Here is a great instructional video.
(My favorite part of this video is seeing the expression on Brandon's unhelmeted face just he sinks behind the Camaro's trunk, then the camera quickly pans to his helmet resting safely in the back of the car. Of course the R6 guy's tantrum is nice too--You have to admire anyone who can cartwheel a bike into a completely demolished pile of aluminum shards like that.) "Hey, calm down man! **** happens!"

And here is another.

If you want to risk your fortunes and your spine, please at least make sure you have friends filming it. It would really be a shame to lose a leg or become paralyzed without getting it on video.

 

Great vids!

Before I started riding, I decided to watch a bunch of roadrash videos to hopefully persuade myself out of getting a bike. It didn't work.

I am constantly amazed how these riders will put so many people in harms way with their bikes. The few times I have done wheelies, I have always been in a safe place away from people and their property. I don't like the idea of explaining to someone how I recked my bike into their new corvette, or KID for that matter.

 

OK, I now have less confidence in the poll (regardless, the possible margin of error is not downplaying my stamina to practice wheelie!) What got my attention is what Chris said: "risking my fortune and spine." Well, I love my 500R and now I'm giving it a serious consideration to wait and try it on a "friend's" dirt bike rather.

BTW, gracias again.

 

LOL

What are friends for? Right?

 

Sorry for getting didactic on you, but crashing on asphalt sucks worse than just about anything I can think of right now, even listening to loud bagpipes when you have a bad hangover.
I salute your choice: with their higher center of gravity and shorter wheelbases, dirt bikes are practically made for wheelying (and for crashing.) And most dirt is a lot more forgiving than asphalt.
I learned how do them on my '82 Honda ATC185s, then on an '84 XR250. I crashed lots and lots of times and have some scars with stoooopid stories, but I still have all my arms & legs. (Barely.)
My first real bike (after getting rid of my Harley) was a Honda VTR1000 Superhawk that had a rearward weight bias and a very torquey engine that made it a wheelie monster. I started screwing around doing them on the street, had a few close calls and it hit me: "What's the purpose? And what's the penalty if I make one little mistake? Those people won't be as impressed as they will be laughing their butts off if I crash."
Have fun!
-CCinC

 

lol, always love your posts CC. Great vids and advice. I think the real question here is whether or not a wheelie can be considered a skill. I think almost anyone who first gets a bike wants to know what it will do and wants to show it off. The easiest and quickest way is a wheelie. Its natural for people to want to try it, but the dirtbike is probably the way to go.

 

A skill is in managing a ride. Whether wheelies, tankslappers,braking, entry thru exits in a corner. Launching while being smooth. Putting less strain if possible on your ride while doing all of these. I am not into wheelies then. But, I would say that keeping a ride intact and stunting is a skill.

 

Hey chris, how did you confuse the vote you made, it looks pretty cut and dry to me?

 

He changed the wording. The one I voted for said something like, "Yes, I agree that it is just a silly waste of time that will cause my machine to wear out prematurely and will, in all likelihood result in my wearing an adult diaper and being fed through a straw for the rest of my life, ultimately becoming a burden on my current wife and/or parents."

Or something like that.

 

cool vids CC.