Joker

On another site I am on I got into a friendly debate with a few of the guys about the dangers of wheelies vs carving the corners hard. I've been practicing standups for a couple of months now and once I got past the point of getting up high enough to ride them out a bit I noticed that I feel pretty safe up there. I know anything can happen and all that jazz but a nice wheelie on a nice straight road is less scary than riding through a corner at double or triple the speed limit to me. I get out and hit the twisties as much as I can but I find myself more and more apt to spend a doing wheelies than burning through corners.

Anyway, the debate was about whether wheelies or corner carving were more dangerous. To make it fair I want to use resonably skilled riders as the basis for both sides of the argument. Obviously a newbie who wants to do wheelies his first week is not a good example for safety and shouldn't be used in this argument. Just the same as a newbie tearing up some country roads would not be a good example for the cornering bunch. So we are talking about riders who took the time to learn either skill correctly.

My side of the argument said that wheelies were in fact not more dangerous than hitting the twisties and that hitting the twisties might be more dangerous. To come to that conclusion I figured in less than ideal road conditions, slippery corners etc. I also used my own experience that has showed me way more people going down that I was riding with in the corners and the basic fact that once a week on most motorcycle forums there is at least one lowside or highside crash.

I brought this here because I figured you guys might have some interesting views. I get sick of being on sites where all the "true riders" (who couldn't wheelie if they tried) bash any stunter, even if they just do wheelies. The main arguments from the other side is that they don't want to trash their bikes because all stunters ride on crap bikes... I think that is bull and the only reason some stunters do ride on ratty bikes is because they are doing really advanced tricks which are much more dangerous just as racers raise the danger levels by going so fast on the race track.

B-duhp OM

You bring up valid points on both sides of the coin. There is a certain amout of danger in anything that you do. I have taken my fair share of corners... burning up the mountains at 120, and I have also done my fair share of stunts. I feel pretty comfortable doing either, but to say that one is more dangerous is just a matter of opinion. A low side at 100 is better than a crashed wheelie at 50 (depending on gear) But have you ever thought about high siding at 100??? Not a pretty sight. I got tank slapped at 100 coming down from a highway stand up and I thought that was the end. I have slowed it down the reduce the risk. Anytime that you push the limits you take the chance of getting hurt. Some just prefer getting hurt doing something they enjoy... I would raher stunt than race... I think it looks cooler!!!!

Diviniti

i dont even need to read any of this.

WHEELIES!.

kneedraggers dont get woman, have pretty little sissy bikes and most dont like stunters. because we drive "wreckless"

Animal Mother

I agree with you. Most of those guys are self-declared Track-day Riders, and if you push them, their complaint generally rests in some sort of logic centered around the idea that "the guys who ride wheelies in traffic just raise insurance rates for the rest of us..." I'm not downing track riding or riding the twists--I hit the canyons every weekend--the problem is that most of those guys just have no understanding of the sport. They're a reincarnation of the generation that said "this rock 'n roll thing is just a fad, it'll never catch on..."

B-duhp OM

I agree with you about the "Being wreckless"
so you feel that stunting is more dangerous??? I have seen more serious accidents in racing. If I had to choose I would say that racing is more dangerous due to the speed... a simple equation of kenitic energy.

Diviniti

anything you do on a bike is dangerous. crossing an intersection can be dangerous.

in my personal expirience, I have had 100 times the injurys than the normal knee dragger. but, if the dragger gets injured while riding on public roads, he is either paralized or dead.

i've always told "loved ones" that are scared about me stunting, one thing.

"i may get hurt, but the chances of me dying from it are 1 in a million."

hardcore street riders or track day kids usually look down on stunters. they dont see the skill and practice and pain that we all go through. all they see is some fool on a bike either braking something or hurting themself.
i personally rarely ever stunt on public streets. it creates a bad name for all types of riders, and not to mention the chance of serious injury goes way up.

plus, the wrecks from racing may seem bad and you're like holy **** is he dead. but alot of the racers that go down get back up.
they wear full gear. head to toe. how many stunters do you know that wear full gear? not many.

they are both dangerous. but i would rather hang out with a bunch of stunters than a bunch of draggers anyday.

J-Hook

i think that knee dragging is more dangerous.... i mean, yeah stunters fall down, get road rash, occasionally break bones... i dont know anyone (personally, folks.. just talking about my network of friends) that has died from stunting.... i do, however, know of a person (a good friend of mine) who died racing (not in any sanctioned event... just knee dragging on a local road with lots of twisties) so... you may sustain more injuries as a stunter, but they dont add up to high speed accidents on tracks/hitting curves

Robbie

I like to do both. We have a stunt spot that also has twisties right next to it. When we get bored....off to the 120+ twisties.

At any rate....GOD makes the call when its your time.

