Originally Posted by Mookz

I try and try stoppies, come in at ~30 MPH, but my front tire locks up before the back end lifts... Scares the **** out of me when it does. Any advice on how to get them to lift?

By the way, my bike is a 1993 zx6.

Originally Posted by MasterShake

sorry dude, the bike isn't going to come up... i know, i've tride it 100 different ways except a race tire. kawis are bad endo bikes

Originally Posted by Mookz

**** goin' that fast if my front wheel locks up I'm a goner I barely get the 30mph ones saved...

I am scurred.

Originally Posted by Mookz

I try and try stoppies, come in at ~30 MPH, but my front tire locks up before the back end lifts... Scares the **** out of me when it does. Any advice on how to get them to lift?

By the way, my bike is a 1993 zx6.

Originally Posted by Mookz

I try and try stoppies, come in at ~30 MPH, but my front tire locks up before the back end lifts... Scares the **** out of me when it does. Any advice on how to get them to lift?

By the way, my bike is a 1993 zx6.

Originally Posted by KungFu954

Don't ever do this,,,having said that this is how you do it.

This is a list of things you ALWAYS need to be aware of.

1) Road surface, ASPHALT. The best surface is grey asphalt. If the surface is real dark that means it's new and that stuff is ok but not the best. If it's black and shiney don't even think about it, that is a surface that is really cheap, mostly found in parking lots, it has a higher tar percentage and is slippery, especially when it's hot. Concrete is terrible, I don't know how many times I've locked my front tire up on concrete, just say no. What you want (especially when learning) is a nice non-glossy medium grey color asphalt with no tar patches, and no oil marks.

Or you could get a michelin pilot and scratch out everythin he just said, it'll hook up in any condition even when its wore out, although you will roll farther with a newer tire as the tread pattern is what is hitting the ashpalt (ryan cramer)





2) Road CAMBER. pay close attention to the camber of the road, when learning it's best to find a nuetral camber road or otherwise called A FLAT ROAD. Why? well, a off camber road will result in the back end trying to swing around, when your learning, it's just not cool. Find a FLAT SURFACE.


The only thing that causes the back end swing is lack of heigth, most roads arent perfectly flat, you can roll straight on any road, just lower the tire pressure in the front, to accomodate, your tire will wear to the crown of the road, heigth is the key element here


3) weather and tires. I put these two things together because they go together so well. When learning go for HOT days (perfect time of year to learn). The hotter the day the better your tires will respond. Simple, you need to have warm tires to do this, (yes there are exeptions but not when learning) So if your out on a 90 degree day you can count on the road surrface to be hot and that not only helps warm the tires but it let's them keep the heat better. NEVER DO STOPPIES ON COLD TIRES. Tire pressure, you want to run a little lower but you don't have to go nuts. I know dudes who run the pressure way down, personally I don't think you need to. I run my front tire at about 28 psi. What really matters is the type of tire. The best front tire I've ever used for stoppies is the stock bridgestone BTO12ss. I have a brand new metzler M-4 on the back,,,and I have to say I am sold so my next front will be a match to my rear. I have a BTO10 on the front now and its, ok. And of course always scrub it in first.

with a pilot front, weather isnt really a factor, it will hook up in cold weather after a few warm ups, and in warm weather will hook up every time

4) Body position. For learning, don't try to throw you wieght forward, that comes later. For learning put that package right up on the tank. Stiffen the arms, some people lock them I tend to have a little bend in the arms but I make sure they are nice and stiff. Once you start the stoppie don't move your body<---big trick to learning fast.

your riding preference is all up to what makes you feel comfortable, some guyz sit right in the seat, i hang way off the bike, it gives me more of a feel on the front end, the arms must be semi straight, but one of the main things to do is ALLWAYS look forward and UP, keep your eyes on something other than the ground, the only person i seen lookin at the ground is Chris from street fighters, it workds for him, but everybody else looks forward
(ryan cramer)


5)Fear factor. There are a couple things about doing a stoppie that you must fight. THE NUMBER ONE THING,,,DO NOT BAIL. I have seen this so many times it's silly. Someone starts a good stoppie and then when it slows down to a near stop they put thier feet down. Or try to put thier feet down when the rear is landing. Don't do this unless it is absolutly the last resort. when the back tire is in the air and you put your feet down it's gonna cause a chain reaction. 1st you upset the balance, second when your feet don't touch the ground (and they won't) you will probably panic, upsetting the bike more. then you fall off. Your goal should be to do this stunt without ever putting your feet down.

this in my opinon is irrelevant, this kinda stuff never even mattered to me (ryan cramer)


6) Break control. I personally use my index and middle finger on the break I've seen people do it with different styles but the only style I strongly dissagree with is all four fingers on the break,,,it's simply too much and you'll have more of a tenancy to "mash" the break. I like the two finger approach becuase I get the best feel with it. Break control may take some time to really get down but I'll cover that.


