OK, so last night after reading up on how to do a wheelie, i went to the industrial section in Toronto and started trying out this new thing called a wheelie. Beeing new to the bike world i was a little scared but after my 5 wheel pop i was ready to go more then 10 ft! In previous discussions, i learn that you can pull your left rear axel forward loosening your chain. This happen to me, and i was able to drive home and fix it, nothing to big. My question is how do you get away from that? I mean the adjuster bolt pulled into the swing arma nd i had to bang out my newly shaped U-Plate..I figured i was poping my clutch to fast instead of easing it (with quick pace) into gear. Also, i hadn;t tried to pull up on the handel bars...Are both, pulling on the bars and easing the clutch a bit slower both going to save my chain and swing arm, and increase my distance? (i know you need to use your rear brake as well to stop from doing a 12-oclock...

OR...should i just save my erging ans stay a virgin...meaning save it for a more powerful bike...ie. gsxr600...?

Eh , pop a foot on the left pillion peg and it'll be a lot easier on the bike . I ... read this some where , yeah , never done it (for more than a few feet at least) . Also , if you have straight rate springs you can bounce the front ... my buddy has a bone-stock gsxr600 and does that on the highway - freaked me out and i'll never ride with him again ... i was behind him with vehicles on either side ... if he'd have went down I probably wouldn't be typing this right now 

I'm not saying you should never do a wheelie, but admitting you're "new to the bike world" it might be wise to wait until you have a tad more "regular riding" experience.  Other than that, since I'm a "regular" rider for 4 years having never done a wheelie, I can't help you.

I should have been a bit more clear. I am new to a gs500. I have been riding though about as long as you ^ Anyways all comments are welcome. Thanks for your help guys/ gals!

Oh, ok.

GS500s are awful wheelie bikes.  Way too heavy and way to little engine output.  They're kick ass street/commuter bikes, but a good stunt bike, they will never be.  Want a good wheelie bike, buy my Daytona hit the gas too hard in 2nd gear at 5k rpms and you're looking at your gastank.   Short of that, you can try adding a larger rear sprocket, but truth be told, all that will functionally do is lower your top end, you're still not going to be lofting your front wheel for any length of time.

Damn!!!! you still got that poor daytona???

I don't know much about it, but I think it's odd that nobody in these conversations ever mentions whether having a full tank makes it significantly harder. I mean, it seems like it has to... the tank's CG is way out in front of the rider's, and a full tank has to be... something like 25 pounds heavier than an almost-empty one.

more teeth in rear sprocket, less in front...

I don't wheelie bikes that I can't power wheelie. Popping the clutch is too much of a ? even when you cover the rear brake. I have 0 problems power wheelieing my bikes anyway, but I never recommend popping the clutch.

Squid wannabe

Quote from: SmartDrug on June 26, 2007, 09:06:43 AM
GS500s are awful wheelie bikes.  Way too heavy and way to little engine output.  They're kick ass street/commuter bikes, but a good stunt bike, they will never be.  Want a good wheelie bike, buy my Daytona hit the gas too hard in 2nd gear at 5k rpms and you're looking at your gastank.   Short of that, you can try adding a larger rear sprocket, but truth be told, all that will functionally do is lower your top end, you're still not going to be lofting your front wheel for any length of time.

Now that's just silly.

1) The GS is a LIGHT bike.
2) The GS has rediculous power to weight ratio when compared to cars/boats/planes.
3) Stunt bikes ALL have a monster rear cog. That's why they're stunt bikes.
4) You can loft the front wheel as long as you have balls. It's all about balance.

Now then, tell me the gs sucks at touring, fording streams, off-roading, burnouts, coasting, idling, being dropped, or whatever else.

It does all things well, just can't go 180 mph out of the box.

if you do wheelie the bike and are able to keep it up for awile...dont be surprised when you blow your engine.   the gs isnt made to wheelie.  When the bike is up in the air no oil can get to the engine.  so when you are up whatever is lubricating your cylinders at the time is what is going to be lubricating them while you are up there.    so if you ride to long you will dry out and end up screwing up your engine.

