Riding wheelies

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woodsman30

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Has anyone mastered riding a wheelie on the vmax yet? Been working on riding them but the bike is heavy but it will ride one:punk: I know I am not the only one who has tried lets hear your story on this.
 
It is not good to carry a wheelie to high,you will run into crashing issues!
 
I used to be able to breath on the throttle and get the front up. Lowering the front end seems to have ended that. Oh it'll still come up in first and second quite well but I'm too old for much of that. besides, ya loose potential acceleration when it happens. I have a friend with an R1, if he could keep the front end down he might out run me.:biglaugh:
 
Second gear only and briefly , I like as much rubber as possible to be in contact with the road for as long as possible . + I go faster that way !

:punk:
 
Through 3rd gear is about as far as I carry it.

same here and with the old bias ply tires it got a little hairy. A bit more stable with radials and a fatter patch.

My oil level light illuminates if i hang it for more than a few seconds. IIRC, the oil pick up is at the rear of the pan anyway.
 
Through 3rd gear is about as far as I carry it.

actually my first time seeing a vmax in motion was at your house when you rode a 1-2-3 wheelie down the road. i'd heard all the stories and i was just like OH MY GAWD.

i still remember my first vmax ride... rainy and dark on roads i didnt know. very scary.
but i loved it!! i was thinking holy shat all these vmax stories are true!!
 
I brought max up into a wheelie thru 1st with my wife on the back leaving the Blind Tiger in Topeka Ks this year followed by several rib punches in the back :rofl_200::punk:
 
Mine used to wheelie every time I shifted to 2nd. I cured it by taking the two big counter weights off and putting a kerker on.
 
An old Aif Force buddy could ride one on his max as far as he wanted, but he was a big dirt bike guy and wasn't afraid to get that front tire high in the air.
 
I witnessed this one...was AWESOME!! Seen the rib punches too...HAHA

I brought max up into a wheelie thru 1st with my wife on the back leaving the Blind Tiger in Topeka Ks this year followed by several rib punches in the back :rofl_200::punk:
 
I can get the front end up there but I'm not too good and "riding" them out on the max.

I used to be pretty good with em on my CR5. I would get it up in 2nd and I could let it hang up there for a while, shift thru the gears and finally drop in down softly in 5th.

I am really out of practice though since I haven't been riding the CR much in the past how many years. I actually had a pretty good wreck over memorial day weekend trying to show off. I was going down a really poor dirt road. I went flying by my wife and sister in law riding a nice one in 4th gear. I was toying with the throttle keeping it in the sweet spot. All of a sudden I felt it go past the point of no return and I looped out! I landed on my feet but was going way too fast to be able to run with it. Fell down onto my ass and slid on the rocks for a second or so. That didn't feel too good so I pushed my hands down real hard to help pop myself back onto my feet. I was still moving pretty fast. My legs were having a really hard time moving fast enough to keep me from falling flat on my face. I was running so hard my arms were circling in a windmill like fashion. My bike had finished cartwheeling and I see it is lying directly in front of me. Did you ever try to jump a hurdle while running as hard as you can? Its pretty tough!

My wife about had a heart attack and said all she saw was me flip over backwards, then a huge cloud of dust, my bike cartwheeling out of a cloud of dust, then me wind-milling out of a cloud of dust, hurdle over the bike, and run off the road into the weeds. My brother in law was in front and turned around just in time to see the whole thing.

I was fine other than a tiny scratch on my ass and hand. My pants were torn apart though. And the bike needed a new set of bars since the left side was bent and nearly touching the radiator. I rode it like that thru a short loop in the woods and had to call it a day till I got new bars the next morning.

If you're going to practice riding wheelies, make sure your covering the rear brake and ready to use it! It is NOT a good feeling when you know you are going over backwards.
 
