Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

the other night i was out on a ride. stopped on the line at some lights. i took off fairly fast and thought nothing of it... then later on, as soon as we stopped, one of the other riders exclaimed "YOU DID A WHEELIE!" (we're all fairly new riders on various 250s, except one guy with a 400).

he said my front wheel jumped about 2 inches off the ground i was ecstatic! (yes 2 inches can be a lot in some situations )

so anyway now i've got the bug. i know the zzr250 isn't a good wheelie machine, but can i use it for doing little wheelies? i'm not talking the wheel pointed skywards at passing 747s, just maybe at a 30 degree angle

i'm only a skinny little 65kg fella, my fuel tank was close to full, my clutch is still good, my chain is tight, and i was sitting as far forwards on the seat as possible.

maybe if i run the tank down to reserve, loosen the chain a little, and slide back in the seat a little, and give it some more biccies i can get the wheel up a bit more?

All i can suggest is getting near reserve is good as is sitting back in the seat.

Just make sure the chain is adjusted correctly, not "a bit looser" or "a bit tighter". that way it wont cause any mechanical issues for you.

Also remember to cover the back breat a bit too, that helps you keep control if you really have to resort to it.

mikk wrote:maybe if i run the tank down to reserve, loosen the chain a little, and slide back in the seat a little, and give it some more biccies i can get the wheel up a bit more?

yep
and use 10,000rpm as you drop the clutch.........
the front will rise more than 2", I can guarantee that


cheers

I remember the technique for a cbr 250 was to speed up to 10 to 15 kph pul in the clutch and rev it to 14000 rpm then let out the clutch and feed in the throttle and yes the front wheel would bounce straight up.

Probably not the best thing to do to your bike though.

Ohh and it helps if you do it away from the prying eyes of journalists we dont need the bad press.

mate, the ZZR should get it up (hehehehehe) much easier than the likes of the CBR etc. those twins have a great bottom end (eehhehehehe) so they pick up easy as. i remember my GFs GPX got skyward much faster and much easier than my bandit, hit 10kph, rev to around 8k, drop that clutch in a nice smooth controlled and fast motion. BOOM wheel comes up, and you've got some explaining to do to the person who takes care of your washing

careful tho, DEFINATELY dont do this on a main road, or any road with traffic of any sort for that matter. and i have no doubt that those bikes could loop if you get it right/wrong so take it easy till you've got the feel for it....

You certainly can wheelie a 250. The problem is it requires heaps of RPM which puts you dangerously close to LOOPING IT every time.

They will pop up really quick so be ready for it.

Start at 6-7k and dump the clutch... then keep adding 1k rpm at a time. Just work your way up to it.

AND COVER THE BACK BREAK

RAR!!! Exactly the same thing happened to me yesterday!!! I was on the way back to work from my man's birthday lunch (a little late, and frustrated by traffic) and revved a little higher than normal and felt the front wheel come up!!! Not by much, but enough, dammit!! I was so excited I nearly slid off my seat!!! I called Sky the moment I got back to the office and he made me promise never to do it again as a special birthday present to him ... I agreed readily, as he couldn't see my fingers crossed through the phone WAHEY!!! Thanks for the thread, mikk, and the pointers everyone else!!

The reason why I dun attempt wheelie is because I do not know how to put it down.
Most of the wheelie-spills that we see on video clips are the part where the rider puts the front wheel down n loses it.
I'm not sure and confident on putting the wheel down properly.

Any pointers ?

I'd guess that you should keep it straight and have the wheel pointing exactly where your going. Also pick where you wheelie very carefully. straight roads withot any weird curves to it or bumps.

Yeah ya can do some little wheelies on the mighty zzr

I do them all the time


Lisa

hmm i couldnt get laines zzr to wheelie..but i didnt want a 1st gear..i stood up,bounced it in 2nd & it wouldnt come up...gotta love cubes!!...

putting down a wheelie-
here is the BIG point...if u put it down using the throttle it will come down very shaky & may tank slap...if u put it down with the rear brake, or ride it out so it comes down gentle..no problem....just like a clitoris (so ive heard), gentleness is the key...

neka79 wrote:snip.....if u put it down with the rear brake, or ride it out so it comes down gentle..no problem....just like a clitoris (so ive heard), gentleness is the key...

roflmao

neka the sex therapist..another classic

actually neka is correct
when I used to get my ol' GPz2fiddy up (8000rpm clutch dumps)
I used the rear brake coming down...kept it straight
and with the bars straight..no problems

I did a cool accidental wheelie on a KSRC ride a while back. We had just gone over Glorious and were on our way home. There was just me, Dave (Mojo67), and Jen (Red Leader) left. Those two pulled up at set of lights. I pulled up between em and looked at Dave. He just said "Top of the hill" and the race was on. I watched the lights intently, needing a big holeshot just to beat the others across the lights on the Zephyr. When the lights went green, I nailed it. Of course, I stalled the Fucker, and the other two took off and left me for dead. In all my enthusiasm to catch them, I simply hit the starter and dropped the clutch at about 7,000-8,000 rpm. The bike just launched immediately onto the back wheel, and I went through the intersection looking at the sky with my legs dangling on the road. It was all I could do to hold on, I couldn't get off the throttle coz I was to busy trying to pull myself back onto the bike. When the road curved upwards to go up the hill, the front finally came down and I raced off after the others laughing at myself.

I can only imagine what this looked like to the cage drivers at the intersection........

Hahahaha nice.
First time I got the ZXR up with 3 days after I had it, Overtaking a car @ 90k's and a ute comes flying up behind me in the middle of the road before I've finished straightening up in the new lane.
Open road in front so I gunned in, wheel came up at least a foot -I had to stick my head out sideways to see foward- while the bike was still leaned over.
Straightened up after a lot of wobbling and came down fairly smoothly at 130 or so km/hr.

All I remember thinking is that I was scared as hell about letting it down (new bike and all) so I stayed on the throttle for a bit too long, haha. Ended up calming down and touching the rear break with throttle held steady and came down nicely under power

Using the rear break instead of backing off the throttle slows the rotation of the rear wheel down smoothly, instead of having the compression breaking slamming the front down and ruining you're day.

Also, never EVER touch the front break!!!! If that front wheel stops spinning you're in for a very bad few seconds.
Once more comfortable you can use the rotation of the front wheel to twist the bike on it's new vertical axis by steering like normal. The cool thing about our fancy modern bikes is that they still technicaly work with 1 wheel