8 replies to this topic

[curlylegend]

Maybe someone here can help....

I've scoured the owners manual, the Haynes service book and even a very detailed Moto Revue Technique but I can't find instructions about pulling wheelies !

I know some people think that this is frightfully bad form, but when I'm having such a good time on my TDM I feel it's my duty to let people know that sheer joy can come from riding a fine motorcycle.

 

So, over to you.... what are the exact steps to take to pop a convincing wheelie with a TDM 850 ?

[harvey krumpet]

A humpback bridge, 2nd / 3rd gear and weight back. Make sure you know where the back brake is and be able to use it with good feel. If you just drop the front it comes down like a sack of hammers. The bike will weave and wander if you're into sustained wheelies.

Don't clutch it up, it's snatchy and cruel.

 

With a bit of practice 2nd gear wheelies just using the energy from compressed suspension are quite easy and civilised.

 

Chris Poppa Wheelie Birch

 

Pretty sure this fulla explains it better.

 

BTW - You're a hooligan!

 

 

The only way I can comment on this due to a lot of practice on me trials bike. A lot less intimidating.

 

P.S. If you do hoist it off a humpback bridge the back end drops down and you go vertical, or beyond, very quickly. Just sayin.

Edited by harvey krumpet, 06 September 2019 - 12:48 am.

[wicklamulla]

Hope yer gearbox is up to it!

[dablik]

Yer a scally crikey not popped a wheelie for years, well not on purpose.

[fixitsan]

A humpback bridge, 2nd / 3rd gear and weight back. Make sure you know where the back brake is and be able to use it with good feel. If you just drop the front it comes down like a sack of hammers. The bike will weave and wander if you're into sustained wheelies.

Don't clutch it up, it's snatchy and cruel.

 

With a bit of practice 2nd gear wheelies just using the energy from compressed suspension are quite easy and civilised.

 

Chris Poppa Wheelie Birch

 

Pretty sure this fulla explains it better.

 

BTW - You're a hooligan!

 

 

The only way I can comment on this due to a lot of practice on me trials bike. A lot less intimidating.

 

P.S. If you do hoist it off a humpback bridge the back end drops down and you go vertical, or beyond, very quickly. Just sayin.

 

At 8:33 in that vid he locks his rear wheel but doesn't mention why.....advanced technique not for mere mortals like us, or just a mistake as he gets his feet into position ?

[Pedro]

There's a guy (from Morocco I think) in the Tdm FB page regularly posting pics of stonking wheelies on his 3vd. Maybe we should ask him on his technique.

[harvey krumpet]

 

At 8:33 in that vid he locks his rear wheel but doesn't mention why.....advanced technique not for mere mortals like us, or just a mistake as he gets his feet into position ?

Been awhile since I watched it. will have a re-squizz and report back. 

 

Yeah, the cog grumbler needs to be considered, that's why I really dislike clutching a bike up. The TDM has more than enough torque to poppa wheelie with good technique.

 

Re-squizz opinion. I suspect that was either a tad too much pressure on the pedal, dirtbike boots have no feel, or maximising the shock squat.

Edited by harvey krumpet, 07 September 2019 - 06:37 am.

[curlylegend]

Thanks Folks,

 

That's just what I needed.  However the only hump-backed bridge round here is officially classed as a "Monument Historique"....I'll bet the Romans and Gauls had competitions seeing who could get best air with their chariots....  so I'll just have to wait till the tourists have buggered off before getting some practice in.

 

Hooligan, Mr Krumpet ?  Surely not, it's just joie de vivre !

[harvey krumpet]

Thanks Folks,

 

That's just what I needed.  However the only hump-backed bridge round here is officially classed as a "Monument Historique"....I'll bet the Romans and Gauls had competitions seeing who could get best air with their chariots....  so I'll just have to wait till the tourists have buggered off before getting some practice in.

 

Hooligan, Mr Krumpet ?  Surely not, it's just joie de vivre !

Shirley that's why we are all here and ride bikes? Personally, I can resist everything except temptation.

 

The humpy bridges are on my mind because I have 3 of them, 2 minutes away, I can only wheelie off one at a time. Used to be a great one in Northumberland, it's almost a V. Epic for staining the undercracks. It owes me 2 rear mudguards and a set of handlebars from back in the 2t trailie days.

 

When I practice wheelies I use a "kicker", quite literally a bump to compress the forks on. On the dirt bikes it could be a tyre or 4x4 beam. For the TDM sleeping policemen are great. Even one of those small compressions in the road which makes your forks thud as you blithely ride over it.

 

That's how I cottoned on to wheelying the TDM, I don't like to pop road bikes, the bugger flaps the bars if I hit an undulation in the road with the gas on. One thing led to another...

 

Anyhoo, it's one of those things you start small and stay cautious. Once you can get it up 6 inches the rest is just doing more of the same.  Lary, big throttle wheelies are for the pros on someone else's bike.

 

After watching Birchys video again, keeping the clutch covered is just as important as the rear brake, he's coming from an off road perspective "oh shit, a log!" the clutch gives you snap but leads to maintenance and heart break. It is a kill switch, as is the back brake, when the old girl lifts her skirts and you're staring at the tank with bug eyes but can't see where your going.

 

Oh, if you do start trying poppa wheelie, keep your head up looking as far ahead as you can, grip ze tank with your knees but stay relaxed, don't chop the throttle - use the clutch or rear brake to control lift off. Chop the throttle and it's hammer time. Focus on the bike and you lose your balance, get too tense and you make the bike wander. 

 

After all this? Go spend a day on a trials bike.