Wheelies Explained

By Dan Jackson


The wheelie--the granddaddy of all street freestyle stunts--can be both the simplest and the most complex trick in a professional stunt rider's routine. While a standard sit-down wheelie is almost elementary in execution, the more incredible variations--skyscraping High Chairs, 12s, creeping No-Handers--leave us mortals tugging our chins and wondering, "How'd they do that?"
Never ones to tug (chin) in vain, Super Streetbike asked Team XMX (www.teamxmx.com) ringleader "Crazy Dan" Jackson to ,give us a peek behind the curtain and expose the mechanics of his gravity-defying wheel stands. An accomplished freestyle motocrosser and street freestyle prodigy (his 2002 CBR954RR was his first-ever streetbike), Crazy Dan is just the man for this job. The 25-year-old Jackson came out of nowhere (Kansas City, if you're looking for it on a map) to finish third in the '02 XSBA Street Freestyle Championship, and at press time was leading the '03 series. In addition, Jackson has posted wins at numerous non-XSBA-sanctioned stunt competitions, and also recently launched his own stunting school (www.stunterschool.com, see page 16 for more details), further cementing his credentials. Read on as Jackson, in his own words, lays bare the secrets of mono-wheel mayhem.

Basic Sit-Down
Wheelies Explained
How'd They Do That?

