WHEELIES...

[scenic]

I ride with a group of family member, all of whom ride cruisers. As each of them have taken turns on my bike (05 750 Kat) most of them have the same opinion, that is if they knew there was a bike as sporty as the Kat that they didnt have to worry about the front wheel flying up when they got on it, they would definately have at least considered buying one, several flat out said they wish they would have one instead of their cruisers. This is one of the things that attracted me to the Kat the lack of wheelies, so many people look at this as a flaw of the bike, but I think if they marketed the Kat better alot more people would share this view, what do u guys think?

[meanstrk]

I think wheelies are a product of the rider, not the bike.

[illinoiskat]

The Kat is designed to do different things well. Be comfortable, stable, and have good wind protection. Does a modern SS have the same goals? A kat is a sport tourer type not a complete race bike with lights modern SS type. If you were stuck drinving through road construction which would you rather ride?

[scenic]

true most of the time the wheelies have more to do with a rider than the bike but sometimes not, I have a buddy who bought a GSXR 750 because the salesman told him how it would out run my bike and how much better it is than mine ( i wasnt there) to make a long story short, I have ridden with him probably 7 times and 6 of those was me on his bike and him on mine, the first time the front wheel came up on him he got scared and is still scared of it. He has been riding for 7 years before but only on cruisers. He is trying to sell it now but he put EVERTHING jacket, helmet, etc on a Suzuki credit card and owes too much. Ironic, he went to the dealership to buy a 750 kat and the salesman talked him into the GSXR....

[jason05]

yep, its nice to be able to bounce on the throttle and not worry about the front end coming up. whenever i climb on my friends gsxr600 everyone laughs at me, cause i cant keep the front end on the ground!

[goose491]

yep, its nice to be able to bounce on the throttle and not worry about the front end coming up. whenever i climb on my friends gsxr600 everyone laughs at me, cause i cant keep the front end on the ground!

[iwannadie]

people blame the bike all the time for wheelies, but if you cant control the throttle enough to keep the front wheel from coming up on the street... you have no business on that particular bike i think.

[Popcorn]

Well, I have had the front end up on my 600 Kat and it gave me a new zeal on life. I also think it is the rider not the bike. I know people that have been able to wheelie curtain cruisers. They put a lot of back into it but they get it up.

[WildKat]

people blame the bike all the time for wheelies, but if you cant control the throttle enough to keep the front wheel from coming up on the street... you have no business on that particular bike i think.

Well said

With the proper technique you can wheelie just about anything, some obviously easier than others, but if you cant control your itchy throttle hand or the rest of yourself on a bike, then take some classes and practice before you go out on the street in traffic.

[Anonymous]

people blame the bike all the time for wheelies, but if you cant control the throttle enough to keep the front wheel from coming up on the street... you have no business on that particular bike i think.

Well said

With the proper technique you can wheelie just about anything, some obviously easier than others, but if you cant control your itchy throttle hand or the rest of yourself on a bike, then take some classes and practice before you go out on the street in traffic.

im guilty of that sometimes my hand just wants to pin the throttle and make the front end come up and yes with a lil practice you can wheelie just about anythign come on i wheelied a moped an im a big fat guy

[Sadistic]

I have a '95 600 and I pulled my first wheelie ever like 4 hours ago. In first gear I got up to 7 or 8 thousand rpms, closed the throttle to load the suspension, and then went WOT. Front end came up like nothing. Just ramping through the gears on this bike isn't gonna pull the front end up. A bike will do just about anything, you just have to make it do it.

[meanstrk]

I will note that I LOVE to do wheelies. My Bandit and Futura will do them at will, but the bike will not do a wheelie unless YOU want it to. I still stand by my original statement that wheelies are a product of the rider, not the bike. Sometimes the bike just makes it easier to do them.

[DooD]

Definitely a product of the rider. I've watched my stock 600 carry a 190pound stunter (good friend, and a talented rider/racer/stunter) to a third-gear standup that lasted almost 2Km.......and yet I was only able to wheelie it once...in stock form - for all of 2 seconds.

So it's definitely not the bike!

[stevnmd]

Dude, I ride a Tuono. -1 front, +3 rear sprockets. One of the easiest wheelying bikes on the planet. The front wheel stays on the ground 99.9% of the time. That's not because of the bike, that's because of the rider. If you can't keep the front wheel of a Tuono, new Gix1k, 10R, or ANY other bike on the ground then you need to learn how to ride. PERIOD.

[FrankTheTank]

I didn't believe my Katana 600 could wheelie until I dumped the clutch at about 8500 rpm !!!!