Wheelie School

Bear says...

Same thing with the Thunderace.

Not so with the Thunderace, you could hold the throttle open and keep
momentum going while banging the killswitch off/on every 3 or 4 seconds
and producing the most glorious KSBs through the Hatfield tunnel.

 

My Drifter would occasionally perform a KSB 10 seconds or so after I
switched off the engine.

--
platypus

"Merely corroborative detail, intended to
give artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise
bald and unconvincing narrative."

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, platypus

What, as the fuel drained down from the carbs into the tank?

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - Podium Placed Ducati Race Engineer as featured in
Performance Bikes and Fast Bikes

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha Vmax Honda ST1100 wiv trailer

 

FOYRNB. The engine wasn't switched off that time.

--
platypus

"Merely corroborative detail, intended to
give artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise
bald and unconvincing narrative."

 

No, just twin vortices like you see when the tyre smoke passes the wingtips
on a 747 landing.

Oh and loss of hearing for 24 hours or so, if carried out in a tunnel and
the fucking ham-fisted rider can't see to turn the kill switch back on... It
had all the local Luxembourgian running out of the houses to surrender

 

To be fair, watching people learn to wheelie is tedious. Of course,
Bikes Aloud managed to make everything look tedious...

I know people who've been there and they were certainly told that they
probably won't get to the point of achieving a 50 metre wheelie as that
usually takes more than one day.

As you well know, certain schools would vehemently disagree with this
statement.

The problem is Jimmy teaches the bounce if off the back break while
dipping the clutch technique to launch, which is incredibly difficult to
become proficient at never mind master.

Too many people sadly think a wheelie school is there to teach you to
get the front wheel airborne. What they don't realise is that that's a
launch technique while a wheelie is riding the bike on one wheel in a
controlled manner.

There was a rather, er, passionate thread on a certain forum recently
where there were two groups going to a wheelie school - one to Jimmy's,
the other to Gower's. The main argument centred around Jimmy teaching
the 'proper' technique as he uses the clutch to launch, whereas Gower
teaches the useless 'cheating' technique of using the power.

After both groups came back from their days there were nice pics of big
wheelies from the Gower group and pics of the Jimmy group playing on a
quad... For some reason the criticism of Gower's school suddenly
stopped.

Jimmy's school's more of an IAM course, where you're being taught a
difficult, or if you prefer, advanced technique. That's never going to
make an interesting feature unless the novice rider's fairly talented or
they can already wheelie using an easier launch technique.

--
Veggie Dave
UKRMHRC#2 BOTAFOF#08
IQ 18 FILMS http://www.iq18films.com
POST PRODUCTION http://www.iq18films.co.uk
Toxic Shock Syndrome Gets More Girls Than Me

 

Just a fucking second, Veggie D... I thought in this very thread you
were declaring that using power to get it up led to certain death; you
know aaaaaaaarraaaahhhgggghhhhh this way be dragons etc.

I can't keep up [1]

[1] Yes I know. This works on so many levels

 

And here is absolute proof that you have not followed a single word I've
typed...

--
Veggie Dave
UKRMHRC#2 BOTAFOF#08
IQ 18 FILMS http://www.iq18films.com
POST PRODUCTION http://www.iq18films.co.uk
Toxic Shock Syndrome Gets More Girls Than Me

 

I followed every word, but I didn't actually see a coherent, reasoned
argument. Thing is, I deal with lots of people who are experts in their
field on a daily basis. If I make a suggestion beyond my specialism
(which isn't wheelies or stunts, I'm first to admit) and it's wrong, I'm
more than happy for someone who knows better than me to tell me that my
suggestion is wrong if they make some effort to explain to me why it's
not right and why.

I'm used to it. I'm wrong a lot as I don't know everything.

But I'm used to these people gaining my trust. This is usually done by
reasoned argument and clear explanation.

"what he taught was bollocks, and dangerous bollocks at that." Yes it's
an attention grabbing assertion, but not an explanation. Why was it
bollocks? Why was it dangerous bollocks? I'm not being awkward, I'd
really like to know, as I'm not an expert in the field; I just had a
great day out.

"No one, in the entire history of the world, has ever got a full sized
bike to the balance point in their first month of wheelies unless it was
mid-crash. This is not a point to be argued - it's fact."

I didn't crash. None of the people I went with crashed. No-one else on
the same day (4 bandit 12s) crashed. Lots of others may have crashed
which may have led to the school closing, but I don't know about those,
what with me just being a punter.

Still fact?

 

I've been biting my lip here and not responding to this...

And, I know it isn't your quote.

However... I don't know how someone can make this statement, naturally
it's a difficult task but what if someone's a real natural, or lucky?
Or an ex-BMX rider etc. etc. Of course it'll be very, very rare but I
can't imagine it's something that would *never* happen- even if it was
just through random chance.

 

Funny. You're still claiming to have done a balanced wheelie on your
very first day.

