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Can't Wheelie My 2014 ZX-10R For The Life Of Me

19K views 44 replies 31 participants last post by  Alexstunts 
#1 ·
Hey guys, title says it all. I just got her a week ago with 3k miles on her. She just won't go up. I've been using the clutch up technique because I've heard and feel that it is the safest method to learn, although I know that nothing about wheelies are safe. Now when I'm really pounding the bike, she'll Pop up a few inches by herself shifting from 1st to second. I only weigh about 125-130 lbs. However, here's how my attempts go with the clutch up wheelies. I've tried everything from sitting down to standing up in the staggered position, I pop the clutch with 2 fingers, one finger, anyway that I can. And I give it anywhere from 5k-11k rpm, with the best results getting me up about 3-4 inches before bringing me back down after less than half a second and accelerating me to speeds over 70mph in first gear. I've tried popping out the clutch in 2nd gear as well with even less success. A thing to note is that it did have a quick shifter which would delay the ignition cut out, however I found the computer under the passenger seat and removed it. Nothing seems to be working for me, and here's the reason I came here. I wanted to know if you guys have any advice on popping it up? Any help would be greatly appreciated, however please I know the risks of what I'm doing so please don't scold me. I'm doing it in a safe environment with all the protection. Thank you all for your help.
 
#3 ·
This sounds like exactly what cobradaddy said. I don't have a gen 4, but they do have some sort of electionical wheelie control/traction control. Try messing with your TCS and pop them. BE CAREFULL when popping wheelies on your 10r. I don't mean that as in don't do wheelies because I'm a wheelie guy. I mean, don't rev your shit high then pop the clutch. That's how you 12 O'clock your bike. For long, slow wheelies I usually start 35-40mph in 2nd gear and clutch them up. Like magic, comes right up.
 
#4 ·
Seriously, if you can't wheelie a liter bike like a ZX-10R by just sitting up straight and pinning the throttle past 8,000rpm, you really shouldn't be trying them. They are so freakin' easy on this bike it's harder trying to keep the front wheel on the ground.

Oh, and make sure you turn the traction control OFF before attempting to wad your bike up. But you knew that already, right? :lol:
 
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#5 ·
oh, and make sure you turn the traction control off before attempting to wad your bike up. But you knew that already, right? :lol:
+1 lol
 
#6 ·
This will be interesting.... The only ZX-10 I've ridden is my (Bought new) 05.

No ABS, Traction control, Anti wheelie control.

Anytime I'm hard on the gas, just to get-r-done, making a pass.. The front wheel is in the air.

Love LOVE LOVE, That. :thumbsup:
 
#7 ·
#8 ·
Yes, check the electronic aids, the traction control and or wheelie control.

My 06 will wheelie with just power pretty easy, and I am a 225 lb old guy.

I rode a new ZX14R at Drag Racing School. With an extended swing arm and electronic wheelie control, it would not wheelie. I launched at 2500 with no wheelies, Ricky Gadsen launched a ton of times to show us launches at probably 8000 and also no wheelies. Electronics. Gotta trust it too!

Did not see more that a six in wheelie from any of nine guys in two days.
 
#11 ·
I was launching at 2500 because Ricky was trying to teach clutch technique, and because my other issue was getting my feet up. First time with any electronics and air shifter. Air shifter solved the feet on the pegs issue. Still got to a mid 11. I went to learn basic techniques. And, yes, I was not convinced the bike would not wheelie until the end of the first day.

It was an intense, but really cool experience. More experienced guys got in the 9s.
 
#12 ·
#13 ·
What could it be other than that TC mode is set to 2 or 3. Make sure you turn it off completely. Even setting 1 will let the front come up with enough juice.
 
#16 ·
Wow, if you can't wheelie sitting down in 1st or 2nd gear, yet your trying to do stand up wheelies, I'm just going to go ahead and say you must be slightly retarded, or you just don't care about your bike or yourself.
ANY zx10 will wheelie almost effortlessly! I have a hard time keeping the front wheel down.
Hell, I was cruising to work today, getting on the freeway, and I accidentally did a 12 o'clock at 70mph and rode it down the freeway a bit, lol
 
#17 · (Edited)
No way... I weigh the same as you, and I cant keep the front on the ground. On way to work today and it lifted over a foot off the ground with half open throttle in 3rd at over 100mph.. and that was trying not to. I have to be really careful with the throttle.

My sprockets are -1+2, with a riflemans insert and akra and link pipe... maybe thats the difference?!

Edit - looks like me and the above enjoy our commutes lol
 
#19 ·
It's an inner sense of self-control and self-preservation. There are some points to consider.

First, I sense you are new to all this. Any expert stunter can wheelie almost any bike on the planet, even touring bikes and Harleys, but it's a specific type of skill, useless for getting through a set of corners or posting a decent lap time. Good for photo-ops and a thrill, though.

I never cared to learn to wheelie a bike and hold it up, but when doing my most serious dirt riding I learned to "loft" the front wheel over obstacles and use the throttle for weight distribution and balance, which is always important on loose/uneven surfaces as well as when jumping.

Good instincts tell us the front wheel needs to be on the ground to do any good. Some might argue that we see Marquez and Rossi, et. al., with the front end held high after a race win (like spiking the ball after a touchdown in American football), so long, lurid wheelies must needs be a part of the skill set of any good road racer.

Not so. Freddie Spencer, for example, was not known for pulling these kinds of wheelies and only an ignoramus would suggest or argue that Spencer is anything less than a genius road racer. Spencer's background from the age of four was dirt track and he excelled at this sport until he transitioned into road racing, where he also obviously excelled.

Rossi and Marquez were motocrossers and learned to wheelie along the way, so we see them doing it from time to time. That little stunt doesn't help them win roadraces but it looks great to the crowd, and if they can do it comfortably, why not? Of course there is always the odd cock-up, for example, more than one chap has done this after a race and gone over backwards in front of the cameras and a whole lot of people. Alvaro Bautista (Brno 2009) is an example.

All that said I have not found the ZX-10R (mine's a Gen 4) to be easy to wheelie, nor easy to loft the front. It certainly doesn't pop the front up as my 50 HP, 200 lb. CR250R used to do. Yes, I've lofted the front a few times inadvertently, maybe a few inches. I just turned over 5000 miles and this has happened maybe a half-dozen times at most.

In my case I've developed a very good sense of throttle control and the type of "whacking open" that the throttle requires to get this bike to wheelie is so much an anathema to the type of riding I do that I cannot do it, my brain screams "Stupid" at the thought and sensation of it.

That kind of throttle usage leads to backflips and high-sides and just has no place in road racing or sport riding if one wishes to avoid crashing. Far better to learn to brake to threshold, trail-brake, and get your corner exits figured out.

All that aside, the ZX-10R was not designed to stunt or wheelie and thus is not prone to do so. It is a roadracing/sport motorcycle. The wheelbase is longish, the gearing is tallish, and Kawasaki have done us a favor in this regard, at least those of us who put the bike to its intended purpose.

You want to wheelie, get an FZ-09 or something along those lines. I hope you know what you are doing, though.

To close, I recall an instance which I learned of first-hand, from the people involved. A youngish fellow had just landed a pretty cool job as a moto-journalist at one of the big national magazines, and wanted to know how to wheelie. One of the "old hands" told him "Just put it in first gear and whack the throttle wide open."

Now this is on a Ducati 996 supersport motorcycle.

The young chap, guileless, did EXACTLY as he was told, not realizing the advice was meant to be humorously facetious.

The shiny new test bike promptly snapped over on its back. Fortunately the rider was not significantly injured but it was a very embarrassing incident all round.

So maybe your brain is trying to tell you something.

Listen to it.
 
#20 ·
wheelies,why??

I did wheelies all the time as a kid...Sence i hit a speed bump and lost it over the handle bars(this was on a 82 yami 400 special)i gave up and to this day,dont feel the need to..
Incase yer to young,this is one of my 1st bikes long before all this electronic anti,spin,wheelie,traction ctrol faze..
 

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#21 ·
Holy shit, Fang wrote a damn novel. He has a good point in there though, if yiu dont have electronics stopping you, its your brain. You have to truly get comfortable with it in your mind to let you pull the front and keep it there. The bike will wheelie, its a liter bike. I have the issue of my mind not letting me be ok with it, and Im not a road racer, or a fast track rider or even a fast drag racer. Im still learning to not chop throttle when the front pulls up on me, its just that you have to teach your mind to be cool with doinf it intentionally.
 
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#22 ·
Hey everyone, thanks for the replies. Yes I do have traction control off when I'm attempting this. I am gonna have to wait a few days to try again. I made the mistake of stopping for a cop, bike got impounded and I ended up in jail for the night lol no biggy tho. And okay, I know the bike will pop up, but I've read a lot that the gen 4's have a hard time getting up there, and that seems to be my problem. Like I said, I just got the bike not too long ago, and it had a lot of extras and goodies. Don't rip me for this, I'm just asking if this is a possibility, but I noticed one of the extras was a chain length adjuster. Could this be another thing holding me back from wheelies?
 
#27 ·
Let's clear things up here for a minute.....you're talking about aftermarket precision adjusters like LightTech or Gilles, correct? You're not confusing the chain adjusters for extension bars, right? No, the chain adjusters won't make a difference, but a 6" extension bar would.

Wheelie how-to:
1) Turn TC off
2) Get moving in 2nd gear at 65mph and approx. 8,000rpm
3) Sit up straight
4) Back off throttle
5) Quickly open throttle
6) Hold on as the earth rotates around the back wheel of the bike
 
#23 ·
chain length adjuster!!!!! Is this your first bike?? Unless its a shaft driven bike,they all have them and when i say all,even peddle bikes have chain adjustment..No chain length will not hold you back...Well maybe if your chain is so slack it totally skips over the sprocket or if its so tight the chain cant move..

Im thinking you should forget about pullin wheelies for now,learn about the bike and how to ride before you get funky..

" I noticed one of the extras was a chain length adjuster. Could this be another thing holding me back from wheelies".....Cant believe you asked that bud..
 
#25 ·
I only weigh 145 lbs. Gen 4 does a good job keeping the front down at WOT in any gear. But it you hold it at 8k rpm in first and rip it. The front end should come up no problem. I've also came to the conclusion that us light weight guys cause it to spin more. Theres no weight in the back. For example a 130 lb guy vs a 200 lb guy. The force of the heavier guys weight is going on the rear shock putting more pressure on the back tire causing the front end to come up easier.
 
#32 ·
Alright guys, yes it is aftermarket by lighttech(the chain adjuster) and no this isn't my first bike but my bike before this didn't quite have the power of a liter bike. It was a Suzuki gs500f, so it was Def nowhere near the power of a liter bike. And as I said in the first post, I wanted to learn a clutch up wheelie first because I personally would feel more comfortable and it is somewhat safer. The bike will go up a few inches on its own if I'm ripping through first, but I was looking to achieve more of a slower, controlled wheelie, and hopefully learn to bring it to balance point eventually.
 
#33 ·
To each their own, I prefer throttling the front up. I think it comes up smoother and easier and gives you the practice for controlling the throttle like you need to. First gear is fun for me. I have no problem with controlling the throttle even with a quick turn throttle and +2R gearing in first gear. If you can modulate the grip properly, you'll gain the control needed for clutching them up at faster speeds.

Confucius say....man who clutches wheelies, breaks clutch baskets.

Walk before you run grasshoppa! The slow speed stunter stuff in the parking lots you're thinking about is much harder to do than a nice 50-80mph wheelie. At the higher speeds there's more gyroscopic stability from the spinning wheelies and the aerodynamic forces.
 
#34 ·
I have the 2012 10R and I will tell you the traction control even set to #1 will not let you pop a wheelie bigger than a couple of inches off the ground. The traction control isnt just for spinning the rear wheel. It helps keep the front end down on hard accelerations. If you take off the traction control, not #1,2, or 3, but OFF, It will come up trust me. With out even using the clutch you can power them up at low/mid RPM's.
 
#41 ·
You might be surprised. Even bone stock, I could pop a 1st gear wheelie at least half way to the balance point and keep the front tire off the ground for a short distance in TC setting 1. It wouldn't stay at the peak height but gradually lower itself until I was back on the ground. This isn't throttling out of a corner mind you, but loading the front end under engine breaking and cracking open the throttle very aggressively at 8000+rpm.
 
#35 ·
Make sure you get plenty of heat into the tyre so you don't accidentally do a rolling burnout instead. Pretty much you accelerate for a second then chop the throttle to make the forks compress a bit then you do the clutching. Alternatively you can press down on the rear brake to compress the front as well, this is good practice as you want to cover the rear brake as it will save you when you get to high. Grip the tank tight with the knees and sit towards the back, arms should be relaxed. At least that's how i do it in second gear around 70 kph.
 
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