I brought max up into a wheelie thru 1st with my wife on the back leaving the Blind Tiger in Topeka Ks this year followed by several rib punches in the back :rofl_200::punk:

Likewise back in 85 when the bike was brand new. I had my wife on the back (sitting on a f'n towel so her buttwa wouldn't get all sweaty on a hot day). Turned a corner at a light, saw an audience and pulled the trigger. Instead of an instant burn out, which would be the norm riding one-up, the bike went straight up! BRAKES!!!!! Slammed right back down - much to my embarassment. The wife managed to hang on, but lost her f'n towel on the road and the car behind us ran over it, soiling it, before she could run back for it.

She started punching me in the ribs and scolding me. After about 2 miles of it, I slowed and offered to take her back home. She shut up.

I remarried and my 2nd wife rides her own bike.
 
I as well have had alot of experience with wheelies starting out with BMX bikes progressing to Motocross then to superbikes. There are 2 different types of wheelies you can ride and there are consequences to both when they go bad as Macbdcmb pointed out.

1st and most common with a bike like the Vmax is a power wheelie where you rely on the power to pull you up to a relatively low or medium height height. This can be carried through third gear but I do not recommend air shifting the max (shifting with the front off the ground) unless you want to risk a serious tank slapper when the dead front tire hits the ground. Let the front tire touch down in between shifts so it can keep spinning. Yes your foot should ALWAYS cover the rear brake when wheeling but be careful not to accidentally depress it and slam the front down. It is best to stay planted in the seat step so you don't slide back and slip off or goose the throttle. I have done standing wheelies on the passenger pegs (do not do this). The center of gravity on the rear pegs is all wrong and you are standing too high up. I had one collapse on me when it came up high and I almost fell off the bike. You can do effective wheelies standing on the main foot rests with your ass over the tail in first or second (i have not tried 3rd). This is pretty cool but keep in mind if you lose your grip its hammer time and you will not recover, you will crash hard. With these lower height power wheelies its best for beginners to stay in first until you get used to being up in the air. After while you can start to use the clutch to pull it up and get into higher gears and speeds. Keep in mind it hurts more to crash going fast, lol..

2nd type are balance type wheelies that are not impossible on the Vmax but BE CAREFUL! These should only be attempted by a seasoned rider who knows the bike like the back of his/her hand. Also, the Max is not a good bike to learn this type of wheelie on. Its big and heavy and if you are not smooth you will flip it for sure. That being said. After I got the Morley Muscle seat on my max the center of gravity was lowered to the point where I could piviot my mass and get her up high. Had only one near flip that i braked out of. I only have ridden high wheelies in first and second gear. My bike is not lowered, I have progressive springs up front and bias ply tires at present.

Note of caution: I repeat if you have no wheelie experience do not try high balance wheelies on the Vmax its way too risky. ALWAYS have full gear and wear armor (the more the better) when stunting any bike. Also, make sure your tires are excellent and your suspension is sound and dialed in. Speaking from experience, when you flip over on the highway you will get some damage.
 
Never brought the front end up from power. Even with the 170 Metz tire, a quick smack in first just results in an instant burnout. Maybe the Venture drive ruins it?

I have brought both wheels off the ground on a local 30mph back road with great "whoops" on it. Go down the road at about 100-110 and you get nice air off them. First did that road on the Magna and only got 85-90 in the space, which just barely lifted the front wheel. Just did it on the Max at 100+(wasn't really watching), the front wheel sailed into space and a split second later I heard the motor suddenly spin up from the rear tire leaving the ground(I was still holding it WOT) followed by a quick chirp as it touched down again. Loads of fun, get that zero-g feeling as you sail off the knoll and the Progressive springs make the landing surprisingly smooth. So unusual to be watching the road and see the road suddenly "drop" and your wheel not. "Whoashit":eusa_dance:
 
Never brought the front end up from power. Even with the 170 Metz tire, a quick smack in first just results in an instant burnout.

Put more steak & potatos in your diet. It'll fix that. It worked for me. :bang head:
 
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