ok... my buddy john got on my dudes bike ( cbr 929) and clutched a 12 o'clock in second gear at 10 - 15 mph.... everything is stock on this bike except a 2 brothers slide on... i was amazed to see that... i still cant figure this clutchin up thing for my life...

 

Its all in technique like anything else. I can cluth min eup going only 15 mph in second with totally stock gears. and NAGS can rock my 954 at 6 mph stock its crazy.

 

I have been working on my wheelies as well the past month. I have been doing nothing but power wheelies. Easiest for me is to roll in 1st get up to exactly 34 mph which will be 5k rpm keep on the throttle then quickly let off and right back up comes right up. I just have the problem of riding it out dont have the throttle down yet but slowly working on it last month I was struggling to get one up which is all technique like honda said. After I found out that I was lending to far forward, not giving enough gas or rolling on the throttle right it would never come up. Have someone tape you and watch it over and over then watch a stunt video you will see the difference. I will perfect the riding out by the end of june then I'm moving on to 2nd gear stand ups... Practice and technique are the key hope this helps for the novice person it did for me. Good thread nice input from everyone.

 

Hey All Mota,

That vid Fuggin ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the advice and posting the vid. Dude, I need to do that so bad!!!

Thanks to everyone for the posts and keeping this post rockin. I will make my best efforts to share any good info I have.

Yesterdays session- Just so you all know it's been damn hard to practice this week, the state patrol and most of the in city cops have put all thier cops out on the streets, they call it "no fatal week" It sucks!
So I did go to my spot yesterday for a few and had a couple good successes with 1st gear clutch ups. I have really been concentrating on my posture, and that has helped tons, so yesterday I would get going to about 20mph makes sure may arms were straight and my back straight as I could get it. and some really quick clutch and gas action. I got it up a couple times out of 10 trys. I rode one out but it was only a few seconds and not very high at all, in fact I doubted I was even in the air until I felt the front land after hitting the limiter.
after watching that vid I wanna try some second gear stuff, it looked smooth.

Hey everyone be careful this weekend, this is the dangerous one. no tickets, no wrecks,,,allright.

 

ok...tried clutchin 2nd gear at 40 then at 45 then at 50 and finally at 55....I CANT DO IT .....someone help me

 

I was sooo close to giving up and saying "there's no way" Then this weekend I finally started to see success. Went from 1in surges to actually riding a nice one almost 1/4 mile sunday morning :YEAH

I know it's been said before but MAN body posistion is soooo important. I can'r remember who posted it but I started squeezing the gas tank with my knees too so I knew I was far back on the seat and forces my self to almost "lean" back as the front end comes up. It's really scarey at first and sometimes I swear I'm gonna loop it or fall off the back (but not yet!!)

I've been doing them at just about 45mph and 6k rmps. I'm starting to reallize that it's not just a matter of clutch in - wot - clutch out. Theres definitly a timing element to it that I think only comes with tones of practice (or maybe some just have the knack) But I've been at it HARD for nearly a month now (just 2nd gears mind you) and I'm fianlly starting to see rewards. BTW these are all sit-downs. (still no ***** for stand-ups yet)

Mind you I still only get a good one about 30% of the time but before that over the last month I only got 2 total.

Just stay at it. Bro!
Oh yeah that video posted was AWESOME!!!! Got me inspired to get back at it this weekend! Thanks

 

for 2nd gear wheelies... is there a recommended tire psi... and how much throttle exactly should i be giving after letting the clutch out... also... i have one tooth down in the front... which i know should be easier to bring up...i dunno...i jsut need all the help i can get... thanks

 

Dont worry about tire preasue and all that stuff..Its all technique..When I ride my bike I can do sit downs no prob. then I jump on my boys(all-Mota) Bike and I cant get that **** up..Finally I learned how and when to clutch it and the bitch comes up..Just practice and dont get dicouraged..

 

Congrats MD954 that is awesome news. I didn't make much progress this weekend at all but a few of us went out for a 200 mile ride yesterday, It's been so long since I just cruised,,it was nice. While we were on the ride I figured I'd try some 2nd gear bouncing, it wasn't really working out for me, however I did manage to barley float the front tire a bit and I did get a lot more comfortable standing up on the bike. We ended our day by hitting up our spot for some practice. I'm out today on the bike so I'm gonna try and inflate my nuts a bit.
I bet this is exactly like when I leaned stoppies, at first I couldn't do it at all and it felt hopeless but now I'll roll em all day long and never feel uncomfortable.

Late fellas

 

ok...well...i think i got all the info i need...so...im goin out right now...and well see what happens...ill let u know what happened when i get back

 

GOOD LUCK!!! Post your experiance. Cause I need to wheelie

 

its hopeless....im sellin this piece and buyin a scooter...JK... i guess practice makes perfect..so...ill keep trying

 

try the vid from www.fromdummies.com

they have great step by step instructions and they have awesome angles that show exactly what to do (from hand movements to body position).

if you don't improve after watching this a few times... then mabye you should sell it

BTW: Good **** MD954! Timing, body position, and throttle control makes a world of difference. NO JOKE! Keep up the good work

 

yeh guys there isnt much to tell you now. just go out and practice. im working on 2nd gear stand ups and i find that when i let the bike do the work it comes right up. im riding 'em out alright now, not at BP yet but im progressing. all power, standing up and wacking it at like 6k rpm in second. comes right up. i brought one up in 3rd the other day on the highway. high rpm, bounced it hard and brought it up probably at about 90ish...it came up higher than it ever has in 3rd, lol that was kinda scary. but anyway the main point of my post is, it takes *****. until you get over the fear, you wont progress.

