Jimmy Fireblade Wheelie Day

More a curiosity than an event, would anyone else be interested in booking a day at the Jimmy Fireblade wheelie school sometime this summer. I went a couple of years ago and it was one of the best days I've ever had on a bike. He teaches how to bring a bike up on the clutch, rather than power wheelies which can be dangerous and get out of hand quite quickly.

Last time I was there it cost £200 for the day, which includes bike hire or £120 if you go back for a second day.

I'ver been meaning to do it for years (had intended going this last summer with someone from here), would be interested.

Why is it a rip off? You're getting a full day's tuition from an expert stunt rider, with bike provided. How much do you expect it to cost?

Trust me though, clutch wheelies can get very out of hand very quickly too, lol...

No it isn't.

Yes it is! Hx

No it isn't, you're just being daft now. It just means you can't afford it. If I offer to sell you my bike for a grand, and you don't have a grand, that doesn't make it a ripoff.

It does

If I had a grand going spare and you made me that offer I would have to rip your hand off

Probably wouldnt ride that one on salty roads either...

Ah, but did I say which one of the four bikes it was?

Yes it is! ... Of course I'm being daft! It's what I do best! :) Hx

Well rip off or not, I'm going to be doing it again some time this summer. It took me too long to get the basics last time so I never learnt how change gear, just pick up at low speed and put down at the redline in first. I'll post something again closer to the time.

James1987 wrote:Well rip off or not, I'm going to be doing it again some time this summer. It took me too long to get the basics last time so I never learnt how change gear, just pick up at low speed and put down at the redline in first. I'll post something again closer to the time.

I'd be interested in going along. You've hit the nail on the head there re wheelieng a 6 Bandit (I assume he still uses Bandits). Easy enough to loft them (although you do have to be pretty agressive with the throttle, cos they're so heavy and gutless), but unless you can change gear you hit the same problem every time - unless you're Christian Pfeiffer and can balance vertically at walking pace you soon run out of revs, the power drops off and the front end comes back down (usually pretty heavily if you've run out of revs and landing it from high). Unless you can change gear, you're never going to get any decent distance, and on your own bike, with no tilt switch like his bikes have, it's quite a psychological barrier (especially when you've previously flipped a bike), and I never got past that.

By contrast the StripleR is so much easier to get up. Quick dip of clutch and a bit of throttle in first and she comes up like a hyperactive puppy, with a lot more control than the Bandit, and 'cos she's 70kg lghter, a lot easier to play with while it's up. Get the clutch and revs right and it'll loft high in second too, but I was still trying to get the feel for the right revs - get it wrong and you just get rapid acceleration with the front wheel hovering a couple of inches, but get it right and you can bring it up fooking lovely from 40mph. Firs time I tried it in second was on the Blackpool rideout, got a lovely one coming off a roundabout onto dual carriageway, passed Shep with my front wheel 3 feet in the air, still slightly leant over from coming off the roundabout and bars nicely crossed up - fooking good feeling. Then I surprised myself later, pulled out to pass Serband, clutched it up and managed to catch it just right and balance it, going past him and liam, getting a good distance and putting it down beautifully gently at 80 plus mph - had a big grin inside my Arai, and when we stopped Serband said it looked great, lol. Then a while later I finally succeeded in changing gear mid wheelie, purely by accident. Still hadn't summoned teh bottle to try it, but one night I hoisted a lovely one in second, then it dipped slightly and carried on. Took me a minute to realise what had happened - I'd had my foot resting under the gear lever and as I'd backed the throttle off to try get the balance I'd accidentally applied a little pressure to the gear lever and it had slotted into third so smoothly I hadn't realised what I'd done, and it happened again once since.

Which is all a very long way of saying I'd like to go there and try learn how to change gear on the back wheel and work on balancing it to get some distance.

What a complete waste of money lol count me in my wifes paying for my birthday n I get to abuse someone elses bike. Double bonus ;-)

Whichever way you look at it i can tell you from experience it's a lot lot cheaper than flipping your iwn bike, lol...

how much is it

£200 (or £175 if 4 or 5 people book)

http://www.jimmyfireblade.co.uk/courses.html

Not for me thanks. Not because I think they're for morons, nor do I think £200 for the tuition or using someone else's bike is too epensive. Just that it's not for me as I'd rather be on two wheels.

I have no problem with folk doing wheelies if they're skilled enough, though of course there's a time and a place and for me that's not on the open road when there are other road users or pedestrians around - but rather somewhere where the only person that could be injured should anything go wrong would be the rider him/herself. In fact I enjoy seeing stunt riders in the right settings.

My only stunts have DEFINITELY been unplanned

It depends if work picks up for me. I'm rather impecunious due to lack of work at the minute. I wouldn't mind having a go though if I could afford it.
Another mate of mine was mentioning a track day and another group on about a trip to the Nurburgring.
I might have to see about getting a proper job at this rate.

