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5 Freeway Wheelie


Bonkorama

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Today while doing 80 mph (as this is the normal flow of traffic here in L.A. if not primetime) on the 5 freeway, I was passed by a young rider wearing a full face helmet, teeshirt, jeans and sneakers doing a wheelie. I estimate he was going 90 mph give or take a few. He rode it for 1/4 mile maybe.

 

It was in rather loose but very heavy 80+ traffic.

 

eek.gif

 

This is maybe the 5th wheelie on the freeway i've seen this month.

 

What am I missing?

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Quote:

This is maybe the 5th wheelie on the freeway i've seen this month.

 

What am I missing?

 

 

It's what they are missing under that full face helmet that probably won't do them any good at that speed if something happens anyway....

Idiots....... dopeslap.gif

 

Phil.........Redbrick

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I actually got butterflys in my stomach when that guy went by me. I saw an entire horrible crash play out in just a moment in head. I know you guys know what I mean.

I was hoping that if he crashed, he'd do it far enough away from me so that I could avoid being tangled up in the mess.

 

Unreal.

 

Surely something bad happens to these types of riders eventually.

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Surely something bad happens to these types of riders eventually.

When they crash hard, if they do it when they're young before they have any kids, they might do enough damage to themself to pull their genes out of the gene pool. Being a trained first responder, I also hope they don't crash where I will see them, because my attitude would really suck when I made an obligatory stop to first aid them.

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I actually got butterflys in my stomach when that guy went by me. I saw an entire horrible crash play out in just a moment in head. I know you guys know what I mean.

I was hoping that if he crashed, he'd do it far enough away from me so that I could avoid being tangled up in the mess.

 

Unreal.

 

Surely something bad happens to these types of riders eventually.

 

 

 

Thats the thrill of being young and foolish .I have been there have ridden on 1 wheel over 2 miles .Now I have experienced a crash 17yrs ago and my mortality was questioned now have a family more responsibilities I wouldn't even think about taking chances like that . I am guilty of playing with the RT in a empty parking lot since I have gotten it and they will stand up nicely but I soon came back to my senses fortunately without mishap . Most of us have been there, all you can do is wish him luck and hope he makes it long enough to also mature and realizes at the very least a busy highway is not the place to be showing off . You know the saying .If I had known I'd live this long, I would have taken better care of myself . Dave

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Stormrider
Quote:

This is maybe the 5th wheelie on the freeway i've seen this month.

 

What am I missing?

 

 

It's what they are missing under that full face helmet that probably won't do them any good at that speed if something happens anyway....

Idiots....... dopeslap.gif

 

Phil.........Redbrick

 

I think they are missing common sense under those helmets or lack of brains!

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Heck yesterday I was on Angeles Crest Highway and some drunk rider went down by Newcomb's Ranch. He got a ride to the Ranch from a friend on the back of a BMW 1200 GS AND BEGAN DRINKING MORE. The Highway Patrol came back and no one would fess up to owning the 650 GSXR that was totaled just 3 miles down the road. Hopefully next time this knucklehead is riding drunk he will take himself out and not any poor driver or rider that is in his area. The amazing thing about it, was that his friends just covered up for this idiot. dopeslap.gif

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You know I'm not one to get up on my soap box but here ya go. Those squids just irk that crap outta me becuase after he has passed by and pissed off a bunch of drivers, along comes one of us and these drivers will put us in the same league (or sub league) and they will try and take us out because of it. I've had it happen. STUPID Squids. Okay........now I have a smile back on my face.

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Lineareagle
What am I missing?

 

You are missing the accident scene, fortunately for you.

 

Last Friday my wife had a DOA, 28 year old who was reported as doing a wheelie, in traffic when a young lady pulled across the lane and he T-boned her.

 

It is hard enough to see a bike let alone one going faster than expected and with the head light pointing up at the sky.

 

I have seen the same thing on our highways around the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), It obviously takes some skill to pull it off successfully, too bad it can't be directed somewhere or they don't have a track to do it on.

 

BTW, in Ontario now that would be considered street racing and results in an automatic impounding of the vehicle and confiscation of the license, and a 'Go See the Judge free card' to explain why you should get either back.

