Wheelies on your FZ1

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FSTZ1

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Does anyone out there do a lot of wheelies on their bike? And what are your thoughts on the added wear and stress on the bike from doing wheelies?
 
i aint no wheelie god :eek: , i tend to not worry about em . i have done power wheelies on take off , but i dont try & get to the balance point & keep on going . if you come down hard from a wheelie it put's stress on the head stem bearings etc , try & be smooth with your landings ..
 
I'm definately a novice when it comes to FZ1 wheelies...my #'s are definately in the low teens :innocent: I have done thousands on dirt bikes and have friends who have done tons on their street bikes and havent seen any ill effects...aside from some scraped up bikes and some bruised egos!
 
This is a good link on learning how to do wheelies.
[ame=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6656191590638402466]How to wheelie a motorcycle.[/ame]
I think the last 2 mile wheelie is done on a FZ1.
I myself have not done any wheelies on my FZ1 but would like to eventually. I am still breaking it in. I would like to ask anybody that has, at what point on the tach will the front wheel come up in 1st gear when trying a power wheelie? That is the first step according to the above video. I have gotten my bike to 8,000rpms and the front wheel doesn't come up, I have an 08 FZ1. Haven't been past 8k since like I said I am still breaking in. I have 8oo miles now though and figure at 1k miles and another oil change, I'll drive it like I want to.
 
cueist said:
This is a good link on learning how to do wheelies.

I think the last 2 mile wheelie is done on a FZ1.
I myself have not done any wheelies on my FZ1 but would like to eventually. I am still breaking it in. I would like to ask anybody that has, at what point on the tach will the front wheel come up in 1st gear when trying a power wheelie? That is the first step according to the above video. I have gotten my bike to 8,000rpms and the front wheel doesn't come up, I have an 08 FZ1. Haven't been past 8k since like I said I am still breaking in. I have 8oo miles now though and figure at 1k miles and another oil change, I'll drive it like I want to.
Click to expand...

It's a good idea to wait until break in is done before you start really playing with wheelies.

That said, depending on what type of wheelie you're looking to do, there are different methods that work better for different outcomes. To just "pop" a wheelie, power wheelies in 1st work well... run up to about 5k on the tach, cut the throttle, and then go wide open. The front end will launch up in the air. This type of wheelie is a bit harder to control, and requires a bit of practice to make it anything more than just a pop up, and then back down.

For prolonged wheelies, the best method is to clutch them up. rolling in 2nd gear between 30-40 mph, hold the throttle 3/4 to all the way open, pull in on the clutch, let the rpm get to about 9k-10k and release the clutch. The front end will JUMP up in the air, you roll off the throttle slightly, as to not "loop" it, and you can ride it out in 2nd for a while. After mastering this, once you have it up in 2nd, it's pretty easy to just roll off the throttle slightly, using no clutch, click the transmission into 3rd, and roll back on the throttle. This will have you traveling in 3rd gear on one wheel without much effort. Once in 3rd, at higher RPM, it gets easier to maintain the wheelie as the force of the wind will pretty much hold you up. You can also get into 4th just like getting it into 3rd, and the wind basically takes over at this point... to set it back down softly in any gear, roll off the throttle slightly, allowing the front end to begin to drop. Once the front end begins to come down, and you've passed the point point of about 1.5-2ft off the ground, roll back on the throttle with some vigor to let the landing be nice and soft.

There are many other methods, and honestly beginning for me, the best way was to run the bike hard in 1st, up to about 7k, hold the throttle, pull the clutch, shift into second, and release the throttle. All this occurs in less time than it takes you to read the instructions. This method pops the front wheel up much like just clutching it up in second, and yields about the same results. One of these days, I need to just hook up my camera pointing at the gauges so you can see the method and speeds at which all of this is occurring... most important, always be sure to keep a foot over the rear brake, if things start happening too quickly, or if the wheelie gets too high, give the rear brake a tap and that will bring the wheelie back down towards the tarmac. Practice in a safe place, not on the highway.
 
Still not being able to clutch it up in 2:nd. I actually managed to do it a couple of times, but can't reproduce it. Actually I could use some tips in that area. First gear, no problem. In second I can't seem to clutch it up. I'm trying at about 90-120 km/h, the front lifts a bit, then drops. Can you even do it in 3:rd ?
I have the 16T front sprocket.
 
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javahaxxor said:
not bad. You can go a bit higher though. If you do that you don't need to accelerate that hard and chop the throttle
Click to expand...

That was my first wheelie that I clutched up at speed on the FZ1. I was actually standing up on the pegs so that I could adjust my weight quickly. I know I did not reach the balance point.
 
loosenut said:
That was my first wheelie that I clutched up at speed on the FZ1. I was actually standing up on the pegs so that I could adjust my weight quickly. I know I did not reach the balance point.
Click to expand...

standing up the first time ? scary.. i've done that by mistake a couple of times with the 17t sprocket. . now i don't dare

Sent from my X-Wing
 
I had been quite a few on my bike when I started riding it, I was coming down pretty hard on those front shocks and blew out the seals. Needless to say I replaced with and put a stiffer spring in and ran a thicker oil. Now i love it the front end is a lot more aggressive and i can come down a lot harder from one wheel. its something i really suggest if your more of an aggressive rider. That being said I am also 6'2'' and 290 lbs.
 
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