Starts-wheelies too much in 2nd gear-what to do?

[nikki]

We had a little work done to my YZ to improve the bottom end power and now I have a serious problem with starts!

In second gear - the bike rides a big wheelie off the line. In order to keep my front wheel down, I can't open the throttle up for a good 50-80 feet and this is hurting my "jump" off the line. I gotta ease into it really slow until I can pin it and start shifting.

What can I do? I thought about trying to start in third - but I don't think that's to good on the bike. I have went to a smaller rear sprocket to tame it down a little... but it's still a responsive wheelie king. I know the usual sit on the tank and stuff - but I'm only 120 lbs! Any advise on this one??

 

[mxracer724]

I have the same problem, but have not posted on DRN yet. I'm 120 pounds too and have a YZ125 so hopefully there is someone who can give you good advice then I can use it too:confused:. I figure if all those 120 pound kids on works 125's can do it then there has to be a way for me to do it too.

 

[motojunkie]

Give it full throttle, and use the clutch to control front wheel lift.

 

[KiwiBird]

Nikki, try putting both legs as far forward as you can - up by the front wheel, keep them there as long as you can and when you need 3rd gear use your heel to shift, then put your feet on the pegs.

Full throttle, use the clutch to keep the front down. You might want to see if you can mess with gearing to retain the same ratios but stretch the wheel base.

eg if you run 13/51, maybe 14/55 might get the wheel back without changing the ratio appreciably.

 

[yardpro]

keep it reved and use the clutch to deliver power. that's how the 80's and 125's have to do it, especially offroad and hillclimbs

 

[blackhawk468]

I clipped this from an article on supercross.com The full article can be found here

"Some people, like Jeremy McGrath, put both feet in front of the foot pegs so that when they shift into third and fourth gear, they'll use their heel. For Jeremy, if he starts to wheelie, he can put his feet forward and get more weight to the front end. Do not release your throttle if you start to wheelie or your back tire spins. Use your clutch to gauge the horsepower that gets to your rear wheel. Try to keep as consistent as possible."

 

[motojunkie]

Good stuff, another thing I noticed is that you should start BOTH feet down. If you start with one foot on a peg, you will have more wheel spin - usually sideways in an out-of-control sort of way. :)

 

[Saratoga]

I had the same problem with my YZ 250. Technique especially cluth work is a must. I also noticed that proper sag set up makes a huge difference. I was running with around 95mm and changed to over 100mm. This made a niticable difference in regard to the front end staying down on starts and hillclimbs.

Experiment with your sag and see if that helps.

 

[wardy]

junior says

asap off the line get both feet up immeadialty. then burn the clutch as much as you need to in order to keep the front wheel where you want it. being that you're on a 125 I would keep the throttle pinned and use the clutch to do all the work, hopefully that yamaha can handle it ;)

wardy

 

[yzeater]

Nikki,
You could try some technique fixes, but I would consider trying a lead front fender...MXA says it helps, so it must be true:p

 

[Camstyn]

I heard the new offset, blue anodized triple clamp set puts more weight on the front wheel and is a must-have for good starts.:p

 

[podia]

Hi Nikki, I ride a stock 02YZ125 currently and it seriosuly lack of low end.
What did you do to improve the low end on your YZ?

I weight about 130lbs.:)

 

[nikki]

Podia - we tried SEVERAL things to get more low end power (jetting, exhaust, reed spacers, gearing, reeds, etc...). But the biggest and most noticable improvement was having Boyesen do some work on the cylinder/head. Basically - they took a little bit off the base of the cylinder to lower the ports so the power would come on sooner. And of course re-worked the head to keep similar compression levels. It made a big difference! I wish I would have done the mods a year sooner.