Quote from: ohgood on June 26, 2007, 02:12:44 PM

Quote from: SmartDrug on June 26, 2007, 09:06:43 AM
GS500s are awful wheelie bikes.  Way too heavy and way to little engine output.  They're kick ass street/commuter bikes, but a good stunt bike, they will never be.  Want a good wheelie bike, buy my Daytona hit the gas too hard in 2nd gear at 5k rpms and you're looking at your gastank.   Short of that, you can try adding a larger rear sprocket, but truth be told, all that will functionally do is lower your top end, you're still not going to be lofting your front wheel for any length of time.

Now that's just silly.

1) The GS is a LIGHT bike.
2) The GS has rediculous power to weight ratio when compared to cars/boats/planes.
3) Stunt bikes ALL have a monster rear cog. That's why they're stunt bikes.
4) You can loft the front wheel as long as you have balls. It's all about balance.

Now then, tell me the gs sucks at touring, fording streams, off-roading, burnouts, coasting, idling, being dropped, or whatever else.

It does all things well, just can't go 180 mph out of the box.

1.  The GS is light when compared to other bikes made in 1989, but not by today's standards.
2.  I'm talking about wheelies, when was the last time you saw a car wheelie?  If a car can wheelie, it has a higher power to weight ratio than a GS.
3.  Stunt bikes all have monster rears... I can wheelie all day on my daytona and am running 2 up in the rear, not exactly huge.
4.  Lofting the front on a GS takes a perfectly set up clutch and remarkable skill, lofting the front on a modern sportbike requires twisting your wrist.

As I said, the GS is a great street bike, but it seriously blows as a stunt/squid bike, it's TOO HEAVY AND IT HAS TOO LOW OF A POWER TO WEIGHT RATIO.  This is a matter of fact, accept it.

In regards to the full gas tank, I've found that a full tank makes finding the balance point much easier as it takes more effort to rotate the weight around the rear wheel and therefore moves slower and more controllably. 

2006 Daytona 675 dry weight: 389 lbs   Horsepower: 125    = Good power to weight ratio
2006 GS500F        dry weight: 389 lbs   Horsepower:  40ish  = Bad power to weight ratio

I wonder if you'd feel half a tank o' gas sloshing around ? Maybe that's what's happening to all these dorks I see chasing the wheelie on the highways 

OK, you're right. When we're comparing apples to oranges, the gs is a different apple than a daytona orange.

You win.

A little off topic, but oh well!!  Where in Toronto are you?  I live out in Mississauga, and I've to date seen 3 other GS's since I bought mine early in the season last year. (One E and 2 other Fs)

I didn't mean to compare the Daytona to the GS, I was just dropping in a shameless plug for my bike, SOMEONE BUY IT.  The GS rocks, there's a reason I still post on this board after selling mine nearly 4 years ago, they're just not meant to loft the front wheel.

this bs about being hard on the gs . i do wheelies all the time on my gs . i'v never had a problem . never had it make my plate a u . i keep my chain pretty tight . thats how i like it . i drop the cluch and up its goes . i like doing it better with a full take .. why .. dont really know but i do . i can ride first gear out like no tommrow .. getting to second is a bit diffrent but it can be done . getting to third is even harder i'v heard of one gs owner here saying he has done it . it can be done . my gs is bone stock the only mod i have done is a half ass fender elmenater and flush mounts on the front . its can be done .. and easy .

Open invitation to ANYONE with a GS500e/f with stock gearing or up to -1/+3, if you can do a wheelie in 3rd gear, clutch up or power wheelie, I will GIVE you my Daytona 955i.  Ride/drive up to Chicago, and from 3rd gear with both wheels on the ground, you can lift the front end, I will sign over my title.  It's not going to happen, you'll have a VERY difficult time clutching up a 3rd gear wheelie on an '07 CBR600RR, no way in hell are you pulling it off in a GS.