When I boutght my first LC4, the previous owner said "let me warm up the engine. Got a helmet I can use?" Next thing I saw was an LC4 whizzing by at 80km/h on one wheel. Guess what.... I bought that bike. When I was selling my 2001 KTM (30.000km later) I put the buyer on my LC4, myself on my wife's bike and took him into the hills nearby. Then we stopped and I said "let me show you something..." Did a standing wheelie at constant speed for a few hundred meters... and the bike had a new owner from that day. LC4 is a really cool bike to wheelie on. It looks cool, it feels cool... it's just cool to wheelie... I never crashed while doing a wheelie. It took some time and practice but it paid off. At first I didn't believe it was possible in the 2nd gear. Now I know it's possible in 3rd. The most interesting things I've done on one wheel: - Downshift from 3rd to 2nd while doing a wheelie - Wheelie from stopped position (feet on footpegs, though) and trough all gears up to 5th - A 2km wheelie at constant speed - a vertical wheelie (12 o'clock) only he bolts at the bottom of the fender weren't that happy... - a wheelie at 120km/h (seen on a bike riding along) As I said, the LC4 can do it all. Any tips from the wheelie masters out there? How do you do it on your LC4 (or a different thumper?) Any help for those who wish to wheelie but are affraid or don't know how? .....any questions? Losiu
Lets hear the secret! I can barely get my wheel to pop in 2nd gear on my 640. On the dirt it is easier. I can hit a bump and loft the front using the bump to help. This works in 3rd no problem.
I would be interested in reading about wheelie techniques for the LC4. (don't forget the disclaimers for those who don't reason well)
well this has nothing at all to do with the Lc4 but I can do some sweet ass wheelies on my 94 DR (or could rather). I just put it in second gear and get the revvs up to about 4000rpm. Then I compress the fork a tiny bit gas it and up we go fo as long as I can balance it out and keep throttle control. I never did get the hang of shifting up a gear to third but if I had I could probably ride a wheelie forever on a DR.
I do all the above in one gear higher. Pop a wheelie in 3rd on flat and in 4th using a bump/hill on the road is possible. The secret is the technique. I NEVER use the clutch because my bike is light enough that I don't need to. I believe an ADVENTURE will let you loft the front whell with out clutch too. Usually I start a wheelie in 2nd. I chop off the throttle, then wack it open and right after I do that I pull the handlebars towards me. Actually that sounds like I have to put a lot of effort into it, which would be true for the 3rd gear. In 2nd I don't need to pull that hard. The bike is up in no time in 2nd and in 3rd it takes a little bit more time for the front wheel to reach the right height because the bike needs to gain speed as the gear is longer. The secret is the synchronization of opening the throttle and pulling the bars. It takes practice. AND NEVER TRY THAT IF YOUR RIGHT FOOT ISN'T READY TO STEP ON THAT BRAKE LEVER !!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek1 Losiu
The part I am missing is the chopping the throttle. I will try that when I get my bike back together. I guess that makes the front dive? Then the springs help push the bike back in the right direction to help lift the wheel?
DY-no-MITE!!! Are you changing the subject? Or do you mean jumping during a wheelie... ain't that called a bunny hop?
Just between you and me, I am not a'tall interested in pulling wheelies down main street; no offense to loisu. But I am interested in the techniques because I have occasion to loft the front end off-road and I would like to be more proficient at it irrespective of speed or warning time. Also, just between you and I, I have an ulterior motive... I wanted someone to post their techniques with a fairly stock LC4 so that it was apparent that the BST is capable. Sure a pumper will give ya more snap, but the BST has, um what did RR used to say... ah yes: Adequate Power.
A few hints: First of all - there were times when I knew nothing about carb replacement. So I learnt to wheelie and IMHO became proficient at them with the BST on, on a stock KTM LC4 640. With a bit of luck you can do it in 3rd on such a bike. My current bike has all the cheap and popular mods and also drilled slide which helps a little but it's not like the bike suddenly started wheelying. Let's get started. Go somewhere where there's no traffic (important) and preferably practice up the hill. Don't start big. practice lofting the wheel only. Always the same speed, the same gear, (on LC4 I recommend 2nd). NEVER ATTEMPT DOING A WHEELIE IF YOU AREN'T READY TO STEP ON THE BRAKE. IT'LL REALLY SAVE YOUR A** !! You'll forget a million times anyway - that'll only mean you're not ready. I started this thread so it's importat to me that you won't go crashing into lamp posts, bus stops and other things you can normally find on or along the roads :) When you finally remember about the brake you can more or less loft the wheel in the same way every time, you can start riding on one wheel. By that time you'll kinda know how because trying to remember about the brake and lofting the wheel all the time will provide enough practice that you'll stop being so scared of it. You'll learn to control your throttle in a new way too. While doing a wheelie you just need to be gentle with the throttle. The rear brake is only for security - you won't need it to do sucsessful wheelies. You gotta remember about it. I'm trying to explain how to do it and not crash a million times before you learn. Some say it's not possible. Well, I never crashed while wheelying and I know how to wheelie. That would mean it IS possible, wouldn't it....?? Losiu
I've tried on easier bikes, on heavier bikes and have always crashed . But I haven't lost hope yet. Keep the good advice coming, please!