 

Right now, if the vehicle has been modified for racing it is generally destroyed!

 

This should raise the hackles of a few of you, freedom above all types, but if you really want to stop SR something has to be done. I guess.

I do wish there was another outlet for these guys other than using the public roads.

 

lurker.gif

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BigGalloot

Things might be different in your area, but here in Orlando there are no opportunities to make any real use of the capabilities of a sportbike.

 

The roads here are mostly dead straight and the highest speed limits are attainable in first gear. There just isn't any way of "enjoying" the abilities of these bikes on the street without violating the law, good sense and/or your personal safety.

 

The truth be known, those of us with "sensible" bikes, still get stupid on occasion also. We're just more likely to do it away from traffic.

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My thinking is this: If you want to commit suicide by doing stunts on a sport bike while wearing insufficient protective gear that's fine. But why do these idiots feel it necessary to A) make others watch their suicide attempts and B) perform said attempts in a manner where they are likely to hurt others in the process.

 

You wanna kill yourself, fine. Go do it on a track or on some deserted parking lot or backroad. But don't make us watch and don't endanger others while your doing it.

 

I also agree that this squids give all motorcyclists a black eye in the view of cagers.

 

EDIT: In the interest of full disclosure I must admit that I too was once young and stupid. While I didn't do wheelies (I rode a 72 CB450, like that's gonna do a wheelie) I did speed both on the bike and in my car. Somehow I survived to become older and at least slightly less stupid.

 

 

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ShovelStrokeEd

You know, I get a little bored now and then with just putzing around on my bike and will give the throttle a little crack. That will, in first gear, result in a wheel stand of anywhere from 6" to 3 feet, depending on how aggressive the crack. It hurts nothing and provides no danger, I can easily modulate the throttle or apply a little back brake to control height and/or bring the front wheel back down. My bike is long and heavy but it has a bunch of power and when I hit second at full throttle the front wheel comes up a foot or so again. So, its up from 40 to 70 or so and then comes up again from 80 to 90. It sets down again just as smooth as you please.

 

Given the ease that a modern sport bike with equal or better power and a much shorter wheelbase can elevate the front wheel in any of the bottom 3 gears, I don't see it as much of an issue. Crack the throttle at any speed up to 120 or so and up she comes. After that, its just a matter of balance and holding the bars straight on landing. Even getting the bike up onto the balance point and riding it out is not all that tough with a little practice and is far easier to do in the higher gears.

 

As to the wisdom of doing this stuff on the freeway, well, it depends on the traffic and depends on the rider. I'm much more concerned about the idiots riding along 2 car lengths apart at 75+ than I am about some young guy expressing a little exuberance.

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I'm much more concerned about the idiots riding along 2 car lengths apart at 75+ than I am about some young guy expressing a little exuberance.

 

Well if you had seen the traffic we were in while this was going on... He had friends in a lowered Civic about 20 feet behind him waving thier arms out of the window, while he kept craning his head back to look at thier extreme admiration. The traffic all around this bizarre event was going over 80, and this dumba*s was endangering us all.

 

I don't think what I saw was exuberance.

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I think it's obvious the kid has never eaten asphalt. It's a shame that he probably will some day soon. And when he does he's going to leave a lot of himself on the road surface. Just hope that when it happens he doesn't have a passenger. You just have to keep your distance from these fools.

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bmurphypdx

If he wants to do this crap, he should do it on a track. Have you seen the any videos of an idiot like this creaming the person in front of him???? Regardless of his "rights", doing this on a public road is illegal and idiotic. He has NO right to impose his idiocy on others. PERIOD.

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russell_bynum
If he wants to do this crap, he should do it on a track.

 

FYI, Every trackday org that I've been to has been very much against any kind of stunting. Little power wheelies out of corners are fine, but wheelies for the sake of wheelies are not tolerated.

 

There's certainly places were you can stunt if you want to, but track days are generally not good for that.

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ShovelStrokeEd

So you felt endangered. Did you take any action to get yourself out of the danger zone? Slow down? Move over a couple of lanes? What?

