My First Real Wheelie

[themeatmanlandry]

I pulled my first REAL wheelie yesterday on the way home from work. I've pulled the front wheel on purpose going over hills 5 or six times, and a couple of times on accident, but yesterday I pulled my first, honest-to-God, off-the-line wheelie.

I was cruising in traffic, staying 5-10 mph above the flow, weeding my way to the front of the pack that had left the last traffic light in the city with me, when I come up behind these two codpieces in trucks. The guy in the right-hand lane is oblivious to the world because he's on his cell phone, and the guy in the left (the bigger codpiece of the two, IMO, due to his improper usage of the passing lane ) is intentionally trying to get under my skin by riding at 55 mph right beside the other truck. I could see him doing constant mirror checks.

We came up to the only traffic light on the highway (I'm still behind this jerk in the left lane) and my prayers are answered: the light changes to yellow as we approach. The trucks come to a stop at the front of the intersection, so I lane-split (I believe illegal in TN) and pull up between them. Mr. phone (in the right lane) still doesn't know I exist, and my bogart (in the passing lane) is mad now. He starts honking his horn and making drastic motions inside the cab of his Ford. I looked over and saw how mad he was and got a chuckle.

I started shaking my head violently in a "Yes" fashion and pointing forward (all the while thinking to myself "Can You dig it?!?!?!? MF?!?!?!?") like he stood a chance in a drag race and I was challenging him. He was getting pretty hot under the collar, so I started revving the machine up to 12-13,000 rpms. Even though I've got a stock exhaust, it ain't quiet when you rev it up like that. The dude on the cell phone wakes up and realizes that the world exists, and now he's P-O'd too. Good. He should pay more attention and not allow people to use him as a pawn in the game of "Bogus Traffic."

Anyway, the light changes, and both me and the left-lane truck take off. As I'm leaving the light, I'm CLEARLY out in front of him (duh!) and go to shift my position into his lane. The bike moves, but I could feel that handlebar input had nothing to do with it. I straightened the bars out just in time to feel the gentle bump as the front end arrived safely back on the pavement.

I had no idea I was even doing a wheelie (the tire was about 1' off the ground) until it was over. I tried again at a light later on my trip (I drive 45 minutes each way), but without the adrenaline I'm too much of a sissy to pop the clutch like that.

<Dude kept trying pathetically to keep up. I'm sure he found out where his truck is governed. >

[Gixxerdale]

Next you'll be gettin air off some whoops at 135mph! Be careful out there. They shoot people in LA for less than that these days! Glad you kept it under control.

[inspiron]

Mark ... my official statement:

What I'm thinking:

And how I imagine you looked:

[DrBob]

Ok, now the trick is to learn NOT to do a wheelie when you don't expext it...this is a far more valuable skill than learning to do a wheelie when you want to.
Find a big empty parking lot and have some fun. I can pull the front wheel of my Intruder up over 4 feet either off the line or with a rolling start, or I can roast the rear tire, or I can shoot off like a rocket ship without either pulling the front whell or spinning the back one. It all depends on where I am in the power band (RPM wise), how fast I let the clutch out, and how my weight is shifted. Only experience will tach you where these points are on your current bike.

[themeatmanlandry]

Originally Posted by DrBob

Find a pig empty parking lot and have some fun.

Whatta' ya' got against havin' a little fun with the swine?

Thanks for the comments. I'm a wuss, so I doubt I'll be pulling any more wheelies anytime soon. Also, I don't need the extra clutch wear.

Speaking of pigs . . . I never thought a 450 pound bike with 35 pounds of fuel, only 76 horsepower, and 165 pounds of brain-less wuss loading the seat would do a wheelie off the line. Surprised me.

[LayinLo]

Good on you, Mark.

[themeatmanlandry]

Originally Posted by LayinLo_usmc

Good on you, Mark.

For what . . . being a d!ck in traffic, or for pulling an accidental wheelie that could have gotten me killed in front of witnesses that would cite me as an a$$?

