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Slipping the clutch!!

1231 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  jlzmeehan
Yes I'm a non-wheelie riding jackass!!!! I can do 1st gear power wheelies, and decided the other day to get into the realm of "slipping the clutch" for hoisting it up in 2nd gear. Well I suck!!!!! :violent1:

Can someone walk me through the basics of slipping the clutch for a wheelie? I'm probably doing something tragically wrong! I'm sure there has been a tread on this in the past, but in my search I couldn't find it.
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limebone said:
Yes I'm a non-wheelie riding jackass!!!! I can do 1st gear power wheelies, and decided the other day to get into the realm of "slipping the clutch" for hoisting it up in 2nd gear. Well I suck!!!!! :violent1:

Can someone walk me through the basics of slipping the clutch for a wheelie? I'm probably doing something tragically wrong! I'm sure there has been a tread on this in the past, but in my search I couldn't find it.
Limebone, I feel your pain. I was in the same boat last year... The worst part is I couln't get it from someone explaining it to me online, and I can't explain it either. My best advice is to find a good practice spot and experiment. All of a sudden it will all make sense to you. It's like try, try, try, try, try, BANG that's what I need to do! Better yet if you have someone close that can give you a few pointers, it'll cut down on the trial and error. Sorry can't help you more.

BTW - there is a wheelie how-to video on the web somewhere. I've seen it once or twice and it's got some good advice in it. I'll see if I can dig it up.

Good luck and cover the rear brake! :smitty:
Advice from Carl O. of Ononewheel.com (He uses S3's for his class!)

I'm not sure how much practice you've gotten in since posting this, but there are a couple things I'll mention. Slipping the clutch is a bad idea. You're going to wear out your clutch super fast if you're slipping it to get the front wheel up in the air. Also, becuase of clutch wear, you would need to increase the frequency of your oil changes.

Clutching the front wheel up is done by pulling the clutch in and popping it back out almost instantaneously while under light to moderate acceleration. This is more aggressive than your slipping, but it's not going to overheat and wear out your clutch plates as quick.

I'm unsure of why you want to pull it up in second gear when you're doing it in first already. Option one being you want to go faster, and option two being you want to carry it farther. IF you're looking to carry it farther, then don't do it in second. Keep going with the first gear wheelies and bring the front wheel up higher. Bringing the front of the bike higher creates more wind resistance, and puts more of your weight back allowing you to shut of the throttle slightly to keep your speed down.


If you just want to go faster, well, that's what second will give you. The technique for getting it up should be the same for all gears if you're using the clutch, just slightly more aggressive. And COVER THAT REAR BRAKE.
Found the VID:

[video=google;-6656191590638402466]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6656191590638402466&q=motorcycle[/video]
Thanks for the info. I checked out the vids. now it's time for trial and error. Hopefully I won't blow my bike up in the process!!!!!! You can guarantee I'll be covering the rear brake!!
:afro: Good videos thanks guys!!!! :smitty:
I know alot of folks like to slip the clutch to wheelie,but the S3 is the easiest bike to do 2nd gear power wheelies on that I've ever ridden.Just bring it up to 45 to 50 mph in 2nd,chop the throttle,then give the throttle a healthy roll on.Done deal.
I should be more clear."healthy roll on" means whip the shit outa the thing.I think this is where most people go wrong.
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