RickCo Pops Max Wheelie!

Not an easy thing to do for a guy who shops at "Big and Tall" ... and, ain't tall!

Today, I got stuck behind an 18-wheeler loaded with a huge, tracked, back-hoe style, earth-moving machine. The truck was crawling down a strip of two-lane blacktop with double-solid yellow lines stretching for as far as the eye could see.

My mirrors showed me a line-up of cars that went out-of-sight. Then, the guy driving the truck moves it over to the right a hair; so I can see that there's a stretch of broken line coming before we start up a small grade.

I figure to make a move just before the line change and give everybody behind me a shot at passing this behemoth; too!

I dropped her all the way down into first and got ready to pounce. I got all psyched-up to do a rolling start on a blazing quarter mile. I was talking to myself in "Play-by-play."

"Massey's poised to make his move. We're going to see if the old man still has his drag strip timing after a lay-off from his early eighty's racing days.
This will be a big test for man and machine. I doubt this recent switch from his powerful Seca 900 to this more cruiserish (I made-up that word) 750 has allowed him the familiarity with the 750's performance to post a good time on his inaugural run."

He we go. I went from a throatie 38-hundred rev's to full open and made my break. The front wheel lost contact with the pavement for a little less time than it takes to say "Wheelie."

However, in view of the indisputable fact that the front wheel did -- in fact, rise off the pavement, albeit "briefly", ... technically -- I did a wheelie!

Check it off on my "Been there - done that" list!

 

I have yet to try a wheelie..and i think i'll keep it that way for now...expecially if i have to experince it in the way you came about it 8O

 

I did a wheelie the first time I ever got on a bike when I was 17. And of course, slid right off the seat. Never again!!

 

I didn't mean to do it ... The Max just surprised with the response to WOT. I don't want to wheelie; either. But, on the other hand ... I'll take power.

I've been running Super. I'm taking the insurance. Haven't looked at the plugs yet. I'll be taking a peek during the Sunday AM Car Shows.

I also plan to get the value for Pilot-OUT using the ColorTune Plug. Then, people will have a good idea how far beyond Factory the

 

Nice wheelies are fun as long as you can set it down soft enough not to bust some fork seals..Which is easier said than done..

 

When I was young and the Maxin was young, I tried the wheely thing
all the time.
My maxim seemed very front heavy.
I would rather spin the rear than lift the front.
And when I did get the front up, it always came down hard.
Good thing I'm over that.
Unlike me, the bike has aged.

 

The front wheel only came off the ground ... just enough to say so.

But, I'm counting it as a Wheelie; because I never did one before.

 

Hey if the front came up then by god you did a wheelie...

 

I had a similar experience with my first "wheelie". It was unintentional, and didn't last long, but I felt pretty cool about it.......and I beat the Camaro! I'd definitely say that it should stay on your "been there, done that" list.

 

ive done it a couple times on mine... but now the clutch isnt up to it anymore.

 

I haven't done one on my Maxim (and don't really plan to), but I did one back when I was trying to get my brother to teach me to ride. They aren't very fun when they are unintentional and end with your planted firmly in the fence across the street. ;-)

 

Nice story....LOL

 

I snapped this pic of some guy in MA passing a truck, this pic was taken in June, Could this be Rick????

I thought you said it only came a couple of hairs of the groung??? your too modest Rick................lol

 

damn rick nice one...

 

My Seca 650/750 will lift the front tire if I get rolling a little bit then quickly pull clutch, rev motor and dump clutch. also sometimes a hard launch at Infineon will lift the front tire a little bit. Unlike the crotch rockets I don't have to lift...it will not rise far because of the shaft and will come down nicely on its own.

 

The only bike i've done a wheelie on was a Katana, and on the same bike i've jumpes a car, that was in my teens, and cost about $3000.00.

 

I'll one wheel it occasionally....understand this pic is probably 20+ yrs old.. :lol:

 

Most bikes that have a drive shaft, are harder to dowheelies with because of the shaft-jacking. If you notice some of the earlier models of bikes with driveshafts would actually lift the back of the bike up when you crack the throttle, which in turn makes it more difficult to pop a wheely.
The bikes with chain drive do it effortlessly compared to our shaftdrive models, like the 650 - 750 Seca/Maxims.

 

PainterD. There are a number of other factors too. The weight on the bike is pretty high, and the power is relatively low. If you look at the hp curve it is pretty gentle with no major peaks.

