The Chopper Compendium

I'm curious about what kind of frame and fork configurations make a bike wheely more easily than others.

All of my bikes have been stock set ups, but I rode a H! once that my friend had lengthened the forks. Naturally, it sat high, had some flop,
went like hell, and wheelied easily. I've heard stories about choppers with long forks pulling wheelies real easy, but no experience.

The springer info Krymis has been posting got me to thinking about that. His focus is the trail/rake/rockers set up, and
huge kudos to him for all his effort and the fantastic results. I think it is groundbreaking material, I've never, never, read anything about that topic anywhere else.

So the long springers, Sugarbear and Denver are famous for, do they wheely easy? or not?

How would this change the way you would build a frame, or fork?

I'm guessing here, but I think a long fork would make it easier to control a bike during a wheely, with the extra length and weight farther in front of the main mass.
But would that extra length and weight actually make a bike more prone to wheely?

I'm sure someone more qualified will respond, but I doubt a long front end would make a bike MORE susceptible to lifting, though as you've said they extra weight/leverage out front could make it easier to control.

The bike you were riding that was easy to the lift the front with didn't have much neck rake, did it, so the front of the frame was high? That would add to the tendency to lift the front, due to the weight shift up high. A long, raked front end wouldn't be as likely to lift I'd say.

Another thing that would add to the tendency to lift the front would be a short rear end, so a long swingarm or rear stretch to the frame should also help keep the front end closer to the ground ( a good thing for people like me, my balance goes to pot when I'm up on one wheel ;^)

FWIW

Neale

back when I first started ridein street bikes all I could afford was old british bikes that were all chopped up mostly springers that were way too long for the rake . seems to me those front ends were long and skinny tubes some were solid spring legs I used to wheelie the death outa those things they used to come up so easy . they used to handle reasonably well on one wheel from what I remember although I do remember breaking my fair share of rear legs where they went through the lower tree usually right at the weld . man I wish I had a few of those bikes back

neale wrote:The bike you were riding that was easy to the lift the front with didn't have much neck rake, did it, so the front of the frame was high?

FWIW

Neale

I didn't notice my typo, it was a kawasaki H1 500cc 3 cyl, no rake, not really a good bike to extend the fork, they were fast as hell.
Yes, that kinda set up obviously does wheelies easily...

I'm wondering if putting a long fork on a bike, with appropriate rake and trail, will make the handling of the bike more prone to wheely easily.
For some reason, I'm thinking it does, even tho you would think that more weight farther in front would be just the opposite.

I can't find a reasonable explanation to back up my opinion tho.

railroad bob wrote:
it was a kawasaki H1 500cc 3 cyl

I picked up one of these last winter. A complete bike minus carbs for $100. Never did anything with it but eventually I'll get to it

I passed up one for $800 last year. Looked complete, but no air filters, the guy started telling me how good it ran, if you bungeed the battery on the rear rack,
mixed a little oil with the gas, etc...
Looking it over more closely, just a big complete rebuild, too much of a project for me.