Wheelie School

Imagine going to a secluded parking lot by the sea, and having a professional stuntman put you on his stunt bike and explain to you how to 'pop a wheelie'. That is what Freak and Flipper organized for myself, Neil Terry, Alan ShadedGS, Stephen Cloudgazer, and Johan GPS. We met at Biketique around 9am, paid our fees and signed the indemnity while watching Enduro racing on the big screen. We had to pull Alan out from under the musclecar where he was marvelling at how heavy and solid everything about it was... A short trip to the Strandfontein pavillion, where we rendezvouz'd with Gavin Collins (aka flipper) with his stunt bike and big van. Gavin covered the theory of best practice wheely-popping (as in the safest way of doing it), then showed us how. There are many ways to do it: but only one right away if you want to avoid hurting yourself The exercise is just to get the feel of where the clutch takes, how many revs are needed to lift the front, and using the back brake to bring it down again immediately. That is all - no fancy riding on one wheel over long distances (at least not at first). Gavin and Marius were only too happy to show us how... The bikes: The Yamoto in the foreground is the one we used. A very sturdy bike and excellent value. Like so... When Gavin asked who was going first, every stepped back a pace, and I was left standing in front. Living proof that I am probably the slowest and most uncoordinated person there and should have been left until last. So, I get on the bike and ride around a bit to get the feel of it. Then I start trying to wheely, using progressively more revs each time in order to find the sweet spot. Small beginnings After a while of failing, Gavin tells me that I am letting the clutch out too slowly. It needs to come out smoothly, but fast. Success! After a few pops I hand the bike over to the next person. Gavin had the right advice for each of us Soon we were getting better: Alan lets rip Neil becomes a hooligan And nearly gooses his cook Freak is let off the leash for a while And even mild programmers become a bit wild By midday we knew we had to stop because we were starting to get tired and were pushing the limits of our skill. Our new skills need to be practiced over the next few months to cement them before we can try anything more than a short pop. ===What we learned=== * '''Always''' cover the back brake when doing this exercise, so that you can stop a flip. * Flipper didn't earn his name for nothing - he knows how far is enough, because he has been too far many times... * A 'clutch' wheelie is safer and more controllable than a 'power' wheelie * Never wheelie over 60km/hr because it can be fatal. * If a policeman sees you wheelie on a public road, you will be arrested and locked up. * Do not show your friends/girl-friends that you can wheelie - Murphy's law says you will overcook it. * '''''Do not try this at home without suitable tuition''''' We concluded that even if you don't take your skills further than this lesson, just the experience of the lesson was worth it and has improved our riding ability. Thanks again Freak and Flipper - the morning was even better than I had hoped it would be.