 

I really don't think the speed was of any significance at all. So everything was moving at 80, so what. Nothing really dangerous about 80 mph, I cruise there routinely. Constant speed with cars more or less at the same. Had he been doing that in traffic that was doing the concertina bit, 80-40-80 again, that would be foolish, indeed. The only time a wheelie gets really dangerous is when you are forced to make a sudden change of direction or speed.

 

The macabre tone of most of these posts with the dire predictions kinda rubs me the wrong way. Did all of you forget that motorcycles are FUN?

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I am impressed you can determine all of that from Florida....I am sure wheelies are thrilling for the rider but in traffic at speed they are simply a recipe for disaster. We see the MC community up in arms whenever a careless car driver kills one of our own, yet here we see an example of calculated, blatant and reckless disregard for every other driver on the road and apparently that is completely acceptable. Did you forget getting killed by someone being an idiot isn’t fun?

 

Find a vacant lot for gods sake.....

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ShovelStrokeEd

Calculated, blatant and reckless, Oh My. I doubt he calculated anything except the angle of the front wheel and the traffic pattern to be sure he had room. Who got killed, or even injured for that matter? BTW, wheelies happen here in Florida too. Actually, I'm in Tennessee right now where it is illegal or soon to be. Again, if you feel you are in danger, you have the option to take action to minimize the danger. That is if you can stop the hand wringing long enough to steer or operate the brake.

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Matts_12GS
That is if you can stop the hand wringing long enough to steer or operate the brake.

 

Ed, you sir are a kindred spirit! I feel the same way. thumbsup.gif

Besides, lofting the wheel is fun now and again, that's why I ride the big "sort of" dirt bike! clap.gif

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You are not missing anything.

 

There are those here on this board who do them all the time and some who think it should never be done on a public road.

 

When I first came on the board this discussion was going on and I commented that a wheelie was defined as "reckless driving" under Illinois law.

 

Well, some members pointed out that was just plain dumb.

 

It's like gun control, removing smog controls off of a bike or riding while armed, no minds will be changed by a discussion here.

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DaveTheAffable
Calculated, blatant and reckless, Oh My. I doubt he calculated anything except the angle of the front wheel and the traffic pattern to be sure he had room. Who got killed, or even injured for that matter? BTW, wheelies happen here in Florida too. Actually, I'm in Tennessee right now where it is illegal or soon to be. So you felt endangered. Did you take any action to get yourself out of the danger zone? Slow down? Move over a couple of lanes? What? Again, if you feel you are in danger, you have the option to take action to minimize the danger if you can stop hand wringing long enough to steer or operate the brake. ( Quote was edited from two into one by DaveTheAffable )

 

Well.. that's just sweet ED. My wife, my mother, and my daughter all drive the 5 fwy. Should I tell them THEY should get off the freeway if they see a guy riding like that? Guy's like this put them at risk. You KNOW it. If you approve and support this, you put the value of motorcycling "fun" ahead of public safety. We won't ever convince you otherwise.

 

Using your logic, guys who are gun enthusiasts should be able to shoot their guns anywhere they want, as long as it's "Safe" in their opinion. If anyone else is around and is "wringing their hands over it", THEY should move to a place of safety until the shooter is finished. bncry.gif

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Hey, what happened to the Affable thing? tongue.gif

 

My guess is that Ed agrees with you in the assessment of this particular event, but is objecting more to:

 

a) All the pots calling the kettles black around here. Like you, probably, who are likely to have gone around a steep mountain curve at 55 when the yellow suggested speed is 35, forgetting that if you slipped on a right hander you could do as much damage to an oncoming car as this fellow.

 

b) How humans hate the flaunting of freedom and are very selective in their application of ethics.

 

c) The degree to which people are upset.

 

d) The utter two-facedness of wishing death on this guy just because we don't know him, while we tolerate and even smile at our own who do risky things because we do know them.

 

Relax. Getting all high and mighty on the internet is easy to do but doesn't accomplish much. We're all hypocrites who ought to listen to others...and ourselves.