"Sit-downs are the easiest wheelies to do, but the hardest to explain. There are so many different ways to wheelie a sportbike, and some methods work better than others depending on the rider and machine. I'll explain what I do--but keep in mind, other riders might be lifting it up differently.
"There are two kinds of wheelies: power wheelies and clutched wheelies. A power wheelie uses the bike's motor to get the front wheel up. You get the revs up near the bike's torque peak and goose the throttle to snap the front end up. On a 1000cc bike this is easy--just snap the throttle at around 6000 rpm and it wheelies. A smaller bike such as a 600 needs a little help. On these, I'll roll the rpm up higher, then chop the gas and snap it on again. Chopping the throttle will cause the front end to dive for an instant, and the rebounding of the fork will help the front end come up when you snap the throttle back on. On a 600, you almost have to open the throttle all the way to the stop to get the front end up under power. A literbike takes much less throttle--snap my CBR954RR to the stop and you'll be on your ass instantly. That's why I don't like power wheelies--you're dealing with a lot of power, and the possibility of looping the bike is greater.
"I prefer clutched wheelies; the front comes up quicker and you're lower in the rev range when you bring the front end up, so you're not going as fast and you've got more time to find the balance point before you hit the rev limiter. For a clutched wheelie, I'll pull the clutch in, just enough to cause the rpm to rise up to the torque peak, and then let it out quickly. I'm pulling the clutch in just slightly, just into the friction zone. The revs rise for a split second, and then I drop the clutch--don't ease it out--and back off the throttle incrementally as the front end comes up. The higher the front wheel goes the less throttle is needed to keep it up. Backing off keeps the bike from going over.
"Either way, on power or with the clutch, I keep my arms stiff, squeeze the tank with my legs and always cover the rear brake. If things get ugly, you just tap the rear brake and both wheels are back on the ground. If you're looking straight ahead, when you can't see over the bike you know you're getting close to the balance point."
Standup
"Same as a sit-down, you can do this one either on power or on the clutch. I'll also bounce the bike a bit to help it up. Bouncing down on the handlebars preloads the front suspension. The energy of the fork releasing, combined with the throttle input, pops the wheel up. I'll stand up first, then lean forward and bounce it by pushing down on my arms, causing the fork to compress. When the fork comes back up I'm on the gas (not as much as a sit down--standups take less power to lift up!) and pulling on the handlebars to bring the bike up.
"As the front wheel comes up, I'll drop my butt back a little bit to help it along. I bend my knees when I'm pulling the bike up, and once it gets up to about 10 o'clock I'll straighten my legs and lean back. With a standup you can hold the throttle in one spot and use your body language to control the wheelie.
"Because body language makes it so easy to balance a standup, it's easy to ride one through the gears. To shift during a wheelie, I'll blip the throttle just a touch right before the shift. When you fan the clutch to shift, it kills power to the wheelie, and if you don't blip the throttle a touch this can cause you to drop the front wheel. So I'll blip it, causing the front wheel to float a bit higher for a split second, then shift as quickly as possible. Preloading the shifter and just nudging the clutch lever will help you shift faster. I generally shift as early as possible. If you shift when you're hard on the gas or your revs are up, you're more likely to miss the shift. The sooner you shift, the less likely you are to miss the gear. But not too soon, so you don't bog the revs! Incidentally, these shifting rules are the same for a sit-down wheelie."
Can Can
"To do a Can Can, I start just like I would [with] a regular standup wheelie, and as soon as I get the wheelie to where I'm comfortable, I take my right leg off and stick it between the tank and my left leg. You have to be careful getting your foot through there. There's not much room between your leg and the tank, so you have to know where you're going without looking and get it through there quickly.
"During a Can Can most of your body weight is to the left side of the bike, so you need to counterweight yourself by rocking your shoulders over to the right side of the bike. It's all about keeping your balance centered. Whenever I'm moving around, I make sure to do it slowly, so I can feel which way it's going to go. Moving around really fast will cause the bike to get out of control.
"If I ever do get out of control, or to where I feel like I'm making a mistake, I just let off the gas or tap the rear brake and put the front down--it doesn't really matter where I'm standing on the bike, once both wheels are on the ground I'm safe."
High Chair
"For this one I start by sitting on the gas tank with both legs out to the side. The easiest and safest way is to kick out one leg at a time; that way you still have at least one hand on the bars. But with cruise control you can do both legs at once, which looks better in competition.
"Starting out with High Chairs, it's a good thing to dig your ankles to grip onto the headlight so you don't go flying off the back. Denting in the tank here really helps too because it gives you a flat surface to sit on. I always clutch any tank wheelies up. High Chairs (or anything where you are sitting on the tank) take more throttle because you have more weight over the front of the bike. But because your weight is so far forward, and because you're using more throttle, you have to watch and be smooth on the clutch so you don't get wheelspin. Leaning back helps, too, and so does blipping the gas to bounce the bike a little bit.
"[For] my High Chairs, I don't even touch my feet to the fairing at all; I just try to stick my legs up in the air as high as I can, and all that touches is my ass on the tank."
Frog
"Frog wheelies are a lot like High Chairs--I get up on the tank first, then clutch it up. Just like the High Chair, you have to be smooth pulling it up because you've still got all your weight over the front. Plus, you don't really have anything to hold onto, so when you drop the clutch your body weight wants to go backward. That's going to make you wanna hold onto the bars even more tightly, which can cause you to twist the throttle more than you should. So to avoid unwanted throttle inputs, you have to grip tighter with your left arm than your right.
"The hardest part with a Frog wheelie is putting it down. When you set the wheel down it throws all your weight forward, and when you're standing up on the tank and just holding on to the handlebars, there's not much to keep you from just flipping over the front. Not for amateurs, this trick."
No-Hander
"For a Standup No-Hander, you're standing with your foot on the 12 bar and you've got your idle turned up, so you're basically using your foot to balance the bike and riding the wheelie with no hands, controlling the height of the front tire with your body and also with the rear brake.
"Sit-down No-Handers are a bit harder because you don't have the leverage of your foot out on the bar to balance the bike. Again, I'm doing this with the idle turned up. I get the bike up to about 11 o'clock, then let go of the bars and just lean back and control the front tire height with a combination of body lean and rear brake. To keep myself on the bike, I'll squeeze the tank with my knees and sit back against the passenger seat. If I work my body position just right, I don't even have to use the rear brake."
12 O'Clock
"A 12 O'clock is all about brake control. You bring it up in first gear, and you have to get on the gas really hard to get the wheel up as high as you can, and then use your rear brake to stop the bike at 12 o'clock. Once you get it up, instead of using the throttle to control the height of [the] front wheel, you're actually using the rear brake. You're on the gas more than normal, and using the brake to keep from going over.
"Twelves require a lot of body language, using your shoulders to rock the bike from side to side to keep it from tipping over sideways. I use my knees and legs like outriggers to balance the bike, and mostly hold myself on with my arms.
"On the scrape, a lot of people think you just fall back and ride the bar, but the bike still wants to sway from side to side. If you want to 'park' a 12 O'clock, you use the rear brake to slow down--but not too much. If you use too much, it's just going to cause the bike to fall down."
Circle
"Circles and other slow wheelies are the hardest to learn. I'm still learning Circles, in fact. These are all about trusting your tires and getting into a groove. Once you get into a groove, it's all brake and throttle control.
"There are three different ways to do Circles. Some guys ride on the regular pegs; some with the left foot on the left passenger peg; or some with the left foot on the 12 bar. I use the second method, with my left foot on the passenger peg. I haven't done too much with my foot on the bar, but I think there is an advantage because you've got more leverage on the back of the bike. You can use your body weight more to control the height of the tire.
"To initiate a Circle I clutch it up with my feet already in position, bringing it up like a 12 O'clock, using the rear brake. For Circles (and No-Handers, too) I'll turn the idle up to 3500 rpm, so I don't really have to worry about the gas. But with the idle up that high, and your bike so high, if you don't use the rear brake you'll loop out.
"Once you get the bike up there, you initiate the turn by bending the inside knee and shifting body weight into the wheelie. You want to keep looking into the wheelie because you go where you look. You keep it going by blipping the throttle and tapping the brake. The gas makes it run wide and the brake tightens the Circle up--the same concepts as with cornering on a roadracing track."• • More>>> >>>... •

