Wheelie With The Wife

[Fretka]

Yeah... what's with that picture of a Harley and wheelies together in the same sentence.....

fretka

[Barry]

I go well out of my way not to jostle the goods in back...  Braking and throttle inputs must be more gradual than when we are on our own.  Pretend the roads are wet and it is getting down around freezing...

Yeah - my wife has never experienced any of my bikes at full throttle.

Barry

[maxtog]

If you have ever had the TC kick in due to a power wheelie (high RPM hard shift from 1st to 2nd), you will know it immediately.  After it finishes slamming you into the bars, it shuts down the motor to a fraction of it's power, until you completely close the throttle for more than a moment.

Wow- I wouldn't have expected it to be that violent! 
(I am still riding in "new owner, ultra-conservative mode" so I doubt I have ever triggered TC yet.)

[CrashKLRtoConnie]

Thanks

Will install the new improved Lead (Pb) front fender extender designed to reduce wife wheelies and kryptonite induced KPASS failures

Wife's first solo motorcycle ride was on her brothers Kawasaki 90 that she wheelied down the street and almost dumped .. but did not.

[C1xRider]

Wow- I wouldn't have expected it to be that violent! 
(I am still riding in "new owner, ultra-conservative mode" so I doubt I have ever triggered TC yet.)

It can be.  I've found myself cursing at it a couple of times after it 'over corrected'.

It seems to be directly proportionate to how much throttle is involved, and how quickly / drastically the front and rear speed sensors get out of sync.

In other words, the more aggressive you are when the front wheel comes off the ground, the more aggressive the traction control tries to "correct" the situation for you.

It probably seems logical when viewed as a formula to a design engineer, but in practical application, they should have applied a limit to it's 'correction capabilities'.  Either that, or added a 'wheelie' sensor. 

[DannyL]

What's the difference between a drop and a crash again?  (Just prepping...)

A crash is when you have a bright light in your face followed by a "voice" explaining what the procedure is going to be to fix your "fill in the blank". All the while you're so stoned every one is dressed in RED, or so YOU THINK they are.... ah the memories.........

[valkmc]

Daytona for Bike Week last year, Only had the bike a few weeks and was riding back to our campground around 1 am. Two bikes, one a metric crusier and a 600 sport bike were harrassing me at every stop light. About the third one I told the wife to hold on and punched it, when I banged 2nd the front tire came up enought to scare me and her. When I got to the next light both of the other bikes where laughing but as the light turned green one of them said thats a great bike as they sped off and I left slowly to make the wife happy.

Crash or drop, I fell off mine at about 15mph (in shop right now getting repaired). Not sure what to call it, there were several witnesses, the bike slide about 20 feet, no injuries to speak of so I thought it was a drop untill I got the insurance estimate $3700.00. For that much I think it should be an accident.

[blasphemy]

Yes, it is very easy to"float" the front tire accelerating, especially in 1st or 2nd gear.  I got a surprise once with my daughter on the back in 3rd gear and we passed a slower car.  Going around him, we floated the front tire and my daughter says "Do it again daddy!"

[C1xRider]

Crash or drop, I fell off mine at about 15mph (in shop right now getting repaired). Not sure what to call it, there were several witnesses, the bike slide about 20 feet, no injuries to speak of so I thought it was a drop untill I got the insurance estimate $3700.00. For that much I think it should be an accident.

$3700 is in the realm of a tip over.  Someone on this site (pre-crash) had their C14 totaled from a tip over in their garage (it fell on a large flower pot or something).

  In Oregon, if the bike was in use (being ridden), then it automatically becomes a collision claim, which can go against your insurance driving record, meaning they will likely raise your rates soon.  If it was "the wind blew it over", it is treated as a comprehensive claim, which is in the 'theft, fire, vandalism' category, and less likely to result in rates going up unless you have a history of them.

Every state has their own insurance laws, but if you have the option, you want it to be a comprehensive claim rather than a collision claim.

[ZRXwannabe]

Happened once by accident with the wife on the back. She screamed like a ....well a girl. After that they were on purpose. As for solo ask the Mi State Trooper who issued me a ticket for careless driving. 3 points and $200 dollars. Ouch.

[stlheadake]

I had mine loaded headed for Alaska.  I was getting on the interstate.  I sped up, but there was a Semi coming hard.  I cracked the throttle and the front wheel came up.  I didn't panic, in fact, I stayed in it!  My baby did me right, and I hit 3rd.  I got on the interstate in front of that semi.  My dad caught up, and yelled to me "show off!"

I rather enjoy the instances when the front wheel comes up.  Reminds me of my old GSX-R.  You couldn't keep the front wheel on that thing down for nothing! 

[stewart]

I've never been able to lift the front wheel with just roll of the wrist.

This weekend with the bike fully loaded + top box + wife...pulling away from the lights with a little more gusto than normal (with wife) I found the front wheel coming up to my surprise. TC kicked in promptly and brought the front down with a small bump and we continued on our merry way.

[jimmymac]

Remove the secondary throttle plates and the front end will come up with ease.

My Wife gets more upset when we start dragging pegs. She's used to the wheelies.