 

Let ma ask you something about "bouncing." Are you putting pressure forward on the forks with your upper body or on the rear pegs ala pogostick. I'm a light guy (140) and I can't seem to preload **** on the front forks.

Also I heard that a K&N air filter would help too. Anyone have this and does it make much of a hp difference? (not just for wheelies but in general)

Oh also something I've noticed (probobly stupid but) is that in the mornings when I first head out my 2nd gear wheelies seem to come up better and more often. I think it might have something to do with the clutch being cooler/tighter and a bit more responsive. After a long periond of practicing I find it's actually harder for me to find that "timing."

 

From the old www.954RR.com forum, some people said that they lost HP off aftermarket filters when they dynoed their bike. Don't know if it's true, but I never got one. If you don't have one already, get an exhaust and a power commander. The PCIII smoothens out the rough spots in the throttle. My bike use to "hiccup" (slight pause) in betwen shifts, now it's smooth and responsive.

I'm sure the beating on the bike takes its toll after a long day of practicing, but I'm usually drained myself too (forearms get tight). Don't know if this was mentioned, but another "oldie but goodie" tip for you guys, try practicing with an almost empty tank. Sit far back and you'll notice she jumps up better.

 

Ok,

Yes a K & N filter will give your bike a noticable amount of power. However, You can't just add a filter alone, or you will cause more wear and tear on the motor, in some cases a large amount of wear and tear. You will need a power commander to alter the fuel air ratio to match the filter, (thats prolly where the stories come from about losing power with a K & N, in fact I'm positive)
also, yes you can do the power commander yourself but your benifits will be very very limited. To get the best out of it you have to have the bike Dyno mapped, that's where they strap your bike to a dyno and completely tune it.

Sound like a pain in the azz wait it gets better.

So here is the even better part, since your going through all this trouble with tuning, filter, and power commander, well why not add the exhaust at the same time right, so you get yourself a can and boom before you know it you just spent a grand all for 10 to 15 lil horseys.

Now,,you can add an exhaust can without harming your engine,,,can only.
but a can all by itself might add 3 to 4 horsepower, the biggest gain you can get is by doing all 3 together second biggest gain will come from the filter and power commander and mapping to get it right.

It will make a differance you can feel, but your machine already has more than enough power to hoist the front, as a matter of fact my theory is that the bike has too much power, and it becomes more difficult to moderate the power for launching and for balancing. The faster the bike the slower and more acurate your throttle hand must be. See, when I had my buell I could wheelie that thing anywhere anytime 1 becuase of the torque. 2 Because it was easy, I'd just roll along in first at about 4500 to 5000 rpm pull the clutch in and smack the throttle to the stop let out the clutch and bingo, I only went to far once but lucky for me that torquey **** engine braking saved me.
When i bought the Honda it was like (still is like) learing to ride all over again, cause if I pulled that little Buell trick with my 954 Id watch my bike go shooting down the street without me.

Power is not an issue with the 954 that I know, If you want a good bang for the buck try sprocket gearing, you'll notice them more than the 1000.00 tuning job. But hey if you gotz the money DO IT,,,cause why not. Me,,,I like saving for tires and maintenance.

 

Oh ya, and MD,

About bouncing,,I am really just toying with it but my best results were when I put more of the bounce on the pegs with just a little tug on the bars, That's when I got the bike to float in second it was when I put more bounce on the pegs,,, I think it might have changed my body position a lil bit too.

Sorry I can't help more,,,I'm way better at wrenching than wheelyin. Someday, that better change. Well, I dunno I do love wrenching

 

where are my 954 homies at? You all better be rideing

 

Hey Kungfu...yep, I was just out riding. I have to say you're right on with your post. I did ALL of the above with the exception of the K&N. Full exhaust, PCIII, and custom dyno mapped. Grand totals for pipe, PC and map were $1200...$375...and $200 (dyno for 1.5hrs) And guess what? 7 little ponies at 11k. Who the hell here wheelies their 954 at 11K? So all you 954 riders learn from my mistake. Yes I have a smoother throttle...but help a ton with wheelies, I doubt it very much. Then a buddy of mine with a gixxer 1k told me to throw on a +2 rear sprocket. Total cost $45 dollars including the shipping. (43 tooth to a 45 tooth) End result...my bike wheelies in second gear ALOT easier. I roll on the throttle, slip in the clutch and rev her to about 8 or 9k...guessing ( I go by sound) drop the clutch and up she comes nice and predictable. Same height everytime with no more scary launches like my old power wheelies. I looped it last year doing a second gear power when I failed to roll off the throttle as she came up.
Anyway, nice post. Great info...just thought I'd save you guys some ca$h and add my Gear up and ride safe!