Wheelieing my DualSport

[chrispy12]

I ride a DRZ 400 E (not the supermoto) and I can ride a wheelie out from 2 gear to 4th pretty good and for a good distance. I am trying to learn the balance point and feel like I am on it sometimes or it is just a few more inches back but I am not to sure. my question how far back do you have to go I am at the point that I go high enough I cant see the road in front of me because the plastic fender is up so high but when I hold a point on my throttle is still goes down slowly then I have to upshift in order to keep it up. I have seen vids of people looking under the handlebars with the front wheel turned on way to see and that's why I think I got to go the few more inches back because I can barely see under the handlebars. so my question is that normal to be that high and if so should I go higher?

Any tips thx!

Also side note where a good spot to stand while learning how to stand and wheeling?

[shift1313]

This is the wrong place to post this topic.  It should be in the dualsport forum.  or off road riding tech

 

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/28-dual-sportadventure/

 

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/58-off-road-riding-technique/

 

If you are letting off the gas and the front end drops down then you have more to go.  If you are close you might be able to just lean your upper body back a little bit more and get there.  The rider is a large percentage of the overall weight so each person is different, but its pretty high.  I have to look to the side when doing a sitdown wheelie on any dirtbike.

 

Stand on the footpegs?  Im not sure what you are asking here.  Do you mean on the seat or passenger pegs?

[chrispy12]

Yea standing from anyspot and is one better then another? Also I am 5 11 230lbs

I choose the supermoto fourm because there silimar to a dualsport and I know alot of people stunt moto bikes

Edited October 17, 2013 by chrispy12

[shift1313]

Yea standing from anyspot and is one better then another? Also I am 5 11 230lbs

I choose the supermoto fourm because there silimar to a dualsport and I know alot of people stunt moto bikes

 

the farther back you get your weight on the bike, the lower the balancepoint will be.  If you stand on the seat, the front end will be a lot lower than if you stand on the pegs.  Without a rear handbrake though you cant cover the rear brake.  This is why you see guys with their left foot on the seat/fender and the right foot on the peg still.  I find stand up wheelies at the balance point on a dirtbike a little harder than sit downs.  It feels like you have more weight on your hands which makes it easier to accidentally influence the bike. 

 

If you are just learning keep your feet on the drivers pegs and just work on it a little at a time.  It still has to get fairly high, just not as high as a sit down.

 

 

[chrispy12]

the farther back you get your weight on the bike, the lower the balancepoint will be.

 

 

 

 

I went out td and found that keeping my arm more straight and leaned back help the tire stay up but then i felt out of control. my bike would sway from the back and force me to have to go down. it was a windy day but i think i should still have more control.

[shift1313]

It happens on knobbies. Small body shifts make a big change. What speeds?

[chrispy12]

i start at 25-30 km clutch up and try to adjust to the balance point with the thorottle and i find when it feels like iam there it sways alot from trying to see where i am going i shift to third and its more controllable but then the wind picks up more

[shift1313]

here was a 2nd gear shift to 3rd gear sit down wheelie on knobbies i did awhile back.  It started to weave a bit and i tried to correct it but gave up and set it down.  Is this the kind of weave you are getting?

 

 

[chrispy12]

Yea some thing like that but I feel like I am going higher then that or it might just be the camera angle. I sit about a fist length away from the back seat if that helps I try holding it in second somtimes to practice the BP i wanna be able to stay in a gear and hold it up for a long time. in your vid u look to be a bit closer up then me to maybe that helps control it.

 

Side note what camera are you using? and where do you mount it?

Edited October 21, 2013 by chrispy12

[shift1313]

Yea some thing like that but I feel like I am going higher then that or it might just be the camera angle. I sit about a fist length away from the back seat if that helps I try holding it in second somtimes to practice the BP i wanna be able to stay in a gear and hold it up for a long time. in your vid u look to be a bit closer up then me to maybe that helps control it.

 

Side note what camera are you using? and where do you mount it?

 

Camera is a gopro hero 2 on a chest (chesty) mount.  I stay in the middle of the seat.  If you scoot too far back then you are extending your arms and you lose the ability to move your upper body forward/back if you need to make corrections.  In the vid i was in 3rd and just modulating the throttle a bit.  I was also going up hill so the front wheel didnt need to be as high.  It was just below the BP. 

[chrispy12]

yea ill try sitting up more I think that will help me balance from left to right. its getting cold here I live in Canada winter coming not much riding left this season. when u look of to side when you wheelie do u set ur self up before u pop it up or start looking once your up? 

[shift1313]

I dont make any body shifts before the bike is up really.  the bike comes up pretty quick and if you are leaning off to the side before you get it up you will be weighting one side and the bike will lean and turn.  Typically in a sit down i will turn the bars to the right a little and lean my head/shoulders and look under the bar forward.  I dont really have any pictures but here is me on my rmz.  The front isnt at the balance point but you can see that even at this point the bars are right in front of my face.  This would be a power wheelie where i would be shifting through the gears.

 

 

 

[chrispy12]

dope pic btw! yea i gotcha i just gotta go get on the road soon and practice more. i have been busy this last little bit with school and work.

[shift1313]

For now i wouldnt worry too much about shifting your weight around and looking/steering.  Just find a nice open field or stretch of road that you can play on and know there is nothing coming.

[chrispy12]

yea i gott lots of open country roads by me but there is always a car on them every so often so i just go on them

[Mr_Motocross]

I ride a DRZ 400 E (not the supermoto) and I can ride a wheelie out from 2 gear to 4th pretty good and for a good distance. I am trying to learn the balance point and feel like I am on it sometimes or it is just a few more inches back but I am not to sure. my question how far back do you have to go I am at the point that I go high enough I cant see the road in front of me because the plastic fender is up so high but when I hold a point on my throttle is still goes down slowly then I have to upshift in order to keep it up. I have seen vids of people looking under the handlebars with the front wheel turned on way to see and that's why I think I got to go the few more inches back because I can barely see under the handlebars. so my question is that normal to be that high and if so should I go higher?

Any tips thx!

Also side note where a good spot to stand while learning how to stand and wheeling?

No one can give you an answer of how high. It depends on speed, your weight, bike weight, bike weight distribution, your position, your height, etc. If you pick up speed then it's not high enough. Go to a field or a car park, put the bike into 1st and practice.

 

here was a 2nd gear shift to 3rd gear sit down wheelie on knobbies i did awhile back.  It started to weave a bit and i tried to correct it but gave up and set it down.  Is this the kind of weave you are getting?

 

The weave is because you are chopping the throttle.

Edited October 24, 2013 by Mr_Motocross

[shift1313]

I respectfully disagree here. Only becaiuse I have wheelied that stretch of road hundreds of times on that bike with sm tires, 95% road tires, 50/50 tires and these 95% knobbies. The road is up hill and to the right and as soon as the bike leans at all it wobbles. I was modulating the throttle to try and settle it and then to let it down softly...only does it on the knobbies...

Edited October 25, 2013 by shift1313

[DunmireD001]

I just set on the bike normal and keep my arms straight the whole time and let my weight lean back more the higher I go. I used to have a tendency to bend my arms and pull myself towards the bars more once the front wheel would come up, but I learned that this changes my center of balance making the front heavier and causing the bike to wobble more. Although it worked, I found it easier to keep my arms straight and listen to the engine... Once you are up, hold the throttle in one spot and feel if the front stays in one spot, if it starts to slowly fall, goose it a little to pull it up a little more and repeat this cycle until the front quits dropping... If you have to use the rear brake to keep from looping it, you are close to the balance point.