Posted by JA
on December 15, 2008, 11:16 pm, in reply to "Re: Nose wheelies"
4.226.222.119
"Stoppies" is a new name for an old trick. When I was doing them back in the '70s and '80s, they didn't really have a name. We had to come up with something. I just called them nose wheelies. Butch Laswell would get out in the road and do them at 40 mph on a motocross bike, and one time he came in with street pizza on both forearms, from hands to elbows. No helmet, t-shirt. No stopping on most of his stoppies. I was wimpier about it, not doing them at such speeds.
JA
--Previous Message--
: Nose wheelies.....I always called them
: stoppies.
:
: --Previous Message--
: Somebody posted a message below entitled,
: "How do I do endos", and I thought
: it might get overlooked, being so far down
: the page. Actually, it's on page 4.
: Therefore, I posted it up here. Here is his
: question, followed by my answer:
:
: Q: Hey! ive got a yz 125 and ive been trying
: to do endos i can pop the back wheel up when
: im drivin slow but i cant do it in any gear
: higher than 2nd what gear should i do it in
: and how do i hold it for longer
:
: A: Well, first, let's define an endo. An
: endo is when you go over the bars and crash.
: That's easy. Just find a curb, attack it in
: 3rd gear tapped sitting on the seat, wheelie
: over the curb and before the rear tire hits
: it, stomp the rear brake and lean forward as
: the rear tire hits the curb. You'll be
: bucked over the bars and faceplant in front
: of the bike. Nobody in their right mind
: would want to endo, so I assume you mean
: that you want to do a nose wheelie.
:
: A couple of things will help you. First, it
: works best at low speed, like 1st or 2nd
: gear. Any faster and you'll hate life when
: you blow it. I remember my old friend Butch
: Laswell, who came into the shop with both
: forearms bleeding from hands to elbows. He
: was doing higher speed nose wheelies on the
: street, and he was good at it, but then he
: endoed. That was one of those times when you
: wish you had a two wheel drive motorcycle.
:
: In order to do it at higher speed, two
: things will help, although I highly
: recommend that you just forget doing it at
: higher speed.
:
: For one thing, it would be very smart to
: invest in a Braking kit, consisting of a
: larger diameter front rotor and an offset
: front caliper mount, and some good brake
: pads. Along with that, a stainless braided
: front brake line will give you more
: authoritative braking power, because the
: conventional ones flex too much and are more
: spongy, since they blow up like a balloon
: instead of retaining their volume. This
: paragraph will help immensely, and will help
: you in racing as well.
:
: Another thing is this: work on a surface
: that has good traction. On the dirt, that
: means tacky dirt with decent moisture
: content, and with tires that aren't rounded
: off and thrashed. You want a new or near-new
: front tire with sharp edges on the braking
: side, and when the braking edge of the knobs
: gets rounded a little, flip the tire around
: so you have a new sharp edge to work with.
: This is another important thing.
:
: If you're trying to do nose wheelies in
: dusty, rocky hardpack, you're only playing
: yourself. Sand isn't very good either,
: especially when it's dry. Wet sand might be
: decent, comparatively speaking. Ideally,
: moist clay or tacky dark loam work best.
: Moisture content is important. Make sure the
: surface is on one plane, not bumpy, not
: rocky or covered with marbles. It's also
: good to do it on a downhill slope, because
: it takes less effort to initiate the nose
: wheelie.
:
: Another critical thing is to use the front
: brake with two fingers (your pointing finger
: and your middle finger). Grip the throttle
: with your thumb, 3rd finger and pinky.
: You've got plenty of power in those two
: fingers.
:
: Don't try nose wheelies with all four
: fingers on the front brake, because when you
: start to lose control, you'll just death
: grip the bars and apply too much front
: brake, since all your fingers are wrapped
: around it. Then you'll endo for sure.
:
: You might practice at low speed and try to
: come to a complete stop with the bike at the
: balance point, then bring the rear wheel
: down. That will be safer than going fast.
: Remember my old saying: learn it at low
: speed before you try it at higher speed. I
: mean, dial it in to where you are the master
: at it at low speed, and learn all your
: lessons at low speed, and learn them
: thoroughly with a lot of repetition. Work
: your way up slowly and cautiously. There's
: nothing heroic about eating it and having to
: heal up for 6 months. Value your body.
: Cherish life. Stay healthy and have fun.
:
: By reading this, you agree that Johnny
: Airtime, his successors, associates,
: sponsors and all humans on Earth, in
: perpetuity, have no responsibility for what
: happens when you jump anything, and that
: jumping is a dangerous and deadly sport.
: Anyone attempting to jump will most likely
: be killed, maimed or crippled jumping and
: agree to hold all humans associated with
: Johnny Airtime harmless, in perpetuity.
:
: JA
:
:
:
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