[Bigguy2x]

Yes.

[Clint]

You acted like a JACKA$$, just like I would have.

Since I have no idea what you ride (that's what sigs and such are for, btw, and are you in Spain or Tennessee?), the scene is a little fuzzy. I'm confused as to why it was even a close race with the truck. I'd have been miles away by the time he ever got close to any limiter.

Oh, and no 1 inch wheelie ever got anyone killed. You were just applying all available traction to the drive wheel, and went 1% overboard. Just right.

[themeatmanlandry]

No, no, no . . . it was (about) a 1 foot wheelie, not a 1 inch wheelie.

It wasn't close between me and the truck. When I said he was trying to keep up, I meant that he was trying to catch up for the rest of the 5 miles we were on that road. He was the only red vehicle with his headlights on, so I could see him back there, weaving in and out of traffic, trying to keep up, so he could beat the daylights out of me when we got into Millington. Funny how fast they'll drive once you get around them, huh?

I ride a 2002 B6. It wasn't close. I can't wait to trade up to a B12.

[EDIT: You're correct. I'll dress up the sig so these questions don't have to be asked. ]

[LayinLo]

Good on you, Mark.

[Clint]

Aaahh, that WAS a real wheelie. Sweet! My first came when I was at the front of the pack, too, but I didn't have to split lanes. Bummer.

[Va bene]

Originally Posted by inspiron

Mark ... my official statement:

What I'm thinking:

And how I imagine you looked:

Couldn't have said it better myself!

[B_Wayne]

Originally Posted by themeatmanlandry

For what . . . being a d!ck in traffic, or for pulling an accidental wheelie that could have gotten me killed in front of witnesses that would cite me as an a$$?

All of the above!

[SDSUsnowboards]

Firstly, shame on you for having a squid moment!
I'd be an a$s hat to blame you though! I bet it was the most satisfying thing in the world huh? I would have done the same except lane splitting is legal here =]

You may want to find an empty road (lots of those at night) and practice some launches. It's very, very fun. It's also very useful as a safety technique. Imagine sitting at a light and some drunk guy is about to steam roll over you in his truck? Or imagine trying a make a getaway after robbing a bank? You need to have those launches down friend!

It's funny though. Down here lane splitting is legal but alot of people don't know that. They honk their horn and yell %%%%% as I happily save an hour off my trip by lane splitting down 3 hundred yards of cars stopped at a light

[jaydog19833]

Originally Posted by Bigguy2x

Yes.

LOL

Landry......that scene was hilarious. You couldn't have handled it any better. Reading that post has made my evening.

I like my tinted visor because I can just stare at the pissed off people and they have no idea who I am.....and it pisses em off more

[Karl Bowling]

Ditto with Gixxerdale, but I know you enjoyed the rush.

[cracKness]

tee hee hee....

ok, here comes my newb. question of the day... you can rev to 9k rpm (red starts at 10) and let out the clutch??? maybe it's my newb. ness, but i've never taken it above 3 maybe 4 from a standstill.... and on a separate note...i've been wondering if my bike can wheelie (1994 magna 750, wet weight of probably 540, with my 230 lb fat a$$ on it with its supposed 87 horses on it)... anyone?

[inspiron]

Yes you can, but it's definitely not recommended. If you hold on, you'll do a wheelie, and if you aren't careful, you'll land on your back with the bike on top of you. Or, you'll loose your grip, and watch your bike continue down the street without you, until it falls over or hits something. Don't try it...until you've got plenty of experience (or plenty of cash to burn).

[LayinLo]

Originally Posted by cracKness

tee hee hee....

ok, here comes my newb. question of the day... you can rev to 9k rpm (red starts at 10) and let out the clutch??? maybe it's my newb. ness, but i've never taken it above 3 maybe 4 from a standstill.... and on a separate note...i've been wondering if my bike can wheelie (1994 magna 750, wet weight of probably 540, with my 230 lb fat a$$ on it with its supposed 87 horses on it)... anyone?

yeah, its easy.