it?

There isn't one, looks like fun, why bash it?

Do you have a point beyond bickering with someone who knows what it takes to ride a wheelie?

[HR636]

It does look like it'd be fun, just won't be very good for real world practice is all. I'm sure there will be a lot of people lined up to try it.

[pixel 6]

No prob on the criticism... I'm kinda in uncharted territory here, having never seen one of these things in person, and having never seen anyone on one in a video make it look graceful.

So, I guess to answer a few things I saw above.

One of the reasons I think the existing wheelie machines don't mimic true road conditions is the mass they are moving is too light. A single motorcycle dyno drum only weighs like 200 lbs. By using a dual dyno drum design, along with the huge... and I mean huge steel fly weight housed in the larger side of the dyno, the mass the motorcycle on my machine needs to move is right around 500lbs.

And as near as I can guess, what will make the machine feel more true to real wheelies, is the closer you can get the mass you are moving (drums and fly wheels), to the mass of the bike and rider, the more accurate the machine can simulate a real world wheelie. Think about it... in a real world wheelie, when you're at a dead stop, and dump the clutch, the rear tire is trying to move around 600lbs... now, if your machine only has 200 lbs of mass, it will just spool it up, and not mimic a real wheelie very well... Likewise, if the mass you are moving is say 2000 lbs... the bike would just flip, because there is too much mass to move, and you can't spin up that 2000 lbs very quickly.

So, I guess to answer the simulation part... I think this machine will be close. Also, I have the computer control system, and a giant eddie current brake, so If I need to hook it up to the computer and get it exact, I can go that way as well. But I would like it to be close with just the mass of the metal it'll be moving.

Let's see... Patent. Yes, this idea has already been patented by someone other than me. However, my design is nowhere near what the patent holds. Hense is the beauty of patents. One is able to make improvements, or even simply just differences in a design, and it then becomes a new product. Kind of like cell phones. They all work on the same principal.. but nokia is different than motorola etc... Both are cell phones, they just can't pirate the exact design, and sell it as their own. What... there is only 1 type of motorcycle in the world?

Ok... read something about downward pressure on the tire. Another good design I implimented in my machine, is I can adjust the down pressure to whatever I need to gain the traction I'm looking for. Basically, I can move the axle when the wheel is touching the dyno... and apply 3" of downward travel to the axle. So that issue has already been addressed in my prototype.

I certainly don't mind real stunters speaking their mind on this machine. I did however give a lot of thought on making it as real to true wheelies as possible, and believe I will gain what I want to learn from this machine. I agree with the left to right balance issue... but I personally don't think that will be a limiting factor in using the machine to learn. Steering is just steering, and left to right balance is just adjusted for in each real world wheelie anyways.

I've been busting my ass on this for ages... and the last few days have been killing me trying to get the final details done so I can mount my bike to it... But I'm trying to be patient and do the job right the first time around.

Things I think may be over looked about using this machine is such as... I lost a lot of confidence in using a hand brake when mine failed on me a year ago. So I'd like to get my confidence in that back. I'd also like to then learn seat standers. SS coasters, (pulling in the clutch, and using the hb) are something I think this machine could offer me. And I'm not sure how accurate it will feel, but I finally got idle this year, and hope the machine will be able to handle idle wheelies so that I can start opening up a larger variety of tricks to practice in the lots next year.

So I guess to sum it up, feel free to shoot it down... Who knows, it may not work like I expect it to. But I ultimately built this machine for me, and know what I desire to learn from it. Anything else is icing on the cake.

The machine may be ready by tomorrow afternoon... and hopefully I'll have my bike on it, and running it thru some tests.

- Pixel -

[chad23]

Like I said before, good luck and post the video