How-to Stoppie

The way most people would try to do stoppies is usually around ten miles an hour coming up to a traffic light.

You would be much better off attempting this at about 30 mph on a nice road surface. Depending on what motorcycle you ride can make this a lot easier.

A small light motorcycle may be easier to learn on for some people rather than starting off on a big heavy motorcycle, if this is the case it is all in your head. If the bike you are riding is capable of doing a stoppie then it should not be any harder than trying it on a small bike. I think?

The first thing you need to do is be comfortable and relaxed because it doesn't hurt as much when you fall off ? No really , firstly always wear at least a helmet because if you do fall off you will probably land on it or maybe the bike may land on you ? I know it may look good and cool with no protective gear on and maybe your friends may laugh, "they will laugh a lot more if you do fall and get up yourself rather than them supporting your head while they call for an ambulance! Well that's enough of the preaching I think.

So once again depending on the bike you are riding I will compare a few bikes.

Sport bikes 600 cc - Get your bike up to around 30 mph, grip the tank with your knees, this will work better if you are wearing leather pants or a full race suit, because it will grip the tank a lot better than jeans, so now you are doing 30 mph you are squeezing the tank, pull the front brake in quite hard but progressively. You may think the tire will lock up straight away, this may happen if you do it to aggressively this may take a lot of practice to get it right but if it does lock up you better have fast reaction's to release the brake or you will fall very quickly indeed. Be warned ! The rear tire will lift off the floor easier if just before you squeeze the brake you quickly bounce slightly on the seat just enough to take the weight off the rear end. If you did it correctly you should have done it easy and to ride along on your front wheel for a while you will need to have very good brake control. If you think about riding up to a stop sign you don't just pull the brakes in and stop right at the sign you are constantly applying and releasing pressure to the brakes.

The same applies to riding on your front wheel, when you feel the front wheel biting hard and hopefully the rear wheel lifting off the floor you will be able to control how high the rear wheel goes with brake control. The more you pull your front brake in the higher the rear will go the more you let it out the lower it will go just like coming up to a stop sign just feel what the bike is doing under you and control it yourself you will feel the wheel rise, ideally you want the rear wheel about 2 feet off the floor. Having it only a foot off the floor will mean you are still having to break really hard and you will still stop really quickly, this is not the right way, having it 2 feet off the floor will make it easier for you and you will travel a lot further at this height. If you got it right, Congratulations!

Something else you should know if you are riding along on the front wheel and you feel the back end of the bike starting to go Sideways if you are traveling too fast release your front brake immediately before it gets out of shape otherwise you'll fall off. when you have mastered this and you think you may be ready for the next level all this entails is having the back wheel higher off the floor and riding along faster than before and obviously you will travel a lot further on your front wheel than before, Just before you come to stop you can try turning the handle bars and landing the bike sideways.

Larger Bikes - Earlier on I said about trying it on different bikes if you're trying this on an R1, fireblade, etc. the same should apply as above, if you are trying it on anything older or heavier you may have to let a bit of pressure out of the front tire and bounce a little harder on the seat just to get the tire to grip because of the extra weight of the bike you are riding.

Some bikes obviously will not do stoppies because of weight, wheelbase, tires, brakes, etc.

Some people obviously read this and go and try time and time again but will never get it right I am sorry but for you people there is no cure. Some have it some don't !!

For the people who do get it right and the people who don't please remember just ride safe and within your limits do not try to go past them because at the end of the day it might not have been worth it.