WeaR the gear!

Luke

I do both as well...I love the rush of running twisties over 100 mph...but I also like to stunt to...I think they are both dangerous and both can get you killed in the right circumstance...thats why we need to be careful no matter what we are doing.

zx-636R

I think corners are more dangerous, at least I feel more comfortable rocking a high chair than racing through a blind corner that I have never been on before.

StreetSpeed2000

I'm from upstate NY where it's all about twisties and I come down to Florida for school where the only damn thing to do around here is wheelies. I miss the twisties a great deal, but in the end they are more dangerous.
Even if you're not dragging a knee (and I hope most people don't on the street) if you're even pushing it a little hard in the curves and you hit sand, oil, even a decent enough sized stone, yo *** is going down. And I don't know where some of you guys ride, but if you lowside where I'm from at 100mph, you're dead.
Doing wheelies, you're going straight, you can see ahead of you as far as you need to. You don't need to worry about some guy crowding your side of the road as you do everytime you go around a turn. If you hit some rough pavement or even a little sand or gravel, at leasy your up straight and not leaned over, and you can either ride it out or put it down.
Anyway, like I said while I'm in Miami I wheelie just about every chance I get. Though I'm much more concerned and aware when I'm back home pushing it in the curves.

Ruling: Curves are more dangerous.

Highdiver

I've been into canyon riding since i started riding, and only more recently getting into stunting. just from my experiance I'd say knee dragging is more dangerous just becuase the injurys are likely to be more serious when something does happen.

As far as the Kneedraggers vs. stunters, who has more skill and is the true rider. That argument has always got on my nerves.

I'm just as irresponsable and reckless in the canyons as i am riding down the road on one wheel. :

tach409

to me draggin is about knowing the road
stuntin is about knowing the bike

so i think draggin is more dangerous...just cuz you have "less control"
i'td be like tryin to do a 340ft endo with only 345ft of pavement left
personally i can't knee drag worth a crap,maybe cuz my susp is set to stunt i donno

Erik

You nailed this one right on the head for me. The roads are so variable, the bike never changes. I love twisties, and since I know every road around my area like the back of my hand, I can stay with/beat most riders on my dad's 1100 shadow spirit, when they're on their sportbikes(making me miss mine even more). Stunts though I definately got very comfortable with my bike, which in turn makes the twisties even better since I know it's balances and quirks better. Either way, people wreck, and when you involve traffic in either case you're asking for trouble. Always Gear Up

yambike

You can get really hurt or dead doing either stunts or cornering if you're not smart about it and get in over your head. I really don't see a difference between riding a wheelie through an intersection or dragging your knee around a blind corner. In both cases you're leaving a lot to chance and if a car crosses that intersection or a car is in your lane when you're dragging your knee you're going to get f8cked up.
This is what I mean by being smart. If you do your wheelies in a spot where there are no cross roads, driveways or blind hills you will drastically reduce your chances of colliding with a car. If you leave about 25% of your traction and ability in reserve when going around a blind corner you will have a chance of avoiding a car, oil/coolant slick, animal or debris that may be in your lane. You can get closer to the edge of traction on a corner that you can see all the way around. It's all about trying to account for the unknown and adjusting your riding for the situation. If that sounds like a drag then maybe it is but so is being paralyzed and not being able to ride or f8ck or take a **** without someone's assistance ever again.
I hear a lot of kids saying "if you're not crashing you're not trying hard enough." I guess that may work for some people but I've been able to avoid crashing by taking my time when I try new things and watching other people's mistakes and skills and learning from them. I can understand falling off if you're tring to learn circle wheelies or some other slow stuff but there's only so many chances you get at high speed wrecks before your number's up and it could very well be the first time.
Sorry for being heavy. Have fun but be smart about it.

Joker

Wait, what is this. I come to a website filled with the most irresponsible bunch of ruffians that call themselves riders out there and I actually get intelligent, well thought out, even sided responses. Just messing with you guys, what most motorcycle "purists" aka motorcycle ***** don't know could fill Texas.

wangsta6

i like to do both and i feel that you actually need to be pretty confortable on your bike to drag knee but both are dangrous and chit happens

tach409

exactly, there is so many people out there that just see stunters as kids being stupid on a bike. this is the image we are given because of the squids out there that have only been riding for a week and try something way beyond their skill level...those are the "stunters" that make the news in most cases...and the public only sees the negative...hopefully the re-release of "urban streetbike warriors" will help the image out a bit by bringing the pro's to the public, there are some good messages on that vid...mostly the fact that there is a difference between riders and stunters...this is actually one of the most intelligent message boards i have ever been a member of and i would like to thank everyone for keeping the drama level to a minimum...now all we gotta do is get out there and represent for stuntlife and show the public that not all of us are just kids playing around