The CBR is ~100 lbs lighter, much peakier hp, another nearly 30hp - plus as you mentioned the shaft effect.

The CBR will power wheelie in low gears, but the way most sportbikers wheelie is actually on the clutch anyhow - it's quote safer /quote to do it as you have better control over how much power is used, and can control loft more easily. I clutched the cbr up once to find out - and realized I'm not really the stunter type.

 

I agree. The bottom line is power-to-weight ratio = performance with any bike. I like the fact that my XJ750 does not lift the front end off easily. I've seen some stupid accidents because the rider wasn't ready when he unleashed the power and dumped it. When I wanna GO, I don't want to worry about it coming over on me. I don't feel the need to do stunts like when I owned dirt bikes I guess.

 

i tried out a yammi r1 last yr.......that thing would lift the front end at 70mph.......dang scary machine........my last bike was a 85 v65 magna.
that thing would do the most awesome wheelies yu ever saw.
ive come to the conclusion its best to keep front end on the pavement :wink:

altho with some practice the ol x will do a nice wheelie in 2nd gear at about 8k with a little tricky clutch work :wink:

 

Went out and test drove a few Buells last year (Lightning 900, Firebolt 1200, and City-X 1200)... Never pass up a chance to ride someone elses bikes...
Anyway - the Firebolt will pull wheelies and stoppies faster than you can say "GAS" or "BREAK." And the super short wheelbase lends itself to some crazy handling.
If you're into that kind of thing - then take a test drive at harley when they put off their next event.
"Oops, sorry. I never thought they had so much power."

Pretty funny seeing my buddy pull up the front end in every gear, and then the rear end at stoplights - on a brand new Buell.

 

ive done one unintentionally way back in my early riding days...

scared me to death because im certain i was more than "just a hair off the ground"...

put the entire bike in the air once too. also not on purpose...

i was riding with some other guys who were on a 650 seca turbo and a 92 FZR...

we went past our turn so we all make a u-turn and head back. i got caught by a couple of cars and had to really roll on the right grip to catch them...

they made their turns about 50-75 yards ahead of me. we crossed a small bridge that unbeknownst to me had a 6" drop on the back side...

the maxim just kept going like the coyote in the cartoons. that was a bit hairy...

d

 

I popped a wheelie on my 550 Maxim about 2 weeks ago, when I re-tuned my carbs... It was completely unintentional, I was taking off from a frustratingly long red light in 106 degree weather. The front wheel came up enough to scare me -- must've been at least a foot off the ground.

I've not done it since, but it's nice to know that a 550 cruiser can do it :-D

 

My old 550 Maxim would pull the front wheel up with ease. I believe the 550 only has 50 horsepower and weighs about 465 pounds. My current 650 has 71 horsepower and weighs 509 pounds. Even though that makes for a higher horesepower to weight ratio, I don't think the 650 will lift the front wheel very easily.

Of course the 550 is chain drive and has a shorter wheel base. I also believe the weigh distribution is more towards the back.

Keep in mind that it's torque more than horsepower that makes for acceleration and wheelies.

 

My old 550 Maxim would pull the front wheel up with ease. I believe the 550 only has 50 horsepower and weighs about 465 pounds. My current 650 has 71 horsepower and weighs 509 pounds. Even though that makes for a higher horesepower to weight ratio, I don't think the 650 will lift the front wheel very easily.

Of course the 550 is chain drive and has a shorter wheel base. I also believe the weigh distribution is more towards the back.

Keep in mind that it's torque more than horsepower that makes for acceleration and wheelies.

 

I'm a bit of a control freak.
If I cant control it 100%, guaranteed...........

I'll refrain and call it good sense

 

Hey guys, it is no problem to lift up the front wheel with my XJ900 since I put in the 31A carb from the first 900 model. We had a real great ride about 250 km's or so today and it did happen easily three times today. The queen is running really well. My brother rode with me on his XJ900 58L and he couldn't make it. And for sure, he is a good rider.

The last 10 km's were like hell for me. A guy with his BMW seven-something was sitting in my neck and hunting me with no mercy. I couldn't get rid of him. It was unbelievable how he drove his car. Finally I could turn left and he drove the other way. F... him.

 

A buddie tried to do a "smoke-show" by holding the front brake on and popping the clutch in his 83 V65 magna. He ended up doing a wheelie out of the access road and into the highway. He always was braver than he was smart, but I had quite a laugh seeing the look on his face from that stunt! :lol: