Where's that thumbs up smiley. I've been to a few off-road instructional clinics and one thing the experts say is to practice practice practice, even the small seemingly insignificant stuff. Even the experts do these types of drills on a regular basis to freshen up on the basics. If you don't have the basics down, you will never get better, you are only reinforcing bad habits.

And you don't even need a large area to do most of these. Some of the most effective drills require little area and low speed. Sometimes it's not how fast you can go, but how slow. Try doing excruciatingly slow figure 8's on the side of a hill, standing on the pegs. Do it. How slow can you do them? Do that for 20 minutes a day, then go on your next ride and tell me you don't feel more comfortable on the bike in those slow gnarly rock gardens and technical trail sections.

 

I give up...some folks are getting the point Cliffsta and I are trying to make, and some aren't.....doesn't matter.


I think the folks that wanted something from this thread got it and its good to go.

 

Cliffsta said in the 2nd post of this thread the bike cannot wheely, even making the point that after some mods maybe it can, but with some clutch work, so I'm pretty sure he meant that even with clutchwork, it can't wheely, at least not stock. That's BS. The point is, it's all technique. And no, it's not that much effort. Sheesh. Everyone would agree a little more power is welcome, but that was definitely not the point you guys were trying to make, especially calling what SW was doing "bunny hopping." Good grief.

And then later on saying he has *never* been able to wheely this bike. Ok, I guess I can believe that. But it's all technique and he hasn't got it.

And then you came along and said Cliffsta is right? Good lord man, what are we supposed to think you guys mean? It may not be the wheely machine that your CR500 is, but can't wheely? Come on.

Besides, when on the trail you rarely need to pull a big wheely. Most of the time, just lightening the front a little bit so it glides over obstacles is plenty.

 

(facepalm)


OK.....dude..........I admit, as usual on message boards across the globe, things got off topic.


I read this post and saw what Cliffsta was saying and despite his specific words I understood his point. He said he can't wheelie his bike, he didn't say it couldn't be done at all ever. After learning there are quite a few folk that can wheelie he turned right around. He's new to riding, he knows this and admits it and he's willing to learn. I don't think many of Cliffsta's opinions on riding are written in his mind in stone, because he knows he's new and is willing to learn.

However,

I came in because like I said, I understood his point and everyone was all over him and I didn't want him to think he's crazy. Sometimes its nice to have someone pop in and ensure you that you aren't. And speaking of crazy...like the one post MavAus or whatever his user name is... the first half of his post was typo'd so I'm not even sure what he was getting at. And in the second half he refers to Ricky Carmichael and racing motocross...how just a regular Joe popping wheelies on a KLX250S for fun has anything to do with RC racing MX I don't freaking know.

I'll state my points clearly below and that will be it. If you can understand where I'm coming from fine, if not fine too... its just a silly thread. No need to dwell on it.

1. This KLX250S is NOT a wheelie machine by any stretch of the means at all. Can it be wheelied? ... sure, of course. I just pulled a few wheelies on mine today. You can wheelie a damn automobile for that matter.

2. Going off of number 1, just because something can be done doesn't make it effortless. If your going to say just because Shane Watts makes it look effortless...well, any pro doing anything can make anything look effortless. I can make going off of a 9ft tall steel ramp and landing with no hands look effortless too...does that mean that it truly is effortless?.....answer, no. And you don't even have to be pro to be good, regular folks can be really good at doing stuff, like wheelies. If you practice and your good you can too, someone can watch you and think "he's just a regular Joe, so I can too" Yes, you can technically, but its not as easy as all that.