This is agin is up to preference, some guys use there first 3 fingers, i use my 2 middle (ryan cramer)

7)Driveline, I typically shift into first gear and leave the clutch in. Gear is up to you but ALWAYS PULL IN THE CLUTCH. i like first cause if something happens I can get instant power to the bike if I need to.

blah blah blah(ryan cramer)

8) CHECK THOSE MIRRORS. I just met a guy who totalled his bike because he didn't look behind to see if anyone was coming. This should be a no brainer but I'll say it anyways check those mirrors.


if your practicing stoppies at the spot, designate the area, guyz will stay away from it, mirrors?, what are those, if your doing a stoppie, and some guy is doing something behind you comin up to you, immidiately get off your bike and punch him in the mouth(ryan cramer)

9) a steering damper is a good idea


a good idea???, ITS THE ONLY IDEA, if your goal is long stoppies, you MUST have a steering damper,


OK I know it seems like a lot but everything I mentioned will become second nature very quickly.

Whew. now that I covered that stuff let's get started. The first thing you want to do is practice hard breaking. this is a very progressive process. First, review all of the above like a check list. Now get going at about 40mph and slowly apply the front break. This is like an experiment. Pay close attenton to yourself and the bike. Notice that as soon as you started to break the front forks collapse<----important. Make sure your body position is steady and rigid.
Now repeat. get used to breaking quickly without lifting the back. If you happen to lift the back by accident don't freak. Just let a little pressure off the break. this is a really good exercise anyway, because you can never have too much break control.
OK so now you've practiced a lot and it's go time.
So, start out at 40 mph. Some people say slower but here is a little fact the slower you are going the faster you must raise the rear tire before coming to a stop<---not a good idea for learning. However, on the other hand the faster you go the more it will hurt you and your pocket book if you crash. I think 40mph to 50 mph is good. Now, get up to speed, pull in the clutch, and add just a little bit of initial pressure. This will help colapse the front forks. Colapseing the forks is really really key to doing this right. When the front forks colapse that means all of the breaking force is going right to the tire not being eaten up by the suspension. You can tell when people don't do this cause the either eat it or they lock the front tire and come close to eating it.
So, a lil pressure to colapse the forks now add more pressure steadily. You want this to be a squeeze motion, like shooting a gun, steady, and even. As you increase the pressure the rear of the bike will get light. You may not lift the back end the first few times you try and you may even get frustrated but just stay with it, it comes fast. Now, once you do start lifting the rear don't try to go high just let it happen. much like a wheelie and the throttle chopping disease (which I have) the trick is to adjust the break pressure as you go.
there are some serious mile stones with stoppies, 1st getting the rear off the ground, some people need more time to get comfortable with this. I have even been accused of lying. once guy was so frustrated he told me I was full of it and that there was no way to bring the back tire up from 40mph. but trust me it is, I have done it from 10mph before so i know 40 is enough. 50 is good too.
next mile stone, why don't my stoppies roll. they just come to a dead stop. Well, simple, as you learn the back will start coming up quicker as you get more comforable to the sensation. when it comes up slowly the back tire isn't getting high enough quick enough. It means that you need more practice.

Here is the really really funny part about stoppies. for a long time they will feel like they are 4 feet off the deck when really they are only a few inches or so. Then suddenly they will feel like a few inches but they will be much higher. So, you must must must have some one take pictures of you once that tire start leaving the ground. I'm not joking. For the longest time I thought my stoppies sucked until about 2 years ago and I had my wife take pictures of me. I WAS SHOCKED TO SEE THAT I WAS EXTREEMLY CLOSE TO THE BALANCE POINT. So tape or take pictures of your progress. you'll be amazed. Don't take a buddies word for it, pictures cause only you can tell where you want to be.
and I swear that happened over night. Don't get so focused on this that you forget to have fun. It is about fun you know.

Troubleshooting.
rear won't raise- add a little front brake and then squeeze in a steady motion. Build up your speed on how fast you apply the brake but keep it steady don't ever mash it or worse apply it hard to fast.


i ease into the brake than mash it to get it straight up real quick, some people hit the brake than hit it again right before there stoppie, its all up to what makes you feel comfortable (ryan cramer)


Locking front-tire pressure too high, tires are cold(remember some tires cool down fast and take a long time to warm (michlin Pilots are famous for that). Jamming or mashing the brake, bad road surface. Check body position too put the nutz against the tank arms stiff, body still.

Pilots dont take a lont time to warm up bro, been using them for 2 years now, best stoppie tire on the market (ryan cramer)

rear tire coming around- off camber road surface, giving the bike steering imput, moving your body around,

Please let me know about any questions you have. I hope this is really helpful.

This is dangerous! So don't push it, easy does it and you'll get it down.

Originally Posted by MasterShake

oh and don't try dropping air pressure in the front, makes the bitch 1000x harder to turn like super heavy steering if u drop 10psi