Do wheelies starve your oil feeds and damage the engine?

[Kickaha]

I don't want to rain on this particular parade or bring you all down but who remembers the Cheese-Cutter thread, subsequent hand wringing and appeals to the gub'mint and the sometimes fatal effects of one too many wheelies?

I thought the coroners report ruled frame failure out as a cause

[toycollector10]

I thought the coroners report ruled frame failure out as a cause

From what I remember of the thread the bike landed at 100+ kph and then just split in two. Whatever happened, it was a tragedy. Man, you're only young and pretty once so make the most of it but it can come to a bloody instant grinding halt very quickly or if you're really unlucky you get to live it out in a wheelchair for the next fourty years sucking soft food through a tube. You don't look so pretty then.

It's a point I have been trying to make on this forum for about 5 or so years. Blag the Katman off all you like but at least he's trying to moderate the behaviour of young folk who have no impulse control, which is pretty important when you ride a modern motorcyle!~

Someone on this forum PM'd me to "vomit my shit into Katmans mouth" which wasn't very polite. I hope that poster has had a few frights and has moderated his behaviour. You either get the learn's on or drop your bike/get injured/get paralyzed/kill someone or die yourself.

Sorry 'bout that.

[pete376403]

Think you'll find that was more of am overheating issue that fucked the heads on those models mate, not oil starvation due to wheelies.

I knew a bunch of guys who lived in and around Martinborough when XR500 / 600s were the bike of choice. Some of these guys could wheelie the bikes for miles on the long straights between Martinborough and Featherston, and at a good pace, ie fast enough to get a decent cooling airflow past the engine. Most of their bikes ended up with stuffed cam bearings in the head, attributed to oil starvation.

[Crasherfromwayback]

I knew a bunch of guys who lived in and around Martinborough when XR500 / 600s were the bike of choice. Some of these guys could wheelie the bikes for miles on the long straights between Martinborough and Featherston, and at a good pace, ie fast enough to get a decent cooling airflow past the engine. Most of their bikes ended up with stuffed cam bearings in the head, attributed to oil starvation.

Craig Wilkie was a master of wheelies from Masterton, on XR500A's. In fact...the fucker can wheelstand anything anywhere. But I don't think he's ever busted an XR due to wheelies.

[Paul in NZ]

I cant even get a unicycle up on one wheel.... sigh.....

[DEATH_INC.]

Ok, my wheelies only ever did 3-4ks at best , but I've never had an issue on anything from it.

As for all the other issues (safety and broken frames etc) I'm gonna blame the new generation of thou's, it used to take some skill to do 'em, now you just twist the right grip, so every muppet does 'em

[nudemetalz]

I cant even get a unicycle up on one wheel.... sigh.....

I have trouble getting anything up nowadays....

[Crasherfromwayback]

I have trouble getting anything up nowadays....

TMI matey!!!!!

[White trash]

I cant even get a unicycle up on one wheel.... sigh.....

I have trouble getting anything up nowadays....

Fucken Guzzi riders.......

[Shaun]

My Wheelie bike was a Yamaha TT5oo, what an awsome bike that was, 1-top gear any where any time on the back wheel, even passing cars on there left in the gravell, haha they used to shit them

Hawera was a good town in those days

Ummm, except when I was pissed and flipped it

YES, it did Retard the motor big time

[Crasherfromwayback]

My Wheelie bike was a Yamaha TT5oo, what an awsome bike that was, 1-top gear any where any time on the back wheel, even passing cars on there left in the gravell, haha they used to shit them

YES, it did Retard the motor big time

I'd still love a nice TT500. A yellow one! I would've though being a dry sump engine that long wheelies would be ok...but I guess it all depends on where the scavenge pump is...

[Paul in NZ]

Fucken Guzzi riders.......

hey - we have character bro.....

[avgas]

hmm,..I have heard of continuous wheelies stuffing them but could be combination.
Always been critical of having good oil too, the Honda singles.

Sorry but I must call bullshit on this - having owned 3 x GB's, and 1 x XR with RFVC.
The reason why everyone ran to the hills was because people put heavy oil in them and the poor little pump could not get the oil around in time to keep the engine cool. People (Honda PR) said it was due to wheelies.....but the fact of the matter was the owners manual recommended 10w20. This oil is fine for commuting and normal use, but if you thrash the crap out of it doesn't cool in time. What the engines such as the NC20 wanted was thinner and handled broader range of temp. I found 5w50 Visco 5000 worked the best.
While angle, how much the bike bounced etc did not help the situation, this was not the primary cause of it failing. If people use the right oil the engine would go for 200,000+km.
Saying it is the cause is like saying the WTC collapsed because it was too heavy. Never mind the 2 planes.......

[Kickaha]

From what I remember of the thread the bike landed at 100+ kph and then just split in two..

What was said in the thread and what happened in real life are often two different things

http://www.ulysses.org.nz/accident-r...t-Papakura.pdf


re XL/XR, guys I knew could get into top doing 100+ km for substantial distances and there bikes didn't ever suffer any engine damage as a result

[nudemetalz]

Sorry but I must call bullshit on this - having owned 3 x GB's, and 1 x XR with RFVC.
The reason why everyone ran to the hills was because people put heavy oil in them and the poor little pump could not get the oil around in time to keep the engine cool. People (Honda PR) said it was due to wheelies.....but the fact of the matter was the owners manual recommended 10w20. This oil is fine for commuting and normal use, but if you thrash the crap out of it doesn't cool in time. What the engines such as the NC20 wanted was thinner and handled broader range of temp. I found 5w50 Visco 5000 worked the best.
While angle, how much the bike bounced etc did not help the situation, this was not the primary cause of it failing. If people use the right oil the engine would go for 200,000+km.
Saying it is the cause is like saying the WTC collapsed because it was too heavy. Never mind the 2 planes.......

Fair enough...it's just one of those things you hear over the years when you own XR's and the like and people telling you not to continuous wheelie them.
Of course I listened to them....