Stunt riding

[k3new]

I had seen riders doing wheelies on the highway in videos and specials before, and thought it was kind of cool. But never in person until this past weekend.

I was taking the family to a MISL soccer game this past Saturday, and we had enjoyed one of those nice winter days in the Baltimore area. You know low 60s in the middle of January. Rare, but they do happen a few time a year.

Anyhow, riding in the #2 of three lanes on the Baltimore beltway, and a large group of Harleys came running up on us. Flow of traffic was about 70-75. Loud and about 12 bikes, but cool enough. With them at the end were a couple of GSXers. 1100s I think... Anyhow they were on the tail, and doing a bit of weaving through the traffic.

All of a sudden, they both pop wheelies in the fast lane at about 80. The first guy sets down after about 1/2 mile. The other rides his about 1.5 miles.

This prompts a couple of questions:

Is this pretty common? I have never ridden a high end sports bike, but understand that the throttle is pretty twitchy. Wouldn't a slip possibly flip you over? Is it pretty easy to handle a wheelie at this speed?

All I can say is wow! The guy that rode his the longest landed kind of hard, as he smoked the tire, and detected a bit of a wobble. Talk about making your sphincter pucker! Ha Ha!

Look forward to any replies.

Joe

[azoazc]

I wouldn't say easy. Ask anyone that ever came down with the front a little crooked. Not that I would know or anything.......

[Louis]

I got no idea if it's easy or not. In my opinion, doing this on public roads is just plain stupid and wreckless, not for the stnuter but for the people on the roads.

There's a recent thread where a biker died because he slammed into a van. Why? He was wheeliing down the road. He got what he deserved. Stunt if you must, just not on public roads.

My two cents.

[inspiron]

+1 for Louis.

If you must stunt, then do it somewhere where you won't endanger anyone but yourself. Popping a wheelie on a public highway is just plain stupid. All it takes is a surface hazard (oil, stones, whatever) or a quick stop or unexpected lane change from a car up ahead, and the result is a disaster. Bike and body parts spread across the pavement, thousands of dollars spent for the emergency services to come clean up the mess, plus the traffic jam that is caused during the cleanup.

[Hardware]

I agree with the posters who cited the stupidity of such a move. While it may have looked "cool" at the time, their actions could have resulted in a pile-up collision that could have endangered your family.

Getting a bike up on the back wheel is easy. Bringing it back down smoothly and with control is a little trickier - hence chucklehead's wobble.

He probably went far enough that his front tire had stopped spinning and it was basically airplane landing gear on touch down.

[viper94bite]

I figured it out. They do this so that when they sell their bikes they appear to have less mileage on them. LOL. I'm assuming of course the measuring is done by the front wheel and well when its in the air well you get the idea.

[Uncle Bob]

How easy to get the wheel up ? Too easy !

How easy to screw up ? Too easy !

How easy to mess up your bike ? Too easy
( bikes were not designed to run long distances with the front wheel 5' in the air, oil starvation and all the problems associated with lack of engine oil can ensue, also the front end was not designed as a pogo stick ).

How easy to hurt yourself or others ? Too easy !

How often has a stunter lost control of his bike only to have it hit and injure or kill an innocent motorist ? Too often !

[Gixxerman]

It can be dramatic if you just let it down, but you have to come off the throttle, and when you're going down you have to give more throttle again. This prevents the wheel from going down too hard, and of course, you have to try keeping the front end steady. Just because you did see some smoke doesn't mean it was dangerous. The front wheel has stopped after a while up in the air, and when you're doing 100 and set that wheel down, it has to spin up to 100 in a blip of a second. That's why you saw smoke

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Gixxerman

Just because you did see some smoke doesn't mean it was dangerous.

Famous last words for 200 Alex !

[merlot]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

Famous last words for 200 Alex !

+1

[blackie1491]

A showboater is just that. There is a time and a place for everything.
Public roads are not for showboating.
Chain reactions, distractions to others and all of a sudden a major pileup occurs.

If stunting is what someone wishes to do, find a place where you do not put others at risk.

[kyro2000]

I agree with everyone that is saying that if you have to stunt don't do it on the street. I had alot of friends back at ISU that were amazed at how little effort it took to get approval from local law enforcement to use an empty parking lot at Jack Trice Stadium for a few hours. They had plenty of room to do stunts that require alot of speed and of course plently of room to do the slow stuff.
Best of all it was in a somewhat controled environment.
As long as they didn't do it in town or on the highway Ames PD and ISU PD were very happy to block off the lot for them.

[blackie1491]

We even have a school here that teaches it.
I posted about it around July\Aug.

[MagnumForce]

Hmm... so some little punk can lift the front wheel off the ground and all the sudden, he knows all there is to know about riding. Well, I got three letters for you:

BFD!!!

Keep the showboating off the public roads. Nuff said!

[azoazc]

Originally Posted by Hardware

I agree with the posters who cited the stupidity of such a move. While it may have looked "cool" at the time, their actions could have resulted in a pile-up collision that could have endangered your family.

Getting a bike up on the back wheel is easy. Bringing it back down smoothly and with control is a little trickier - hence chucklehead's wobble.

He probably went far enough that his front tire had stopped spinning and it was basically airplane landing gear on touch down.

I sure hope I am not the "chucklehead" you referred to. Because as I said "I would not know". I ride the track enough that I don't have to be stupid on the street. Plus I am skilled enough to come down straight.

[stevie c]

Originally Posted by azoazc

I sure hope I am not the "chucklehead" you referred to. Because as I said "I would not know". I ride the track enough that I don't have to be stupid on the street. Plus I am skilled enough to come down straight.

Azoazc, from the post it reads that the chucklehead is the guy doing the wheelie, hence the wobble as the front wheel came back down......
as mentioned in k3new's first post on this thread.

[tlwisner]

Originally Posted by azoazc

I sure hope I am not the "chucklehead" you referred to.

Chucklehead is a label of great respect. I could be wrong, and I frequently am.

My last wheelies were on dirt bikes when I was a kid. I enjoy watching these guys stunt their big sport bikes - it's very cool when done in a safe area. I never had a problem bringing up a wheelie on a 2 stroke 100cc dirt bike - but seeing somebody riding a wheelie on a 'busa while sitting on the handlebars is something else.

The chuckleheads popping wheelies down the highway are just dumbasses who didn't get enough attention as children.

[MagnumForce]

Originally Posted by tlwisner

The chuckleheads popping wheelies down the highway are just dumbasses who didn't get enough attention as children.

These chuckleheads will get all the attention they need from Mr. Darwin.

I actually enjoy watching riders stunting and showboating when done in controlled environments. My brother rides a CBR600RR and ZX-9R on the streets, but gets his adrenaline kicks on the motocross track with his Kawi KX250. Why settle for a wheelie when you can fly instead?

[inspiron]

In 2 weeks I will be going to the MotoSuisse/SwissPerformance show in Zurich. In front of the convention center, they have a huge (like 25 foot) high ramp set up, and some crazy stunters do jumps with enduros and quads. In one of the halls, they have an area blocked off where stunters do their thing - wheelies, stoppies, the whole program. I can watch for a few minutes, but watching people abusing their machines (and risking their lives) isn't much fun for me.

Stunt shows in this kind of environment are fine ... but stunting on public streets with brain-dead cagers coming up from behind is just plain stupid.

[azoazc]

I like the REAL stunt riders. Most of the stuff is done at low speeds and requires awesome balance more than high horsepower. The squids you see on the highways and streets are not real stunters IMO.