Total Motorcycle Community Forums

ok so im watching the videos at uponone.com and i get to the speed videos of a gixxer 600 and a gixxer 1000 accelerating from a dead stop. all i can say is damn! i was AMAZED how fast those are (i knew they were quick but i had no idea how quick)

so my squid question (bearing in mind i do not own nor plan to buy either bike in the near future) is...
[be a squid]
How on earth can they accelerate that quick without wheelie bars?

i would think you would get into a wheelie and flip it over, or the tire would loose traction and smokeshow.

i ask because most cars capable of that type of acceletation need bars.

[/being a squid]

They're probably putting the majority of their weight forward to keep that front wheel down.

Usually with a car with comparable acceleration, if it's on a regular radial tire, the tire will go up in smoke.

If you're talking a drag car with slicks, generally you will either launch by dropping the clutch at a certain rpm(with a stickshift) or releasing the transbrake button(on an auto). This "shocks" the drivetrain, and all the sudden energy is transferred to the rear tires. Generally this will cause a wheelie but it won't always go very high or last very long.

If you get into BIG HP cars, then yes wheelie bars are beneficial and mabye even necessary to keep the front end down.

If you tried the same tactic with a bike with no wheelie bars or longer swingarm, it's wheelie and/or flip it over backwards time.

You'd be suprised - a mid 10 second or quicker drag car with sticky tires will cover the first 60-330 feet quicker than a lot of sport bikes.

has to do with the relationship between weight, traction, and momentum.

Bikes don't weigh nearly as much as a car does, when you start to accelerate, there is less mass to get moving, and it is easier to start rolling.

In a big heavy car, the car wants to sit still. When you hit the throttle, the car actually "leans" back (in a RWD car), because the traction is enough to push the car forward without spinning the tires... and the suspension is soft enough, so when the weight is shifted back, it is forced downward by gravity.

On a bike, the suspension is normally a lot stiffer (so you don't get as much of a drop in the back (puting an angle on the force applied to the frame). Also, the rider is a very large portion of the weight on a bike... by positioning himself forward, and keeping the weight over the front wheel, the bike is less likely to come up on it's rear wheel.

Truth be told, it is much easier for a bike to wheelie, and it takes a decent amount of skill to keep it from doing so when running the quarter. The rider has to know how much juice to give it without going airborn. Weight distribution is a major part.

So really when a rider pulls a wheelie they are exhibiting a severe lack of riding skill

yes and no, there are wheelies that take a lot of skill to do, and to hold well for a while or to turn while on them and such. if you dont want to pull a wheely then its a show that you have no idea how to keep the front down

No! Once you know your bike so well that you become "one" with it... pulling a wheeling during hard acceleration is very normal... it means you are pushing the bike to its limit so it's good for the wheel to come off the ground... as long as you do not have to control the wheelie with the clutch and it is only up because you are accelerating so hard the front won't stay down it's good I am not talking about a "show" wheelie that is very high that you keep up with the clutch or rear brake but a wheelie that is just a little off the ground until you shift.

CNF2002 wrote:So really when a rider pulls a wheelie they are exhibiting a severe lack of riding skill

True, watch some motorcycle races, alot of the time they'll wheelie when they come out of a turn.