Stoppie: Variations and Theory

Regular (rolling) stoppie

Your body position on the bike is specific: keep your body centered and try to stay balanced. Sit exactly in the center of the bike, look ahead, shoulders level and arms tensed. By shifting your body weight forward with a jerk, you lift the rear wheel. First squeeze hard, about 80 percent of full force, then reduce the pressure on the brake lever as the bike rises onto the front wheel.

Weight transfer is very important. Before braking, move forward, loading the front wheel. Start moving from the middle of the seat. Move your shoulders forward and up and slide forward along the seat toward the tank until you are almost no longer sitting on the seat. Once you have moved forward, keep your body as straight as possible. Keep your arms and elbows straight, since any change in their position will unintentionally change the bike's position.

As soon as the back of the bike starts to rise, gradually release the brake as you approach the balance point. The longer you hold the brake, the higher the wheel rises. You will feel you are near the balance point when the rear wheel is in the air. Don't try to go higher or lower. I started riding much farther at the balance point using no more than 5 percent brake. When doing a regular stoppie, don't think about steering: keep your arms straight and sit straight.

When you start rolling really far on the front wheel, then it's time to think about steering the bike. The difference between a 50-meter rolling stoppie and a 200-meter one is only in steering. Steering during a rolling stoppie is exactly the same as in the normal position, that is, countersteering. If you want to turn right, push on the right grip, and the bike will turn right. The higher the bike's rear is, the easier it is to steer. Keep your body straight at the moment the wheel touches the ground. Any of your movements during a rolling stoppie affect the bike's steering. Don't worry if you fall 8–10 degrees short of the balance point: at least you won't flip. Sometimes I press the rear brake before putting the rear wheel down. This stops the chain flapping and tightens it, letting the wheel land without a loud clunk. A silent landing is a small stylish touch.

180-degree turn on the front wheel

Before you start trying this, you need to learn to just ride in a straight line. I didn't attempt the 180 myself until I had learned the regular stoppie. Now that you can just ride, deliberately turn the handlebar so that the tail of the motorcycle starts to describe a circle. Note that the speed at which you start this movement is very important. Too slow or too fast won't work. I advise finding it by trial and error.

So, how to do a 180:

• Lift the motorcycle onto the front wheel to the balance point and ride straight. When you do the 180, balance will no longer be essential; pay more attention to steering. But remember: the higher the tail, the easier it is to steer and the more smoothly the tail swings around.

• So, we are already rolling. Now we start the turn using a very interesting technique: countersteering. The main effort must go into the handlebar, and it may take some strength to get the tail turning.

• Watch your body position: you must always be «above» the motorcycle to control the turn, not turn together with it.

One-handed stoppie

Do a regular rolling stoppie, and when the bike approaches the balance point, take your left hand off the handlebar. It's fairly easy. The point of this trick is to hold the handlebar very firmly with your right hand and not let the bike veer off when you remove your left hand. When you take your left hand off, you must be absolutely sure your right hand won't falter. Don't keep it half-bent, or you'll get a strong tank slapper and fall. Use your legs to help you stay on the bike, since you can't hold yourself on with one hand. To do this, you need to shift all your weight onto the tank and grip it with your knees so that you don't press on the handlebar with your hand. I always shift into neutral when doing this trick so I don't put the bike down with the clutch released and out of control.

High chair

This trick is only for advanced stunt riders. The hardest moment in this trick is getting onto the tank with your legs in front of the motorcycle. This must be done very quickly. I jump straight from the footpegs onto the tank. I put my hand on the windscreen, roughly just right of center, and jump up and forward, swinging my legs along the motorcycle, and put them on the windscreen. The hand on the windscreen limits my forward jump. It looks really cool, but in fact I move only 15 cm forward. With your other hand you can do whatever you like: I usually wave it like a rodeo clown. When you lift the bike into a stoppie holding the grips and sitting on the tank, the main load falls on the windscreen. It's important that the plastic can take all your weight. The «high chair» needs less initial brake force, since the tail of the bike rises much faster. You don't need to think about shifting your weight forward: all your weight is already loading the front wheel. The rear wheel doesn't rise as high as in a regular stoppie: the balance point is lower. A «feet-forward» stoppie is shorter than a regular one, since the tail of the bike is harder to control. You can't hold the bike with your knees. You can't even keep it going straight in this position. Don't come to a complete stop during a «high chair»: always leave a little speed in reserve so you have time to get off the tank before stopping completely.

«No-footer» stoppie

Once you start practicing rolling stoppies, the «no-footer» is the easiest variation of the rolling stoppie. Basically it's the same as a regular stoppie, but you hold all your weight with your arms and don't grip the tank with your knees. The position is the same as in a regular stoppie. A «no-footer» is much easier than a one-handed stoppie, since you don't have to think about controlling the handlebar when you take your feet off the pegs. You can stick your legs out much faster than you can take a hand off the handlebar. Just remember: don't take your feet off until you are braced against the tank, or you can hurt certain parts of yourself.

Preparing for stoppies

I never adjusted the front fork on my GSXR 750 ’00. I'm not a big guy, and the factory settings suit me perfectly. Just make sure you have enough spring preload and compression damping so you don't end up with the fork fully compressed while riding on the front wheel. You could flip. Lower the front tire pressure to about 1.7–1.8 atm: this gives you a larger contact patch and helps you lift the motorcycle into a stoppie more confidently. I highly recommend fitting braided brake hoses. For more feel I use Ferodo pads. Check the brake system constantly, especially if you do stoppies from high speed or do a lot of them. I deliberately put all the brake caliper bolts on the fork on thread locker. I turn the clip-ons out wider, since a wider position makes it easier to steer and more comfortable to hold on. Always fit a steering damper! A tank slapper during a rolling stoppie is a very unpleasant thing.

Where to start

Start by preparing the motorcycle and getting a full set of riding gear, which will save you when you flip. Most people think the best way to learn stoppies is the kiddie stoppie: accelerate to 10 km/h and grab the front brake hard, and the rear of the motorcycle will jump up sharply. The front fork compresses and rebounds very sharply, so it's very easy to lose the front, flip forward and blow the fork. The best way is to apply the brakes quickly at first, then slowly and smoothly. When you feel the pads starting to bite a little, rise up slightly and squeeze the brakes a bit more. If you keep doing this, you'll soon feel the rear wheel rising smoothly little by little rather than abruptly. Harsh braking will lock the wheel, cause a skid and overload the front suspension. When you feel you are lifting the motorcycle high, release the brake smoothly, and the rear wheel will come down smoothly. By slowing down and increasing brake force, guided by your sense of balance, you will reach the balance point in the blink of an eye.

Safety

The various theories about correcting a stoppie are nonsense. Once you feel you have passed the balance point, little will help you fix the situation. This isn't a wheelie, where you can press the rear brake or close the throttle. During a stoppie the bike is usually in gear with the clutch pulled in. In theory you can dump the clutch and open the throttle, and the gyroscopic effect of the rear wheel will bring the motorcycle back. But in real life you quickly pass the balance point and flip. If stoppies were that easy, everyone would be doing them.