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DaveTheAffable
Hey, what happened to the Affable thing? tongue.gif

 

My guess is that Ed agrees with you in the assessment of this particular event, but is objecting more to:

..<SNIP>

 

The affable part is still here! wave.gif

 

I trust that Ed is not giving blanket approval to any kind of reckless driving, anymore than I am making a blanket statement about all riders, in all situations.

 

I do have a tough time with his suggestion that people offended by the reckless driving should move out of the danger zone as though that makes the behavior more acceptable. For safety, yeah... move away. But as a mitigator to the question... "If people move away, does that make the risky behavior acceptable?" Absolutely not.

 

Still Affable...

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Calculated, blatant and reckless, Oh My. I doubt he calculated anything except the angle of the front wheel and the traffic pattern to be sure he had room. Who got killed, or even injured for that matter? BTW, wheelies happen here in Florida too. Actually, I'm in Tennessee right now where it is illegal or soon to be. Again, if you feel you are in danger, you have the option to take action to minimize the danger. That is if you can stop the hand wringing long enough to steer or operate the brake.

 

Your point is what? Let me guess, it is cool to do anything and everything on a public road in traffic (after all the other drivers just need to move out of the way to avoid any danger) right up until the moment someone gets killed, then it is an unavoidable tragedy......we should all be so wise. eek.gif

 

Your people actually have a recruiting video available.....

 

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I think the old saying is true: "There are old bikers and bold bikers, but you don't see too many old-bold bikers"

 

The young kids ride wheelies on Rt. 50 between Annapolis, MD and Washington, DC...about a 30 to 40 mile stretch of highway. They do it on Sundays in the middle of rush hour when traffic is heaviest as people come back from the MD and DE beaches.

 

It freaks drivers out and frankly freaks me out to. It has caused many motorcycle fatalities and injuries not to mention car accidents.

 

I agree, motorcycles are fun but putting others at risk on crowded highways is not responsible and not exactly considered "defensive driving." smile.gif

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ShovelStrokeEd

OK, let me clarify a little. I don't condone reckless behavior on anyone's part. I just don't see a wheel stand as all that reckless.

 

Furthermore, if you see what you perceive as someone doing something that presents a danger to you and don't take action to remove yourself from the situation are you not at least somewhat culpable, if not plain foolish?

 

David, while he might not agree with everything I posit, has hit the nail on the head with his analysis.

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I agree that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with doing wheelies.

 

I also agree with Dave that from time to time I have done things not exactly within the letter of the law.

 

However, we all know that the area we can control on a crowded highway is very limited. A couple of inches of rubber between me and the road is something I try to respect and riders who pull wheelies on crowded highways are not respecting fate.

 

I can't imagine that anyone would disagree with that.

 

Ride safe my friends. thumbsup.gif

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DaveTheAffable
OK, let me clarify a little. I don't condone reckless behavior on anyone's part. I just don't see a wheel stand as all that reckless.

 

Furthermore, if you see what you perceive as someone doing something that presents a danger to you and don't take action to remove yourself from the situation are you not at least somewhat culpable, if not plain foolish?

 

David, while he might not agree with everything I posit, has hit the nail on the head with his analysis.

 

Ed, I appreciate your clarification. I didn't want the 'admins' taking my "Affable" title from me. grin.gif

We both agree... When danger is present, get out of the way. If I see a drunk on the road, I move away.

We both agree again... A "wheel stand" is not a terrible thing in and of itself.

 

The very first post in this thread said,

"I estimate he was going 90 mph give or take a few. He rode it for 1/4 mile maybe. It was in rather loose but very heavy 80+ traffic."

This is reckless... I think most of us agree.

 

Warm regards,

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DaveTheAffable
Hey, what happened to the Affable thing? tongue.gif

 

My guess is that Ed agrees with you in the assessment of this particular event, but is objecting more to:

<snip>

 

d) The utter two-facedness of wishing death on this guy just because we don't know him, while we tolerate and even smile at our own who do risky things because we do know them.

 

Relax. Getting all high and mighty on the internet is easy to do but doesn't accomplish much. We're all hypocrites who ought to listen to others...and ourselves.