3. Stock bikes: Alot ...alot, alot of them do not run right from the showroom because of jetting. One persons might be spot on and someone elses...like mine when I got it, might not even produce power past 7K. Mine also use to bog out on the bottom end because the pilot was too big. I know for a fact I'm not alone in this club, if your bike runs like that, your not going to wheelie too well. Can it be done technically? Of course. But its that much harder. Using all of my effort I even got the great King Quad to wheelie, but I think it would be safe in usage of everyday conversation to say that the King Quad do not wheelie because it goes beyond the stretch of imagination to get it do so. Its like saying no one can wheelie a car, cars don't wheelie but if you super mod one you can make it wheelie. Technically theres nothing stopping someone...its just the likelihood is so low.

4. I strongly believe these bikes were made to not wheelie because of safety being that its a road bike. I think thats why they have that smoooooth power delivery. Its not snappy at all. And this part goes to Finger about the flywheel. I guess its all relative isnt it? To me, these flywheels are gargantuan. I mean, the SOB even has a damn barbell-looking thing on it. Its a permanently affixed weight. However you say they dont run good with it shaved down? Interesting. I was going to do that last winter but never did. I still had full intentions to do so,,but since it sounds like such a bad idea....maybe not.

5. Other bikes. Take an XR... a regular dirtbike. Or even take a CR, or YZ. Wheelie one of those. Thats effortless. If people have to get on here and ask if its even possible to wheelie.......its not effortless by any means. Its like find out the cheats for Street Fighter, instead of just doing a high punch or high kick, which is there for everyone to do. Much like doing a wheelie on a strict off-road bike.

6. ya know, I talked so much I actually lost my train of thought. Doesn't matter, surely after taking in all of what I said thus far in this thread, plus this post my point can be understood.

 

Sure, I gotcha. No problem. And so you can see where I'm coming from, since there might be some miscommunication going on here, if you are interested, is that it's easy to rev up a little and dump the clutch. As long as you have traction, it's pretty much impossible not to wheely. Especially if you help it out a little with a little suspension bob. That's where I guess I disagree with your characterization of it being like a car and taking extraordinary skill or mods. Anyone can pop the front up on their KLX, it ain't nothing like doing the near impossible and wheeyling a car that wasn't designed for that.

And with Shane Watts, click some of those other related videos and you will see the people taking his class wheelying there bikes over logs. These folks are not pros, they're just practicing the technique. It's really not that big of a deal, some of them are even on KLXs.

To be honest, it was cliffsta that pissed me off. He first claimed it can't wheely, etc. Then argued with everyone that said it could, and then when shown it being done by Shane Watts demonstrating the technique in his Dirtwise clinic, he dissed and made fun of that and said he couldn't imagine anyone actually doing that in trail situations. Talk about being hard headed. I was watching Rich Lafferty's instructional videos not too long ago and he demonstrated the *exact* same technique on his YZ450F which involved compressing the suspension and using the rebound to assist the front over the log. In fact, it would be very awkward to use roll-on power to lift the front in trail riding situations - the rear wheel would impact the log so hard, the suspension would compress, and then rebound sharply as it hit and cleared the log and likely spit you over the bars onto your head. So the technique used to lift the front on a YZ450F in the woods is the same as that for the KLX. That was my point.

OK, I'm done here too. Hope we're good.

 

Yes, I see what your saying.

 

And I should clarify a little, I wasn't and am not really pissed at cliffsta, just scratchin' my head a little bit. I know you mean well, cliffsta, and are usually not so dogmatic.

 

Leave me the f*** outta this! Quit quoting me quit bringin' me up... if I woulda know this would have gone on for four pages I never woulda posted anything in the first damn place... shoot... My point was, I've never been able to wheelie this bike and its NOT EASY TO DO... if you gotta bounce around like a damn mountain bike to unweight the front then its not easy...

But like I said, leave me out, count me out, I'm running away. Stuff gets too serioius in here WAY too fast... Hopefully this helps





One more for good measure



There... have we thuroughly lightened the mood on KF?

 

I love to wheelie in my front wheel drive MINI!

 

Oh, sorry. Here's a smiley: . But how do you attach the bloody little thumbs up?

And 1+ on the slow practice.