I just bought the bike about 2 weeks ago. I have no mods, and as far as I can tell, everything is still factory. Its a 2004. I do know how to wheelie and work with the clutch to make an underpowered bike wheelie. I can get a crappy first gear wheelie, almost like popping the clutch, maybe moving slightly. I would say its not raked foward when i'm sitting on it, I think I need to adjust the rear spring because it seems to sag alot when I sit on it. I'm not overweight by any means (185 lb), but its like the bike was set up for a very light guy. The previous owner was very short by the mirror placement, so I assume thats why. I hear the bikes are factory set for 150. The sprocket thing I may just have to experiment with. I wish I could hear from someone with more experience on 500's with the whole sprocket issue. Thanks for trying to help though.

 

about a wheelie in second gear...i dont know but for me i can get my 05 500r up on one wheel in first by dumping it at 6k that will def bring it up no doubt but if you dont know how to wheelie the landing on it can be quite ruff and its not good for the bike at all/

 

what exactly is meant by "dumping" in 05blk500r 's post? pretty noobish question but im pretty new so just wondering

-thanks

 

Popping the clutch...makes me cringe everytime i thinking about doing that on a 500

 

Rev the engine and quickly release the clutch....noob[sm=joke.gif]

Edit: Doh Pang beat me, teach me for posting in class.

 

Thanks

I had been riding for a while and just dont know all the lingo so that helps. I want to start learning how to wheelie and i was looking around and have found a few people saying they can wheelie on a 500EX and thats the bike i have so i had been hoping to try to learn it but from a few posts it sounds as if its not at all good to do on a 500EX because of power. Granted i guess doing wheelies in general is not good but any suggestion/input for wheelies on a 500EX is greatly appreciated.

-Danny

 

I'll bet that 185 is also much easier to wheelie than an Hayabusa too. In addition to the 500's talling gearing and heavier weight, we must also remember that this XL185 is easier to wheelie because it has a shorter wheelbase AND a higher center of gravity.
-CCinC

 

It's pretty easy to wheelie on my 919

Also ... power wheelies are much better than clutch wheelies ... for you and the bike