KX Riders
General => Riding Tips & Tricks => Topic started by: kiwikx500 on May 30, 2006, 05:29:22 PM
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? Cheerz 8-)
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2nd
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cheerz :-D
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I 2nd the 2nd idea!
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For me its 3rd then 4th then 5th. Cam.
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Now Cam, he said learn.. :-) I start anywhere in the bunch, depends on who I'm racing and if I need some RPMS to get ahead then wheelie. ;-)
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Yeah I didn't notice the "learn" part until later. 2nd is definitely the right gear. Cam.
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Learn in the sand with a paddle. If not available, find some soft (no/few rocks) dirt on a slight incline/uphill. Get into second mid-throttle (getting in the powerband), stay seated but up toward the tank, and begin a power wheelie (without pulling back on the bars). Try that to get the feel of your power band with the wheel off the ground about 2 feet. Run it up to just before WOT and then just gently let off the gas to drop the front wheel to the dirt and slow down. Keep in mind that when learning this way, if you are accustomed to keeping a finger or two on the front brake, try not to do that. It will prevent an unwanted stoppie. Also, try and learn to do this power wheelie with your foot ready on the rear brake. I suggest getting this (power wheelie) to a science, even shifting through the gears before going for the balance wheelie.
Sorry for the long reply, Sly
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The sand is ok if you fall but the best place to learn to put the front wheel in the sky is on the street. Find a hill close to the house in case the cops get after you. On concrete your rear tire gets the same traction each time. On sand sometimes it bites and sometimes it does not. Your horsepower requirement will change with the amount of traction you get in the sand with each wheelie. I learned to do wheelies on the spill way at Lake Texhoma back in 1977 on a 1976 Yamaha XT 500 single cylinder enduro. It's much safer to learn with a 4 stroke, the power band is more stable. The spill way is shaped like an amphitheatre with a 40 degree grade. On a hill you need less power to get to the balance point. I could wheelie up the spill way at about 10 miles an hour with the wheel about 18 inches high. If you want to look cool 1st gear is best to start with and shift through the gears. Make sure you turn on the gas!!!
After saying all that keep in mind THE PENALTY FOR FAILURE IS MUCH GREATER ON THE STREET.
Danger
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Agreed, the street is definately the best route if you are confidant. When I was younger I flipped a wheelie on an old XR200 after doing about a 40mph wheelie. Hard lesson to learn, and I am still not sure if I learned it.
Be careful either way, I've always told people to leave wheelies alone. It will come naturally when the time is right. You will be out riding and all of a sudden you will realize that your wheel is off the ground and you shifted. It works that way, be careful. Even flipping a wheelie wrong in the sand hurts like hell, I flipped a 1st gear wheelie and I can swear my rear fender did not touch the ground and the handle bars acted like a 20,000 pound weight slamming me into the ground. I hurt for weeks after that. This was in the sand, not deep sand, but still sand none the less.
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? Cheerz 8-)
Before you ever get good at wheeling, you need to know the "balance" point of your bike. This is where the bike, front wheel in the air can almost perfectly balance itself. I recommend using 1st, and easily just roll the throttle incramentally bringing up the front tire higher, and higher. Trust me to a beginner you will find you need to get the front tire up REAL high to find this balance point. Then you can practice carrying more speed, and eventually banging gears in a wheelie (I am not that good and multiple gear wheelies, I much prefer slow speed technical wheelies. (kinda hard on a KX500 as they have SO much snap....
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the best way is rev up to about 10 grand in first then dump the clutch...... try it!Sorry that was sarcasm honestly 2, 3, 4 is the best at about 30 mph . :evil: :evil: :evil:
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You have to learn that? I thought thats just what the kx500 did. Now if you could learn how to make it not wheelie that would be an accomplishment. I dont have time to learn new tricks so I'm going to go on living life with the front tire in the sky. 8-) By the way I find first threw fifth all suitable for wheelien but the taller gears you can relax more and enjoy the ride. Slow and dieliberate throttle controle is the key you have to fight the urge to chop on and off. Very small throttle inputs will raise and lower the tire with a little practice you can keep the tire right where you want it and when you get good at it you will find that you can wheelie at very low rpms. Concentrate On what your right hand is doing and cover your rear brake and put it in your mind before you start your wheelie that if it starts to go over :-o I'm going to hit the rear brake. Cheerz
P.S. My favorite place to do wheelies is on dry lake beds,wheelies and land speed records are why god made those.
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Hopefully you have learned most of this on another bike first. Do not try wheelies on a k5, if this is the first bike that you have owned!!!!!!! The k5 has aloooooot of power. It wheelies all the time on accident on all traction in all gears. Most bikes you can just let off and you save it. The k5 can be up and then surge a little after you let off and throw you down quickly. Be ready with the clutch under any riding, where you are spinning the throttle around. Also it is great advice to be ready with the rear brake, BDI, alot of time in a wheelie panic, people will freeze up and just let themselves flip. The worst part, I think, about wiping out in a loop out is the long silencer getting ripped off. Often that bends or breaks the sub-frame. Oh yeah and the road rash. The other problem with just riding for wheelie practice or jumping practice is that I always seem to get better and better and better until wham. Pay attention that once you start getting tired or improvement is falling off that you take a break or ride around doing other stuff for a little while.
Good luck. Keep it rubber-side down. :evil:
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No B.S. I have gotten off at 70 pluss mph before in a wheelie. I was wearing a leather and it ground off metal snaps burned me threw the leather bent the frame and all sorts of good stuff. I laid in bed for a couple of days never went to the hospital but should have. Be ready to pay a big price for small mistakes. :-(
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This is why you should cover your brake and convince yourself to use it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeGYgM3kovQ&feature=related
God, I hate that sound. :x
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yeah learning wheelies on blacktop is prob your best place but find a lil bike small 2 stroke if you ride two strokes or small 4 stroke if your into that sorta thing dont try it on a kx5 im right here with you on the price you pay bdi put a rm 250 down doing a 5th gear wheelie on the road when i got up my blue jeans and carhart i was wearing were missing everything in the rear department didnt work for 3 weeks couldnt bend over back was nothing but a scab :|
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I also learned a thing about wheeling on black top. I had a new 1986 kx500 and had been riding open class bikes for ever. I wasn't a wheelie king but I was good. I started out in first gear got to that sweet spot and shifted through the gears. Somewhere along the way I decided to let it down a little and top it out in 5th. Well, when it was topped out and my 90mph wheelie was over the front tire came to the ground. It had not taken one turn for about 3/4 of a mile and when it hit the ground all I heard was a screech and blue smoke. At that point I was sliding down the pavement just behind the bike. It and I never left the road. The bike needed one grip and a new axle nut on the rear. I needed a whole new REAR or so it felt.
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i would have to agree with all the warnings,the kx500 is a mean green MF some times. make sure ur geared up. cause if ur tring to learn on a kx500 ur probley going to hit the ground(at some point). the nice thing is when u do get the wheelie learned,u will look super cool :-D
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I am going to get a 10 inch square piece of velcro, and stick myself to the tank, I think my front tire will last forever, as it is always off the ground! :mrgreen: