Wheelie Difficulty

What is the easiest way to do a wheelie? I have a stock 00 GSXR-600 and the only way i can get the front wheel up is at 10,000 rpm when i slip the clutch from a stand still and it gets about 3 feet off the ground. The problem is that it dies as soon it gets up there. Is there an easier way to do a wheelie. P.s. I'm trying to do it sitting down before i try the stand up and stagger wheelie.  

There's different ways to do a wheelie. I'm definitely not an expert on the subject, but I find that with a 600 the are two easy ways. When in first gear about mid range let off the throttle fully so that the bike noses down and then crack the throttle wide open and your tire will come up. This could be a good way to practice getting to the balance point. You won't be going very fast in first and until you can learn to shift gears while up it won't be a long wheelie this way. The other way is in second. Again at about mid range you can pull the clutch, crack the throttle, and quickly dump the clutch. I've had the front tire come up quickly both ways so make sure your foot is on the brake in case you hit the holy *** point and you need to bring the wheel back down. A quick tap on the back brake will put you back down. Practice safely where you don't have to worry about other traffic. Ride safe!  
---------------------------------------
Speed costs money! How fast you wanna go?

Sweet dude, thanks for the advice i'll try the methods today and let you know.  

So i tried the first method of powering first gear, but my bike isn't powerful enough to bring it up. For the second method do i have to be in the standing position for that to work and should i be pulling the bike up or can it do it by itself?  

In first, rolling at around 6000 rpm keep your butt all the way back in the saddle and keep your weight back, but relaxed. Give a quick wide open bleep with the throttle to shift the weight back and extend the forks, then quickly close the throttle to compress the forks, and at lowest point in nose dive open it up again keeping your weight back on the tail (the more throttle you give, the faster it will come up). If you feel like it's too much or too fast and want the nose back down just close throttle almost all the way and shift your weight forward.

In second, keeping your butt and weight back, at around 5500 rpm pull clutch in and open throttle. Dump the clutch at around 8500 rpm. If you want the nose back down then just close the throttle and shift your weight forward (dumping the clutch at a higher rpm will bring up the nose faster).

To learn to wheelie from a stand still (i'm not there yet) i found a comfort zone in the second method, but performing it in first gear and slowly am working my way to picking up the front at slower speeds. I've tried it from a stand still and yes you do need to rev the crap out of the bike to get it up with stock gearing (either that or you'll strip teeth off the sprockets). Gear the rear sprocket up and/or the front sprocket down and the torque and usage in the powerband will increase making wheelies easier. In both cases, the rpm's may need to be adjusted due to motorcycle and rider's weight. The more weight you put on the back, the easier it will be for the nose to come up.

Have FUN!
Stay SAFE!!!  

Warm tires up to keep practices consistent. Tire temps can make a difference in amount of wheel slip. Cold tires slip more before abruptly grabbing.  

Warming your tires is good advice. Like kaey77 said, you want to compress your front forks when you let off the throttle. If it's still not working try a quick acceleration to lift the nose a little and completely let of the throttle. This should compress your forks, then crack it wide open. Your bike should come up. I personally don't pay attention to the RPM's for a wheelie, I just listen to the bike. Try a few small wheelies like this because you can have the bike come up pretty quick. Get a good feel for it in small steps so you can find your comfort level.

The gearing advice will help, but you shouldn't need it to do a wheelie. It would just make it easier.  
---------------------------------------
Speed costs money! How fast you wanna go?

Geeze i still can not get it. Ill be in second gear rolling down the road hitting 4,000 revs blip and dump the clutch at 8,000 and it just goes faster. Then the first gear one is murder on the bike and shifting. I can not get it up even when its being that brutal either.  

I've always wanted to try the wheelie teach. Has anyone used it? They are like training wheels for your bike.  

Try bringing your RPM's higher than 8000. Ride about 40 miles an hour, pull the clutch, rev you throttle over 10000 and dump the clutch. 10000 might still not be high enough but start there. When I was ridin 600's I would gun the throttle, pop the clutch and the bike would pop up no problem. Then again my last bike was an '08 R6 and I really didn't have to do much to get it up on one.

This has worked for me with many bikes. Just keep raisin the RPM's each time until you get it.  
---------------------------------------
Speed costs money! How fast you wanna go?

Hi Annette! Can't help you with the wheelie teach, never tried one. How come your the only staff member hanging around the forums lately?  
---------------------------------------
Speed costs money! How fast you wanna go?

okey dokey thanks. Yea i heard that the yamahas are torque monster and its easier to do that on. My 00 gsxr is carbureted with 4 x Mikuni BDSR36 and the bike weighs about 383 pounds. It's is pushing about 106 hp and i weigh 180 at 6'.  

You should still be able to get it up in second if you try at 40 MPH. You'll just have to keep bringing up the RPM's or try this:

You don't need a very powerful bike. You can definitely clutch wheelie a 500 cc sport bike, it just takes higher revs.

You don't have to slide back for this trick. "It is possible to pull a wheelie at 70 mph in 3rd gear on a gsxr-600." This will take more practice, but it is very possible.Drive at a steady pace around 1500-2000rpm. (Should be about 10-20mph).When you are ready for liftoff, quickly open up the throttle and accelerate. This is VERY important because it compresses your rear suspension. It's very difficult to clutch a wheelie without compressing rear suspension first. You're not trying to build up speed! Starting at low RPMs is very important. If you start a clutch wheelie at 5000RPM, it will be very difficult and you'll red line long before you go vertical. Power comes from low RPM. Almost immediately after accelerating, pull clutch in enough to disengage and let the engine rev to about 6000RPM. You can do this slow at first, eventually it becomes an instantaneous motion.Quickly release the clutch at about 80%. This is the hardest part. You HAVE to release fast. You'll know you released too fast when your RPM drops down to 2000 - this means you released too fast. Practice, practice, practice. When you get it right it will feel like you have hydraulics on your front wheel and pop right up (much quicker and smoother than a power-bounce wheelie).Once you master this, your bike should be popping up a little bit. The next step is throttle control.
While releasing the clutch, add throttle. If you want to go big - vertical - and stay there - the big thing to learn is that you can not let go of the throttle OR the clutch. You will control height of the wheelie with your clutch at this point.So once again.. once comfortable with the clutch release motion, start giving it lots of throttle. You should be able to keep it up in 1st gear for a few seconds without any problems. The higher you go the longer you stay up.Once you get good, you won't have to rev before you clutch.  
---------------------------------------
Speed costs money! How fast you wanna go?

i have a 03 gsxr 600 and i had the same problem for a long time. listening to what you are saying sounds a lot like me. what i found was that i was scared to crack it open the way it needed to because i had seen others 12 o clock. wheelies require confidence dont feel pressured and do it at your own pace it will come to you. if you find yourself turning onto a open road and you are still in first try letting off the throttle and quickly hitting it again not super hard but hard enough to feel the forks stretch keep trying like that and you will notice it getting higher and more comfortable  
gixxer james

O yea!!! I rode my first wheelie today! Thanks a lot guys for your advice it really helped a lot!!