Long wheelies harmful?

[Titbird]

My uncle says I shoud'nt make long wheelies because the cilinders won't get enough lubrication, and in the long run I will burn the valves. Seems BS to me. On every ride I make at least 5 wheelies, some of them quite long, what do you guys think, should I worry?

[mig7410]

im more worried about what the leo's will do.

[johnchypermotard]

not sure where the oil pickup point is in the sump on the 1100 ds motor ... but i do know that ducati engineers went to a conical shaped oil sump on the testastreta motor, to avoid oil starvation on the superbikes when the motor gets angled while the front end is up in the air or the bike is leaned over for long periods through turns.

i suggest that you run a "full tank of fuel" length wheelie, and advise us if the motor gets eaten

[phlewid]

The only problem I have encountered is 12'o clock wheelies... If you do them for longer than a few hundred feet, the crankcase breather will suck oil from the engine into the airbox and then dump it out of the drain tube.... which can result in an oiled rear tire... I know this because I let a certain stunt rider borrow my bike and saw it happen. Check out SuperBikes on sunday to see the results.

[HYPERR]

I recall reading in a British bike magazine that Ducs do get oil starvation on the front cylinders from prolonged wheelies.

[Finnster]

Originally Posted by HYPERR

I recall reading in a British bike magazine that Ducs do get oil starvation on the front cylinders from prolonged wheelies.

This is true, on some of my past Ducs and younger wheelie days the oil light would come on during long wheelies. I quit doing them many years ago so I am not sure if the DS motor has a different 'pump' system to resolve this or not.

I'd say...keep doing them! If you burn something up..then rebuild it even better!