Kudos

During another dedicated wheelie fest with The Little Engine That Could (WR250R/Two-Fiddy), for some unknown reason, it didn't go anything at all like the last. Last time I realized that I'd only learned how to learn how to really wheelie motorcycles over the past few years. This time, I was up near the balance point (just under or over) without further training. I don't know what happened. Well, I do. I slept on it. And this time out, I was pulling the fat ones a hundred times better than last time on, basically, an unfamiliar bike. Kudos, MotoBum. Kudos.

Counter: 320

Ah Ha with Two-Fiddy

+10 wheelies on the KLR. Yes. It never gets old. Just let the clutch out quickly from 2 miles an hour, and BAM... nice wheelie!

+10 wheelies on the WR250R. In a long overdue wheelie session with the little bike, I had an ah ha moment. I realized that I could not wheelie any motorbike by just hopping on and ripping some good ones. Not yet, anyway. What I learned is that I now have a solid method for learning how to pull wheelies on any motorbike. With this wheelie session, I was instantly transported three years back in time -- back to a time where I did not have the skills that I have today. I felt like such a beginner, such a hack. But now that I know how to learn to pull decent wheelies on a motorbike, the learning curve is expected to be quite low.

Counter: 310

Bad Ones

I think wheelies are a lot like sex. Even bad wheelies are much, much, much better than no wheelies at all.

Counter: 290

Automatic Fantastic

The wheelies are always best when every little detail about pulling one isn't attended to. Instead, one just knows everything that needs to happen and does it, seemingly, without thought.

Counter: 270

Go Over

One key to a good wheel stand is to aim for being over the balance point. In my experience, all successful wheelies are spent at about 50% below the balance point ("chasing it") and 50% over the balance point (slowing down). And when I'm closest to the actual mythical balance point, I'm always aiming for being just over.

Counter: 257

Great Wheelies

Great wheelies continue to progress, even if they don't always go as planned.

Counter: 253

Return

After a good whack to the left foot while riding dirt bikes, the hot whoolie action returns a couple of weeks later. It's like I never stopped. The wheelies just keep getting better and better. 

Counter: 248

Feeling Great

It's amazing how a seemingly normal morning can turn extraordinary by simply pulling ten motorcycle wheelies.

Counter: 245

I Am Significant

Whether it be associate contemporaries at the office or the best of friends looking on, people seem to love it when I pull motorcycle wheelies. I love it. I'll keep doing them.

Counter: 235

Magnifying Success

After a midnight motorcycle wheel stand through a dark and sleeping neighborhood, Last Minute Ryan (LMR) had this to say:

"That was über stealth. That's the perfect urban assault technique for completing the mission without waking the neighbors. I love it when you wheelie like that."

Counter: 213

Validation

"That was a sweet wheelie you pulled down 200th." -- Ghostface KLR

"That was the most beautiful wheelie I've ever seen. Seriously." -- Shotgun Ruthie

Counter: 211

Standing Tall

Most days, the best thing to do is get up in the morning and clutch one up. Just get the machine standing tall. It never disappoints. And on the off-days, it's best to clutch ten up... just to get in the spirit of things.

Counter: 210

Contemplation

The moto wheelies have become so integrated in my lifestyle that I'm starting to lose count of them. They're more of a contemplation. I contemplate wheelies. By the time this project is complete, there will no longer be a need for counting... only contemplation.

Counter: 205 (estimate)

Fun Bikes

A brief wheelie session on Two-Fiddy yielded big fun on a little bike. I can see how the kids are enjoying their dirt bikes in the urban environments. They're so easy to ride. They feel so good to ride on one wheel.

Counter: 190

Keeping It Up

I've only been pulling one about every day, besides one short session in these past two weeks. The practice during this dark time is just the habit -- one must keep pulling wheelies, no matter how much is going on. Because all of that will always be going on.

Counter: 185

Inspired

No matter how tired I am, no matter how late at night it is, no matter how much I've been through in a day, I still, sometimes, find myself as being the right person in the right place doing the right thing -- wheelies on a motorcycle. It's amazing. Even in an urban environment, I know how to put me in a position where no one else is around and I can, it feels, perform whatever motorcycle mayhem I please for just a few minutes. And it is so completely awesome.

Counter: 170

Hero

When the heavy weight of life feels overwhelming, that's when I know it's time to give a two-wheeled machine a hard launch or two... or ten. And when I do that, the heavy weight lifts and I re-realize what I should be doing.

Counter: 160

Don't Stop Believin'

No matter the machine, pulling wheelies is definitely what I came here to do. I can feel it.

Counter: 150

Two-Fiddy

Today I added another motorcycle to the stable -- a 2012 Yamaha WR250R dual-sport. The machine had one mile on the odometer when I picked it up. By the time that odometer indicated three miles, I was on a side road pulling sit down wheelies.

Counter: 137

Twenty

Sometimes the best way to get better is to take a break. With a few days off from the random wheelie here and there, I came back to the scene with greater clarity and better control than ever. How does that work? It probably has something to do with having made better and more connections in my nervous system -- something which I continually strive for during and between these wheelie sessions.

Counter: 132

Internal External

It's astounding that the mental labor required for a great wheelie is tenfold the physical requirement. Wheelies are a mind game. They're easy to execute, once it is known what to do. Just put fear in the trash - you won't be needing that. We just need to focus on the two-axes of balance and do our best.

As a development note, I've started to experiment with different rear foot placements and have found greater control is possible with a left-most placement in the KLR foothold rather than a right -- a break from my experience of the past two years. Oh... the things you will learn.

Counter: 112