I fancy trying a trackday, but don't want to risk 8 grand plus of bike doing it. Could use the Bandit, but it wouldn't be as good (and it wouldn't pass noise testing, so I wouldn't be allowed out anyway. I think I might do one of MSVs taster sessions (only £20) at Oulton or cadwell. Can't go to the Nordschlieffe, don't have a passport, lol.

Can you hire bikes for track days or is that just too much money?

Bubbaz wrote:It depends if work picks up for me. I'm rather impecunious due to lack of work at the minute. I wouldn't mind having a go though if I could afford it.
Another mate of mine was mentioning a track day and another group on about a trip to the Nurburgring.
I might have to see about getting a proper job at this rate.

I can even claim it's because of lack of work Bubbz - there's plenty of that (in fact too much that sometimes I'm eating, breathing and sleeping it). However, there simply is NEVER enough month at the end of my pay

Chocmintz wrote:Can you hire bikes for track days or is that just too much money?

Yes but you do pay for them. Remember though, that usually your insurance won't pay if you bin it on a track day.

Last summer, there was somewhere that was offering decent prices at the track for part days. Also, if you can get midweek, you can get some good prices.

Yeah, there's companies that do trackdays with bike hire, but it's bloody expensive, and they're all faired sportsbikes.

Bubbaz wrote:

Chocmintz wrote:Can you hire bikes for track days or is that just too much money?

Yes but you do pay for them. Remember though, that usually your insurance won't pay if you bin it on a track day.

Last summer, there was somewhere that was offering decent prices at the track for part days. Also, if you can get midweek, you can get some good prices.

Maybe one day when I have a bit spare - I know that track days can give you more confidence on the road. I'm not bothered about riding much faster than I do now, but would be good to have more confidence on those really wiggly, winding, bendy roads

Kowalski wrote:Yeah, there's companies that do trackdays with bike hire, but it's bloody expensive, and they're all faired sportsbikes.

Perhaps when I've enough to replace Ethel for the road she can become my track bike

the track day i would love to do. but not on mine and they wont have one custom made for short arses so thats a no go.. the wheelie school id like to come along to watch, the curiosity is there but that killed the cat dint it... oh and they wont have bikes custom made for shorts arses either! but be interested in watching you guys. x

rotty wrote:the track day i would love to do. but not on mine and they wont have one custom made for short arses so thats a no go.. the wheelie school id like to come along to watch, the curiosity is there but that killed the cat dint it... oh and they wont have bikes custom made for shorts arses either! but be interested in watching you guys. x

Very few traffic lights on the race tracks, just make sure someone is there to see you off and help you when you get back and you could ride anything.

i suppose thinking about it that way be ok... if need to stop make sure i use the edge ha..

Just came across this on Visordown.com

http://www.visordown.com/features/jimmy-fireblades-wheelie-school-review/14955.html

Could be fun but not got the money spare to do it.

Would be worth the ride out to watch everybody else

would be good to learn from an expert on someone elses bike, only drawback I can see is once you have the basics you will be tempted to do it on your own bike , with no wheelie bars and wreck it!

daz457 wrote: only drawback I can see is once you have the basics you will be tempted to do it on your own bike

Er, that's kind of the point...

one day dont make you an expert though and I still wouldnt want to do it on my own bike

Why not. It's fun, which is what bikes are meant to be about. Can't imagine a ride with both wheels on the floor for the whole duration, doesn't sound like much fun to me, lol.

Well I am a fairly new rider and wouldnt want to risk it. would have a go on someone elses though

What's the worst that can happen, lol?...

ouch...is that one of yours?

Yup, my Bandit in one of its earlier inacrnations (summer 2000, I think). Flipped it wheelieing, cartwheeled end over end about 4 times and somersaulted over a hedge (about 12 feet or so in the air, lol) and disappeared into a field, lol. Wasn't much of it left really - frame (bent), engine, carbs & header pipes, oil cooler, swingarm & rear wheel, clocks, bars, controls & levers (miraculously), brakes, tank, hugger and seat, electrics (although I had to repair the wiring loom, cut out all the damaged sections and replace). The rest was scrap (check out teh snapped fork leg, lol). Had the frame straightened on a v fancy £12000 jig, stripped it completely and rebuilt it unfaired:







Spent alot of time and effort, and far too much money doing it (I didn't add up the total, didn't want to know), but it was stunning when I'd finished it, absolutely immaculate. About three months later it was on its side in a muddy ditch, and my collarbone was in two pieces. Ironically I'd actually parked it for winter, but had been persuaded out for one last ride. The plan had been to take the engine out and take it down to TTS with two grand for an 884 big bore kit, gas flowed head, 3 angle valve seats and high lift cams, so it would look like a 600, but go like a 1200, but a dozy OAP from Inverurie had other ideas. Best laid plans of mice and men...



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