Most powerful, non-wheelie bike?

[JamesS]

So maybe you folks can help answer an obscure question that a friend of mine proposed today.
(as an experienced rider) he's looking to make a new purchase. He's looking for the most powerful bike that won't wheelie without considerable effort.
He's ridden a couple kats over the years, and really enjoys its difficulity to bring up (for some strange reason).

And yes, we've been over the arguements that any sportbike can be brought up with effort, and with normal riding skills even the most powerful bike shouldn't pop.

I guess this is more of an intellictual exercise then anything.

Any thoughts? Is the 750 Kat the best option for this specific feature?

[98 GST]

[katanapr3]

Hey! I can wheelie that.

[WildKat]

Yes virtually any bike can be wheelied if you have the right technique and practice.. Any particular reason why it must be prefaced with not being able to easily pull the front end up? seems alittle odd to me or is he looking for a project to work on to turn it into something unique

[gsxr6racer]

How about one those tricked out extended swing arm superbikes, shouldn't come up very easy at all...

[iwannadie]

the v max is insanely powerfull but wont big the front up unwanted im told...

[JamesS]

He has more then one bike (and loads of extra cash), so I'm not entirely sure the reason. He's a little mysterious about it. We were specificially talking about stock bikes. I would think it would come down to an issue of bike weight and overall torque.

[WildKat]

the v max is insanely powerfull but wont big the front up unwanted im told...

oh the vmax will certainly pull up the front end, its is one of the most powerful bikes Ive ever seen, that thing has so much torque its almost not even funny.

[The CyberPoet]

The answer is sprocketing and/or wheelie bars and/or extended swing-arms and/or cut-out feeler switch.

The longer the bike is, the further the center of gravity is from the center of the rear wheel, thus the more torque it will take to lift it.

Longer swing arms increase that length, reducing the tendency to lift given the same amount of torque (but negatively affect handling).

Changes in sprocketing (increasing front tooth count, reducing rear tooth count) will reduce the effective torque available, reducing the tendency to wheelie.

Wheelie bars physically clamp down on a wheelie, but you need to leave some play in there to get it over bumps and speedbumps if you're riding it on the road. This becomes problematic and is why you don't normally see wheelie bars installed outside the drag strip (which is perfectly flat).

Finally, the cut-out feeler switch. Used by bike schools that teach wheelie techniques to keep bikes from being lofted past a critical point (as well as some race schools to teach you to keep the wheel down), these are basically curb-feelers on a contact switch that interrupts the ignition circuit (same as rev-limiter, but in this case controlled by the physical act of it touching the ground and closing the circuit at the contact switch).

As for the max power that can't be wheelied -- that's an engineering question that's not unique to a specific bike. I can always build a longer swing arm and put it on a more powerful bike.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[KansasKat]

For as powerful as the Hayabusa is, the front end takes forever to get it more than 4-6 inches off the ground without a bunch of input from the rider. Because of its length and that long swingarm, it just likes to stay low and get up to 200mph as fast as possible.

[iwannadie]

the v max is insanely powerfull but wont big the front up unwanted im told...

oh the vmax will certainly pull up the front end, its is one of the most powerful bikes Ive ever seen, that thing has so much torque its almost not even funny.

it certainly Can wheelie but it takes effort at least some thought to do it. not just an accidental wheelie bike like an r1 or whatever that just jumps up on you. the v max(according to people that own them) you dont have to worry about wheelies on accident.

[JamesS]

Great info as always Cyber, but he was specificially looking at a stock bike. Given your well layout criteria, what bike in your opinion meets that critera best as a stock option?

[BobKat2002]

Sorry Guys but, this whole wheelie thing has been beat to death, resusitated and beat to death again.

Blah Blah Blah.







Sorry.

[The CyberPoet]

Great info as always Cyber, but he was specificially looking at a stock bike. Given your well layout criteria, what bike in your opinion meets that critera best as a stock option?

I'd need clearer definitions:
(A) New bikes or any bike (new/used) readily available?
(B) Most powerful - in terms of torque, HP, raw acceleration, top speed, best standing 1/4 mile, etc: what's the definition of most powerful in this sense?
(C) Can't be wheelied at all, won't wheelie significantly at WOT (1" - 2"), can't be wheelied without intentional effort (throttle-off, tap front brake, throttle WOT with clutch slip as the forks lift again)?

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[JamesS]

New, production. Um, most powerful I guess in terms of raw hp/top speed.
Can't be wheelied with a wide open throttle without gear/bodyweight manipulation.