There's nothing quite like pulling a wheelie on a motorcycle for firing up the adrenalin glands. More people would do it if it wasn't so difficult and potentially painful and embarrassing – so RawRR is launching a trainer to make it easy and fun.
RawRR makes electric dirt bikes, and in pioneering a green transition for the motocross industry it has made considerable headway into the United States marketplace in just three short years. This year the company is launching in Europe and as one of the first movers in this space, the potential for growth and innovation is immense.
Though the brand was born in California, the company behind the brand is China’s Zhejiang Dingtu Technology Company and at the Canton Fair in China this week, it showed a device the motorcycling world has definitely been waiting for – a wheelie helper.
Bolt one of these on the back of a dirt bike and your offspring can safely practice getting the bike up to that crucial balance point and being able to sense where it is far better in the future … all without flipping over backwards, or falling sideways.
The wheelie helper comes in two sizes as the company also launched a larger version of its Mantis Mini at the fair, naming it the Mini R. The "wheelie helper" can hence be used on any mini bike.
The bad news is that the wheelie helper is only suitable for mini bikes, so grown-up children will still need to go to one of the many wheelie schools that have proliferated in recent times around the world.
A friend of mine, Alan Peck, has been teaching people how to do wheelies for more than 50 years, using a much more old-school approach. His theory, he tells me, is that the hardest part is knowing when you've reached the balance point if you've not been there before, and that obviously no-one wants to flip their motorcycle – so many riders err on the side of caution due to that lack of knowledge about where the balance point is.
So Alan's method is to get a couple of big guys to lift the front wheel of the bike, with the learner standing on the pegs, up to the balance point, to give them a clear sense of just how high up that balance point is and what it feels like. That sorted, he'll send them out on track to practice the throttle, clutch and rear brake coordination required to get the front wheel up to balance point and keep it there. He's taught a lot of people how to wheelie this way, and says it doesn't take long.
After reading this article, Alan texted me the following: "The thing to remember is that once you are on one wheel and have forward motion, the rear brake will make the bike rotate forward on the rear axle therefor you can't flip it if you apply the rear brake."
There are also plenty of places around the world that'll train you up using specialized machines, often brought to motorcycling events on the back of trailers. One example is Australian company Bike Republic's Wheelie Machine, which works with most motorycles, mounting via the rear axle and using a simple pair of tie-down straps to make sure the bike can't tip over backwards. Check it out:
This lets riders get a feel for their specific machine's power curve and balance point, and it uses a sprung ramp under the front wheel to preserve fork seals and headstem bearings in case you chop the throttle and slam the front down.
RawRR's Wheelie Helper brings a similar sort of capability to your back yard. It's an interesting kind of product, much like training wheels in that once you've used it to figure out how to wheelie your bike, you don't really need it any more. So it might be more appropriate for clubs than for individual buyers. But it certainly looks like a fun and safe way to develop a highly useful skill for off-road riding – as well as a highly illegal but nonetheless impressive skill for the street.
Stay safe out there!
No official retail price has been established for the product as yet.
Source: rawrrmantis.com