'All I did was describe my rather enjoyable day out and the approach to
wheelieing that was taken on that day - low speed balance point
wheelies'

There is absolutely no point arguing further as you obviously know more
than I do and, in fact, have managed to do something that people on this
newsgroup who have been wheelieing for years have failed to achieve - a
balanced wheelie. And you did it on your very first day, too.

Everything has been explained very simply. As someone who's managed a
balanced wheelie there is absolutely no reason why what's already been
discussed isn't blatantly obvious.

Of course, that fact claiming to have done a balanced wheelie on your
first day (whether at a school or not) is equal in stupidity to claiming
your MZ125 can do 140mph does suggest that any explanation will be
completely wasted.

--
Veggie Dave
UKRMHRC#2 BOTAFOF#08
IQ 18 FILMS http://www.iq18films.com
POST PRODUCTION http://www.iq18films.co.uk
Toxic Shock Syndrome Gets More Girls Than Me

 

He claimed 'even I was able to get the bike up on the balance point,
nicely under control.' This is complete bollocks.

Having a bike fly into your face so that it's vertical, and then having
it slam down again is not 'nicely under control.' which is what a random
chance would be. Or having a bike fly up into your face and hang there
while the rider panics having never done anything like it before -
particularly as it's the first day they've ever tried to perform
something that is actually very difficult, is not 'nicely under
control.'

Riding and/or stunting a BMX will help in the learning process - what it
won't do is allow someone to perform a miracle.

Doing a balanced wheelie is incredibly difficult and incredibly scary
and requires a lot of practice, time, dedication and natural ability. It
is not something that can be achieved with any control in a couple of
weeks.

--
Veggie Dave
UKRMHRC#2 BOTAFOF#08
IQ 18 FILMS http://www.iq18films.com
POST PRODUCTION http://www.iq18films.co.uk
Toxic Shock Syndrome Gets More Girls Than Me

 

Absolutely, which is why I said 'If you got the bike even close to 45
degrees in a controlled manner on your first day of wheelies then you
should be damned proud of yourself as that's a hell of an achievement.'

The simple truth is, no wheelie school allows their bikes to get
anywhere near the balance point.

But I've been told in no uncertain terms that I wasn't there, therefore
I don't know what I'm talking about.

--
Veggie Dave
UKRMHRC#2 BOTAFOF#08
IQ 18 FILMS http://www.iq18films.com
POST PRODUCTION http://www.iq18films.co.uk
Toxic Shock Syndrome Gets More Girls Than Me

 

Clearly I'm wrong; as you say, you're the expert.

So what do you call that point where the front wheel is way up in the
sky and by wobbling the throttle back and forth the bike stays (roughly)
at the same attitude (roughly) at the same speed?

I never wanted an argument. All I was after was a discussion.

Claiming that what I went through was not good tuition, I could cope
with

Claiming that what I went through wasn't safe, I could cope with.

Claiming that I'm stupid or a liar, I don't.

 

I've not read the thread in any detail so didn't see this.

I'm sure it's difficult; I've got nowhere near a decent wheelie in 20
odd years of fucking around on bikes.

However... I'm willing to accept that some people have capabilities
beyond my comprehension.

Balancing this, of course, is that stunting is kind of your specialist
subject (or at least being around it- no aspersions to your ability here
just noting that you're prolly more likely to be filming than
displaying) so I'll not argue further 'cos it's rather pointless when
I'm arguing from a 'probability' viewpoint derived from the school of
monkeys and typewriters.

 

But you did do his school, right? I mean, the way you describe it with
such passion, it can't be hearsay, can it? You must have watched from
the edge of the field at least?

 

I don't think anyone who knew you would call you a liar.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Gyp

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

I *believed* that.

I can never trust you again.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - Podium Placed Ducati Race Engineer as featured in
Performance Bikes and Fast Bikes

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (Falling apart) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha Vmax Honda ST1100 wiv trailer

 

Good point.

I thought it was the usual humour we've come to know and love from you.
TBH I couldn't tell the difference.

 

Indeed. In fact, I watched a friend manage to bend the 'wand', who then
discovered that the input he'd been putting into the launch was so
violent that it was enough to completely flip the bike. Thankfully the
switch eventually kicked in when the bike was perfectly vertical (which,
at speeds of 30 or so mph is where the balance point is) stopping him
from crashing but the experience was so nasty that he's never attempted
a wheelie since.

This person, if you're interested, is a professional motorcycle journo
who is also one of the fastest people on two wheels I know.

The simple truth is he should never have been allowed to find himself in
that position in the first place. Until the switch failed he thought,
and was told, that he was doing everything right. Blatantly untrue. What
exactly was he learning then? Nothing. Was what he was being taught to
do safe? Absolutely not. Was the school acting responsibly? Hell no.

I have also, as I've already stated, spent the last two years
re-teaching people who'd attended that school.

I'll say it again as it keeps getting ignored - if you don't know what
you're doing then you have no reason to think what you're being taught
is wrong or even dangerous.

--
Veggie Dave
UKRMHRC#2 BOTAFOF#08
IQ 18 FILMS http://www.iq18films.com
POST PRODUCTION http://www.iq18films.co.uk
Toxic Shock Syndrome Gets More Girls Than Me