stoppies

[importsdigest]

ive been practicing stoppies recently. i had a couple of questions. is there any other way of warming up my front tire without locking up my brakes and skidding? my front tire is small so it has a hard time getting grip to begin with, but once i've tried about 10-15 stoppies (with lots of skidding) my front tire gets sticky and they become much easier. any tips would help, thanx.

[The BMW Guy / R1]

Try :ride: a little first or :ride: like you are weaving through cones that should help heat up the tires. If that dosn't work get tire warmers. Hope this helped.
:popcorn: :crash:

[importsdigest]

tire warmers? never heard of them. ill look into that, thanx for the tip:)

[Xusia]

You might also try a bit more progressive brake application. That is, squeeze more lightly at first and as the weight transfers progressively apply more brake.

[Jane Honda]

Kewl tips here, I am going to be wanting to do some stoppies when I get a bit more skilled. Keep the tips commin! :thumbup:

[importsdigest]

these are perfect, i also am looking into some better tires. the salesman told me that they will not last as long, but they grab alot better!

[stuntmoto]

When you first are learning 'em don't try to bring it up too quickly, just squeeze the brake, don't grab. Also don't let it get too high. It's possible to (almost) balance point a stoppie but the guys that can do it have a good steering stabilizer. The higher it goes the more you have to 'steer' it. If you don't have even pressure on the bars it will want to kick out to one side. Last thing, if you goof up and it gets out of shape, don't let go of the bars! Let off the brake, it will come down and straighten out... unless you're definitely looping it and then you'd better try to bail out fast. Oh yeah, and once you get more comfortable, keep your head up, look forward not down at the tire - for some reason it's easier to carry it further that way, plus it's so much more styley that way. :thumbup:

[stuntmoto]

About the tires, I don't think you'd need a new one unless yours is bald. The front tire needs to be warm and the road surface needs to be dry with no paint or debris. You need to squeeze the brake and transfer your weight forward so that the forks compress. Get your ass off the seat a tiny bit at first, grip the tank with your legs and push down on the bars as you apply the front brake. If you just sit in the seat and grab the front brake the front tire will want to slide out, even if the tires are warm.

[speedracer42]

Listen to stuntmoto, he knows what he is talking about. I will add one thing. Weaving, especially at slow speeds does exactly nothing to heat your tires. Stopping hard is the only way you will get appreciable heat in your tires. So just do it as stunt explains, progressively. And do it many times if you want, to be sure of the heat. Also you will want to stiffen the compression on your forks alot. That GS is likely quite soft for what you are doing.

[v8zman]

looks like stunto described it pretty well

i havent quite figure out the art of stoppieing a bicycle yet,ill get it

[Jane Honda]

There is some down right awesome info here! :thumbup:

[MEP1000]

Hooligans the lot of you :hysterical: :hysterical:

[importsdigest]

Listen to stuntmoto, he knows what he is talking about. I will add one thing. Weaving, especially at slow speeds does exactly nothing to heat your tires. Stopping hard is the only way you will get appreciable heat in your tires. So just do it as stunt explains, progressively. And do it many times if you want, to be sure of the heat. Also you will want to stiffen the compression on your forks alot. That GS is likely quite soft for what you are doing.
thanx, ill look into how to tighten up the suspension. your probably right about them being soft. i need to upgrade badly. however maybe learning things on this bike may make it come easily on a bike with a better design.

[Xusia]

I've found the opposite is true - it's easier to learn and improve on equipment better suited to the task - whatever that might be.

[GON2JL]

Stuntmoto has got it pretty well down... get the tire warm and use the legs....

[Kelbor]

I'm a rookie and have no experience but have read that riding a bit with the front brake on will warm up the front tire pretty darn fast. This makes sense considereing the physics that I do know. What do you pros think about this technique? I also read that very little changes to the location (ambient temps, moisture, debris, etc.) can drastically afffect the success or sucksass of your attempts. Good luck and BE CAREFULL! That being said....Rock On

[speedracer42]

I'm a rookie and have no experience but have read that riding a bit with the front brake on will warm up the front tire pretty darn fast. This makes sense considereing the physics that I do know. What do you pros think about this technique? I also read that very little changes to the location (ambient temps, moisture, debris, etc.) can drastically afffect the success or sucksass of your attempts. Good luck and BE CAREFULL! That being said....Rock On

Light brake pressure will do little to nothing as well. Tires are designed to flex sideways on the sidewall. What they are not good at is rotational distortion caused by heavy breaking and accelerating. Have you ever seen a dragster or funny car how the back tire wrinkles so badly and tries to roll over itself? That is what you are trying to do, just not as exxagerated and that is what puts the most heat in the tire. Realistically though, when using a decent tire and it is over say 60 degrees ambient, you should not need to do anything and your tire should grip well enough to stoppie.

[lobes]

So its been a couple weeks. What have you got?

[ArinSjorensen]

too funny kris can i watch

[GON2JL]

The Front brake drag actualy can glaze the pads depending on what they are made of... thats a bad thing... I usually just weave back and forth and make a few passes up and back and then ease into how much foward momentum I put into the endo... remeber the colder the ground.... the less trust you can have in your traction.

[importsdigest]

So its been a couple weeks. What have you got?
well, since i posted this topic i have picked up a part time job on top of my full time one. now i get maybe a couple of hours a week to ride. (aka; haven't even tried) anyway, this is great stuff, thanx everyone for your facts and opinions.