 

David, Thanks for your words as well. I concur. A little more grace in general would go a long ways, but I hope you noticed in my post(s) there was no reference to "squid, jerk, idiot, death wishes, mayhem," etc.

 

I really have been working on the affable thing. thumbsup.gif

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ShovelStrokeEd
OK, let me clarify a little. I don't condone reckless behavior on anyone's part. I just don't see a wheel stand as all that reckless.

 

Furthermore, if you see what you perceive as someone doing something that presents a danger to you and don't take action to remove yourself from the situation are you not at least somewhat culpable, if not plain foolish?

 

David, while he might not agree with everything I posit, has hit the nail on the head with his analysis.

 

Ed, I appreciate your clarification. I didn't want the 'admins' taking my "Affable" title from me. grin.gif

We both agree... When danger is present, get out of the way. If I see a drunk on the road, I move away.

We both agree again... A "wheel stand" is not a terrible thing in and of itself.

 

The very first post in this thread said,

"I estimate he was going 90 mph give or take a few. He rode it for 1/4 mile maybe. It was in rather loose but very heavy 80+ traffic."

This is reckless... I think most of us agree.

 

Warm regards,

 

To preface this final comment on this topic, my old sobriquet on here was Village Grouch, and I still live up to it now and then. grin.gif

 

Now, on to my point as your snip in red so perfectly illustrates. OP estimates 90 or so in 80+ traffic, a speed I would likely be moving myself. Call it a 7 mph differential. Then we have the contradictory end to the sentence, "rather loose but very heavy traffic." Was it loose or heavy? Loose, to me, would imply there was room and with the small speed differential, probably not much in the way of danger. Heavy, on the other hand, would imply a likely danger in that cars are much more prone to lane changes or accordion movements and then the term stupid would apply.

 

Seriously, the biggest danger from a wheelstand comes when it is over and you put the front wheel down. A little misalignment of that wheel will result in a pretty healthy twitch which, with the geometry on a modern sport bike, could lead to a loss of control. There is also, in a power wheelie, a danger of the rear tire losing traction which can easily cause loss of control but, once up on the balance area, it doesn't take very much more power to maintain than it does to go along on both wheels and, considering the original estimate was 1/4 mile or so long one, the guy was likely at or near the balance.

 

I have, behind me now, a long career of drag racing motorcycles and have ridden some bikes with ridiculous power to weight ratios. The front wheel off the ground is nothing new to me, even the front wheel off the ground a couple of feet at 140+ mph. It is even possible to steer with the wheel up there. Not to say that a 600# combined weight unicycle is the ideal tool to manage freeway traffic. It most certainly isn't. dopeslap.gif

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While I wouldn't want to see anyone get hurt ,have seen enough of that . I do think doing this while passing and surprising other motorists would probably be a hazard and considered reckless .

But if it was light traffic and he knew his limits it his choice to accept the responsibilities and not endanger anyone else besides himself, have at it.Its his choice . Most of us speed at least a little its not much different than doing a wheelie , you're still illegal and you are still causing more risk to people sharing the road with you .

On the way to work this morning I waived to a other biker and instead of waiving he lifted his front wheel ,all I could do is grin and think this is why we ride is to have fun . Some peoples fun is just different .Wouldn't it suck if we all just agreed . Just my opinion .

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bmurphypdx

Wouldn't suck if we didn't slam our bikes into other motorists. What? He didn't on that day? Well, boofies for him, the ass, it's not OK to subject others to your insanity even if you and they survived. He's still a f***in' idiot if he makes the decision to impose his beliefs and antics on others. NOT in traffic. He should go find some nice place (a highway is fine), preferably on a cliffside so if he f***s up it's off into the wild blue yonder for him. This is ridiculous. It is not about his rights, it's about imposing his decision on others.

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Not to say that a 600# combined weight unicycle is the ideal tool to manage freeway traffic. It most certainly isn't. dopeslap.gif

 

lmao.gif

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He's still a f***in' idiot

 

Well, so what? People impose millions of decisions on others every day. Being surprised by bad judgement just means you aren't paying attention. If you can't deal with it in a more productive way than shock and outrage, you might want to get off the road because there's more on the way.