WOw... That thread just died.... Well, If this doesn't encourage you guys to write a couple of words...I give up. This is one of my first pictures while wheelying taken with a regular camera and then scanned. It was in 2002 and my first LC4. This pic was taken just after I learnt what the whole thing is about enjoy Losiu
Hey, thats against KTMs instructions. I once read that the LC4s should be wheelied only 400 m at a time. Otherwise there might be a shortage of oil. On the EXCs there is no such a limit. It works! I have always used the clutch, but today I noticed that its not needed to lift the wheel. Now I just have to practice the balance.
there you go...!! You can easily do it with the clutch but there's no need to. I'd say that in gears above 2nd it's completely pointless. In 3rd you just have whack the throttle open and pull. That's all. Clutch won't help. It's true though that in 2nd using the clutch will help to "shoot" the wheel up almost without gaining speed. I personally use the 2nd gear only to loft the wheel. As soon as I'm up, I shift to 3rd gear and continue wheelying. BTW - I use the clutch to shift on one wheel. Most people don't because they don't even think it's possible. Once you learn, you'll have plenty of time to pull the clutch lever and shift. The 400meters you mentioned... newer LC4s have 2 oil pumps. I believe it helps but I normally don't wheelie for longer than that for a different reason. After a while of wheelying you simply don't see what's behind you. I've experienced tail-gating by some young punks who wanted a closer look... I've also once done a wheelie in front of a cop car (accidentally, of course) so be careful. Another thing to remember is that people in front of you can't see you AT ALL!!! If you see a car in front of you ready to pull out of a side street, stop wheelying. It will pull out anyway. Your light is covered by the front fender and is not possible to see. Of course, I'm not responsible for what you do and how... I'm just trying to help :) Losiu
BTW - I just noticed... look at the black and white pic a few posts earlier. I was wearing regular shoos (very smart) and you can clearly see my right foot above the brake pedal. DO NOT FORGET ABOUT THE BAKE !!!! Losiu P.S. When I get back from work I'll write a "rear brake adventure" I once had :eek1 :huh
So... once I was reading a test of some kind of thumper and the author of that test mentioned that he'd been wheelying on a different thumper and flipped back because he accidentally hit the shift lever with his boot... It's obvious that if you shift UP you can't open the throttle as much as you did in a lower gear. That's why shifting should be left for later. When you know how to wheelie in one gear, you can try to start experimenting with that - not before. The thing is that if you WANTED to shift, you kinda know that you shouldn't open so much throttle in the next gear. But if you didn't expect the shift, then obviously you open the throttle too much and your a** meets the road. I personally did the same...meaning... I accidentally shifted from 3rd to 4th while doing a pretty nice, controlled wheelie at a constant speed. It was one of those "vertical" ones where the front wheel was so high I was actually slowing down. I remember exactly because my boot hit the shift lever and there I was in the 4th gear, thinking I was in 3rd. It's slow when I write about it but the whole thing took a second. I opened the throttle and felt I was going to fall backwards. The difference between that journalist and me is that as soon as I felt something weird happening, I stepped on the brake and when I was riding on two wheels again I just simply though " OH F**K!!!!" and kept riding while he was already sliding on his butt. I'm not trying to say I'm the king of wheelies but when I bought my first LC4 I spent all the money I had + borrowed some. I wanted to learn how to wheelie but couldn't afford to crash. So I made a point of ALWAYS remembering about the brake. It's not easy but now I'll always use it when it gets tricky. I'd recommend starting with trying to remember to put your foot above the brake pedal before each attempt to do a wheelie. If it feels uncomfortable, adjust the lever height so it becomes doable. If you adjust the lever in such a way that it's a bit a PITA to use it while riding on two wheels, think about it: Is it better to be uncomfortable using your rear brake on two wheels OR crash while wheelying because you couldn't use your brake. When you've learnt how to wheelie, you can even mount your brake pedal onto the rear rack. I assure you that you'll use it anyway when you need to Losiu
One (just one ) of my dificulties is to keep my position balanced when the bike lifts the front. I always tend to feel that I am either sliding on the seat or being pushed too far back. Then I have to hang on the handlebar and that's when I stop because I can't control the bike if I am hanging for dear life at the handlebar. At that point, if I am ubalanced, I am also on the verge of letting go off the footrest (and there goes the rear brake). Anyway, even if my feet don't go off the foorest if I am not balanced on the bike I find it hard to stab the rear brake in a hurry... One thing I admire is that you wheelie guys look like you're glued to the bike (either seating or standing) and it doesn't look like your hanging to the handlebar or with your knees... I have an interesting story about a monster wheeelie I did on a friends CR250. The SOB had just washed the bike and greased the seat with silicone cockpit spray (to make it shiny as new). I pulled the front in third and a second later was flying after the bike, superman style, hanging to the handlebar with a wide open throttle! Obviously I fell back. The bike fell on my hip and I spent a month (another one ) in crutches healing a ruptured quadricepet. Another attempt (you see, perseverence is not my problem ) on my 1150GS also had a nasty result. GS's pull to the right when you rev them hard because of the longitudinal crank and heavy flywheel... when you wheelie them, you rev them hard. You get the point .. landing the front with the bike tilted 45 degrees to the side is not a good thing