How To: Install a Trac Dynamics extended swingarm

1: In order to remove the stock crush sleeve, tap out one of the bearings.
The biggest challenge to going fast on a high-horsepower motorcycle like the Hayabusa is putting power to the ground. Get on the gas hard and most times either the rear wheel spins up or you loft the front, both of which slow you down. Lowering the bike to keep the center of gravity as close to the ground as possible only goes so far to combat this problem. A longer swingarm may be just the ticket for your hard-launch dreams. Aftermarket companies such as Trac Dynamics sell swingarms in varying lengths (from stock to as much as 14 inches over, most adjustable), with prices starting at $995.
Swapping out the OE swinger for a six-inch stretched version is a fairly easy endeavor. Since you'll be taking off the rear suspension, you'll need a jack or a bike lift to support the bike's rear end after you remove the rear stand. A tie-down (or two) thrown over a rafter will act as a safety when attached to the back end. Remove the rear wheel. Removing the exhaust system's canisters and S-bends isn't necessary, but life is so much easier with them out of the way. Now focus your attention on the shock and linkage. Unbolt the bottom of the shock from the rocker. Remove the bolt securing the bottom of the tie rods. Rest the back of the swingarm on the floor while you extricate the pivot from the frame.


2: Some mechanics like to use red Loctite as a lubricant when installing new bearings. When it dries, the bearings will stay put.
Although Trac Dynamics' swingarm ships with its own bearings, you'll need to extract at least one of the OE bearings to access the crush sleeve that resides inside the pivot between the two bearings. Remember, the moment you take that first whack at the bearing race, the bearing is junk. Never reuse bearings--buy new ones if your new swingarm doesn't already come with them. While you can go Neanderthal on the old bearing to get it out, heating the pivot with a propane torch makes the job of tapping out the bearing much easier. Once the pivot is heated, most mechanics are able to get the bearings out with a drift (or a flathead screwdriver) and a hammer--all without breaking a sweat. Insert the drift into the side of the swingarm pivot opposite from the bearing you want to press out. If you can't catch the lip of the inner race because of the internal spacer, a flathead screwdriver may help. With the drift on the inner race, give the bearing a whack or two until it moves slightly. Now switch to the other side of the bearing and repeat. Essentially, you are walking the bearing out of the hub. When the bearing pops out, set the crush sleeve aside for later.
Installing a new bearing is pretty simple. You can use a bearing driver set or a socket that has the same outer diameter as the bearing's outer race. If you're unable to find a suitable socket, you can always use the old bearing. The idea is to never tap directly on the bearing itself. To ease locating the bearing in the pivot, some mechanics will place the bearings in the freezer for a couple of hours. Others simply apply a little lubricant to the bearing. Tap the bearing until it is in the pivot flush with the outer edge. Slip the crush sleeve into the pivot and install the other bearing. Press the linkage bearings into place to give the tie rods something to pivot on.

3: Once you've installed the bearings, the new swingarm pops in the same way the old one came out. Now would be a good time to add lowering links.
Next, pack the bearings by pressing grease into the space between the rollers with your finger. Keep packing in the lube until you're sure the space behind the rollers is full. Press on the grease seals you took off the old swinger. Take the swingarm and slide it into the frame. Loosely assemble all the bolts for the swingarm pivot, tie rods and linkage. Torque the bolts to spec. Set the chain adjusters to hold the axle blocks in the appropriate position. Before you mount the wheel, you'll probably have to trim (or remove) the rear fender if your bike isn't already equipped with a fender eliminator. Now, mount the wheel.
Since the swingarm is significantly longer, you'll need to custom-cut your chain. Wrap the chain around the sprockets and mark where the ends meet. If you plan to dragrace in a class with a maximum wheelbase, set the wheel in position for that length and cut the chain one link shorter than the chain measures out. Street riders can simply cut the chain at the most convenient link. Don't forget to install a longer brake line before you practice your launches.

4: To ease setup, measure and place the axle blocks before you mount the wheel. Note the clever block design: The front hole is for the first half of the six-inch adjustment range, while the rearward hole moves the wheel way back.
•Time: 1-2 hours
•Cost: $995
•Tools: Wrenches, sockets, torque wrench, front and rear stand, bike jack, hammer, drift, blowtorch, red thread lock, bearing grease, chain cutter/rivet tool
•Parts: Aftermarket swingarm, swingarm bearings (if required), longer rear brake line, longer chain
•Tip: Set your wheelbase before cutting the new chain
•Performance gain: Better traction for launches
•Complementary modifications: Install lowering links, lower front end and air shifter
•Contact information: Trac Dynamics, (661) 295-1956, www.tracdynamics.com


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5: For bikes like the Hayabusa, removing the countershaft cover can be a real pain. By using a piece of welding wire, you can simply pull the new chain around the countershaft sprocket without removing the cover.
6: If you plan on using an air shifter, Trac Dynamics can build an air tank right into the swingarm. Cool, eh?
7: Here's what a Hayabusa looks like with the extended swingarm set three inches over stock and the rear lowered four inch• • More>>> >>>... •