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Agent_Orange

"It is not about his rights, it's about imposing his decision on others."

 

Oh. confused.gif He imposed his 'decision' wheelie on others. blush.gif Just like when a cager imposes his 'decision' to pull-out-in-front-of-me. lurker.giflurker.gif

Hmmmm.

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Ill answer the question about "heavy but loose" traffic. Im pretty sure most of the members here haven't ridden a motorcycle thru the Los Angeles Freeway system with any regularity in a while (if ever). I do about 4 times a day on my bike(s).

Im not sure of you've ever heard this before, but our freeway traffic is sort of "LEGENDARY".

 

Your experiance of heavy traffic is problably not what mine is, and someone popping wheelies in MY traffic might be a little more cause of concern then someone popping wheelies in YOUR traffic:

For example:

The population of Miami-dade florida is 2 million, our main metropolitan area is 12-18 million depending on where you want to draw the line at, as our cities dont really have noticible boundaries out here until you've driven HOURS AND HOURS away from Los Angeles. Did I say hours and hours?

 

Imagine your graduating class is standing in the parking lot. That is your freeway traffic. Now imagine your graduating class with the rest of the school, and maybe entire the population of 6-10 more surrounding schools standing in your parking lot. That is my traffic.

 

So when I say the traffic is heavy and loose, I understand one might not get what that means. Not your fault. Lets just say its preferable to "heavy and tight". Thats not fun at 90+, no room for ANYONE to make mistakes. Not even our young wheelie popper who started this thread. Freeway carnage in LA can be rather gruesome due to its scale (it all gruesome, forgive). I saw 6 mangled cars 2 weeks ago, 2 of which were upside down, and blanket covered deceased everywhere. Both sides of the freeway were blocked. Thats a total of 12 lanes in Pasadena.

 

 

 

side note: I've met people here who have never driven on the LA Freeway. Ive had friends who have had thier windows shot out by drive by'ers, ive had a brick thrown thrown from a pickup truck thru my car windshield, and people now fling themslves from overpasses onto our freeways as a form of L.A. suicide.

 

Theres enough hazards without standing on your pegs with your head craned around looking at your buddies tailing you unsafely, all the while riding on one wheel in the midst of traffic on the 5.

 

Social responsibility seems to be not politcaly correct anymore.

 

Ill just keep my distance as best as I can from people who wantonly put myself and others in jeopardy. What else can we do.

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BigGalloot

For example:

The population of Miami-dade florida is 2 million, our main metropolitan area is 12-18 million

 

It is important to note that although LA has far more drivers, Miami is still #1 in road rage (http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/15/miami-remains-no-1-city-for-road-rage/)

 

LA drivers are just plain sissified.

 

Personally, I figure that bikers who wheelie in traffic are going to share the same part of hell reserved for people who drive while blabbing on their cell phones. They share the same basic attitude about the rest of us on the road.

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[

side note: I've met people here who have never driven on the LA Freeway. Ive had friends who have had thier windows shot out by drive by'ers, ive had a brick thrown thrown from a pickup truck thru my car windshield, and people now fling themslves from overpasses onto our freeways as a form of L.A. suicide.

 

Theres enough hazards without standing on your pegs with your head craned around looking at your buddies tailing you unsafely, all the while riding on one wheel in the midst of traffic on the 5.

 

 

 

Mayme he feels he is a harder target by going faster and being on one wheel. lmao.gif Just couldn't resist

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Wouldn't suck if we didn't slam our bikes into other motorists. What? He didn't on that day? Well, boofies for him, the ass, it's not OK to subject others to your insanity even if you and they survived. He's still a f***in' idiot if he makes the decision to impose his beliefs and antics on others. NOT in traffic. He should go find some nice place (a highway is fine), preferably on a cliffside so if he f***s up it's off into the wild blue yonder for him. This is ridiculous. It is not about his rights, it's about imposing his decision on others.

 

 

I think Road Rage is higher in the dangerous catagory . Know anyone that suffers from that ?

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