Should I not wheelie so much?

[LOAM]

I just read a post that said his friend wheelied his wr450 alot, and it wore out a few of the gears in the transmission. I've never heard of this. I'm quite the wheelie freak, but I don't want to ruin the gears. I'd appreciate some viewpoints on this. Thanks

[JSanfilippo]

I think someone could make the argument that wheelieing for too long could potentially starve the top end of oil, but even then the oiling systems on our bikes are very good.

Wheelieing shouldn't put any more stress on the transmission than regular riding. Landing a jump hard on the gas, downshifting w/o the clutch, and other abusive riding will.

[DODSY]

canny question mate as my front tyre lasts me ages, its never on the floor, hahah.

im on getting a wr 450 on tuesday and im hoping i can do the same on that, i just carnt help ittttt !!!!!!!!!! lol

[Lennie]

Apprently 5th gear is not as strong as the other and the shock loading from changing from 4th - 5th while on the back wheel is what causes the damage. Either pop it up in 5th or only wheelie up to 4th then hold it on the balance point.

[123BigcoopDawg576]

Apprently 5th gear is not as strong as the other and the shock loading from changing from 4th - 5th while on the back wheel is what causes the damage.

What evidence do you have to support this?

[LOAM]

I hope that is true that it's just 5th gear that's weaker as I never wheelie in 5th gear. I usually only wheelie in 2nd and 3rd, and sometimes 4th. Anyone else have any opinions?

DODSY- You will love the wr450. It's an easy bike to wheelie. It has more power than my last bike so I had to watch that a bit, but I got used to it in no time. Have fun!

[123BigcoopDawg576]

I hope that is true that it's just 5th gear that's weaker

Where are all the WR trannies that are week?

You hear one story and all of a sudden the tranny is WEAK ?

I have 3 WR's all that have seen races, baja and dual sport rides (very hard riding)...two bikes have over 13K miles and ZERO tranny issues.

The WR tranny is not WEAK?

[DODSY]

i do agree with u LOAM.., i only cum up in 2nd my self and then change up to 3rd, to be honest i usually run out of road or hit a corner,a long time b4 im in 4th .. balance is the way forward for me..

im really looking forward to getting me bike on tuesday, after jumping of my xr 400 ,, i reckon im going to get a bit of a shock for what ive read on here.. im just hoping i can do a few changes myself to make the bike perform a lot more than when its standard, as mine is..as ive read on here that you need to do a few changes to get the best out of the bike.. im no macanic but will give out a go.. normally ends in tears or i have to pay out loads of cash to get the job done as i end up breaking it.. lol..?

[DODSY]

i got told that wr s had a problem with 5th before i went to buy the 2008 one, i was told they were a prob with the pre 2007 but i no a few lads who have them and have had no problem, but if your putting the bike on the back wheel in 5th then i dont think it will be your 5th gear with the problem, i think it will be ya clutch after a few goes.. lmao.!!!!!!!!!!

[FORMA MOTO]

RIDICULOUS! ?

Lofting your front wheel, in any gear, for however long, has no bearing on how long your transmission will last.

It's how you treat the transmission. You can damage it on flat ground, or on a hill or in a wheelie.

It's called abuse and negligence.

It's just made of metal, floating in oil, and is not perfect or indestructible.

[DODSY]

fair cop. but these bikes can take a lot of stick, they are made for this and if i carnt put mine on the back wheel without thinking it would break it then i would never jump back on a bike again, wr s are made to do the job you buy them for/ greenlaning, enduro , ect and this game is no easy task and the bikes will be getting abused and if they are not, then you are not riding it properly..

[Lennie]

Its the clutchless upchange from 4th to 5th that will break 5th gear over time, doesnt matter what your doing but thats the cause of the 5th gear failure.

I agree it is not a weak gearbox at all, but everything has its weakest point and i think the wr gearbox weak point is 5th gear.

[YamaLink]

My friend has a 2006 WR450F, and he regularly rides (shows off, really) wheelies for at least .5 to 1 mile. Sitting, standing, one handed. Usually in top gear and often down remote paved and dirt roads. Ugh. Anyway, his tranny is perfect.

For the record, my longest wheelie is about 20 feet.

[123BigcoopDawg576]

Its the clutchless upchange from 4th to 5th that will break 5th gear over time, doesnt matter what your doing but thats the cause of the 5th gear failure.

Still waiting on the evidence/proof of this...

[grayracer513]

Loam, you have heard an incorrectly stated rumor.

Lennie, you have earned a gold medal in the Olympic conclusion jump.

Krannie, you are absolutely correct.

Clutchless shifting will not damage the trans if done cleanly and under a reduced load. Normally, a load light enough to allow the trans to shift out of one gear without much effort will hurt nothing as it goes to the next gear. Gear lash that results from skipping the rear wheel on and off the ground under power or braking is far harder on the trans than that.

And to the oiling question, recall that the bike is designed to climb extremely steep hills and oil itself the whole time. It is quite capable of running along on the rear wheel for an extended period. Yes, this may increase the amount of oil carried in the sump and not returned to the feed oil "tank", but it won't drain the tank before it starts returning oil, and as long as there is any oil in the tank, the top, and everything else will oil.

So, this is simple mythology, to be polite, Bovine Scatology to be scientific. ?

[JSanfilippo]

Clutchless shifting will not damage the trans if done cleanly and under a reduced load. Normally, a load light enough to allow the trans to shift out of one gear without much effort will hurt nothing as it goes to the next gear. Gear lash that results from skipping the rear wheel on and off the ground under power or braking is far harder on the trans than that.

Are you saying clutchless downshifting is OK?

[Apple]

Here is my obersvation from tearing down my 04 wr450 a few months back. There is an oil tube that runs the width of the cases that is fed from the engine oil pump that sprays oil on the tranny gears from near the top of the case. A lot of oil gets on the gears. WR`s are not lacking in the tranny lubricaton dept. Mine has lots of hours on it and the gears and dogs showed almost no signs of wear and this is with some hard desert riding. Actually the tranny was the one thing that didn`t need any work at all. If a wr tranny goes bad I seriously doubt it is due to design problems.

[rufusz]

Are you saying clutchless downshifting is OK?

As long as you don't put a heavy load on the back wheel, it's the same as shifting with clutch. These transmissions are pretty straightforward, no synchronization, just lugs with some negative cutting, so shifting in the right moment/load with or without clutch is almost the same (I dare to say it's the same). On tarmac/dirt, where you can lock the rear wheel easily by downshifting the load is much smaller as on SM wheels (or slicks). The key to proper clutchless shifting is to roll back the throttle for that single moment when you move the stick up.

[Lennie]

Still waiting on the evidence/proof of this...

Come to englnad and i will show you a bike that bent the selector thats used for changing from 4th to 5th gear. This happened while on the back wheel. Our local yamaha specialist has repaired a number of bikes with this exact problem and says its caused by clutchless changes from 4th - 5th.

[123BigcoopDawg576]

Come to englnad and i will show you a bike

One bike does not mean any thing ?