I have just started to practice to master the wheelie, but theres just a few things i notice when im doing them and im hoping someone can help me out. When riding the wheelie are you constantly giving it throttle or blipping the throttle to keep the front end up in the air. I like to pull them in 2nd from barly moving bc its too ahrd to shift from first to second without it falling or feels like its coming over backwards. Some tips on how to shift gears while wheelying would also be great,a nd any other helpful tips youve learnt along the way. THANKS A LOT

 

When I first learn to wheely on ANY sport quad i get going in 3rd,stand up, get it into the powerband, punch it and lean back. I could get my warrior up in 4th doing this.

 

You gotta get it up to the ballance point, then gently ride the rear brake to keep from going over. When you are ballanced, you should just be able to hold the throttle steady. This is of course easier said than done, and until you master it, you will inevitably "blip" the throttle. Using the rear brake is the key though.

Personally I have a Warrior as well, and getting the front end up takes some work. On a Raptor, you just give it gas, and it wants to come up. I'd recommend practicing on sand if you live near any. It makes wipeouts much softer, and generally your bike won't get messed up. I also highly recommend installing a teather kill switch, so if you get separated from your wheeler, you don't have to look like a dumbass trying to chase it down! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

If you have the power (ie Raptor or two-stroke) and want to actually hold the wheelie, get moving first, like second gear, then accellerate hard, and let the powerband "gracefully" lift your front end up. This is one of the sweet things about the powerband of two strokes...I've never done it on a Raptor, so let me know how it goes.

Remember, the Raptor is designed to use all 9000 rpms, don't be afraid to use them. Once you ballance it, you can stop accellerating...You can ride wheelies at any speed, and don't *need* to shift.

 

When I had my raptor I would get it up in what evere gear 1 2 3 or4 and I would get it to the balance point , and when i had to shift I would let the gas off a little and up shift with out the clutch

 

yeah, the raptors is great for that, all you have to do is start out in 1st, get her in teh balance point, and do a QUICK shift, and you can go all through the gears...also the raptor is great for low speed, take the quad in first gear and you can basically get it to stand still !!!!use the clutch, and its alot of fun!

 

hey raptor670 u got alot of stuff for riding in MA where do u go? no dunes or anything around here...

 

First tip,get rid of the stock grab bar!
I broke mine after overcooking two wheelies........at low to moderate speed.
one bent it and then the other one cracked it.

I've never seen a bar bend this easily or fast.

Do youself a favor and get rid of the stocker.

 

what did you replace the stock grab bar with? Mine is messed up too after hitthing some bumps too hard and just about rolling it back on me. thanks

 

I haven't replaced my stocker yet.
Its still sitting here cracked......hahaha

 

Knowing where the balance point is and knowing how to stay there is Key. First learn that before even bothering with shifting. You should be to the point where you can ride wheelies in any gear forever.

Like a couple of the other guys said, it's easier in the higher gears. 3rd sounds about right. It also seems that the faster you get going the lower the balance point gets, plus you have a lot more throttle to work with so if you do have to make adjustments you don't run out of gear to quickly.

To stay in the balance point you have to be smooth...Blipping the throttle won't do because if you keep letting the front end drop and gassing it back up you'll run out of gear. Wheelies are very predictable once you get a feel for them. If you practice enough running the throttle is like 2nd nature and you won't even hae to pay attention.

Once you get the hang of the balance point and you can ride mile long wheelies in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shifting shouldn't be a problem. You just bring it slightly passed balance point, pull in the clutch and shift, when you release the clutch you slip it just a little bit and let it out smooth, otherwise you will go to far back and start dragging your grab bar.

Oh one other thing...Brakes...Covering the brakes is very important. Though typically your grab bar will save you, there are lots of situations where it won't. For me, hitting the brake actually took practice, it wasn't a natural reflex for me. One day I just played around on the lawn for a while popping it up in first (purposely too high) and hitting the brakes to bring it back down. When riding normal wheelies in any gear you shouldn't have to use the brake at all, but like I said, you will want to keep it covered just incase. The only time you really have to use the brake is if you are doing a slow wheelie...Using gas, clutch, and brake you can actually get the quad to sit in one spot in a wheelie...it's pretty cool.

Anyway the most important thing is practice...You'll get it.

If you want some ideas of what to do once you get in a wheelie, visit my gallery page here on ATV Connection.

-Josh