Whats up guys?
I just turned 550 miles yesterday on my new 1290. I am trying to figure out all the talk about 4th gear power wheelies on this bike. I have ridden almost everything and this is the easiest bike to wheelie on. I ride wheelies every time I take off. My riding is mostly in sport mode with traction control turned off. My bike will stand straight up in second gear when I twist the throttle. I can shift to 3rd and 4th and keep it up. Now if I am riding in 3rd and twist the throttle it may do a little wheelie but nothing like second. 4th gear roll on wheelie???? NO WAY. There is no possible way my bike will do a wheelie in 4th by just twisting the throttle. So where is all this talk coming from that these bikes do insane 4th gear power wheelies? Just curious... I could see it with it geared down but no way stock. Am I missing something? Do you guys see the same as me on your bikes?
I am really impressed by the bike and it is my all time favorite.

Third gear power up is easy enough, ~60mph give the front end a bounce and whack the throttle open.

4th gear needs a bump in the road and lots of throttle.

Oh and I have the Akra system fitted which makes a bit of a difference, I didn't really try to wheelie it much with the stock exhaust still on so can't compare. It definitely revs easier and harder with the Akra though.

You need to unlock the 4th gear wheelies...

In the tool kit that comes in the boot of the bike there are 2 flux capacitors. One is blue and the other red. DO NOT USE THE RED ONE.

Take the blue flux capacitor and plug it into the GPU and perform the 15 minute reset by leaving the exhaust on and keeping the engine revs at 3500 rpm. I find a bit of sticky tape on the throttle helps to keep it at the right revs but make sure you keep an eye on it in case the it unsticks.

I can post pics tomorrow if you'd like.

Cheers,
Jeremy

Ha! Ha!
Yep, just wondering why people hype stuff up all the time. All the reviews say power wheelies in any gear. Yea right! It is awesome but not that awesome.

My front wheel doesn't like staying on the ground. 4th gear with a bump in the road, if I'm not up on the tank the wheel gets light. I leave TC on almost all the time. The front still comes up. I've had the TC light up AND the front wheel off the ground at the same time. Dozens of times. It's addictive and fun!

id wager you arent opening the throttle fast enough. makes a huge diff at least on the 990.

Maybe it has something to do with the high humidity and 100 degree Texas heat?

I must have a lemon too then,.. If I whack it wide open in fourth it becomes light...and that's it!
No wheelies in fourth and definitely not in fifth!!!
It pulls hard but at 150kph my old bmw330d felt more exiting

Holy crap! If I pinned the throttle wide open and dumped the clutch on mine in fourth gear I would be dead! Third gear 7500 revs bang into fourth and front wheel is off the ground for longer than my nerve holds out. I'm still on the stock exhaust waiting for the full system to show up but the bike has got more power than I have nerve. Fun! Fun! Fun!

I often have this conversation with my mates and there is always a difference of opinion on what constitutes a "wheelie" but for what it's worth I will share my own opinion. It is true to say that my 1290 will happily lift the front over a crest in 4th or 5th but I don't really class that as a "wheelie as it is just hovering about 1 or 2 feet above the tarmac. If it came up high I would find it difficult to settle it in and maintain it over a distance. My method is to set off as normal in first gear accelerating gently then when I am ready to change into second I shut the throttle a fraction before pulling in the clutch which dips the front slightly then I shift into second and whack open the throttle and dump the clutch simultaneously using the rebound of the forks to send the front skyward up to the balancing point, when I am settled in (only a few seconds) I select third then when settled into third I select fourth and enjoy the ride for as long as I can keep it up. I never look at the speedo and I ALWAYS keep my foot over the rear brake just in case it gets past the balancing point and I have a slight chance of saving it albeit at the expense of a set of head bearings and bruised bollocks! I haven't been able to get it into 5th yet but I will keep trying
I am sure that this method won't suit everyone but it has worked for me for 30 plus years on pretty much everything wether it's a 125 dirt bike or a 1000 superbike.
One thing I have noticed on this bike is that the front wheel stops spinning virtually as soon as I get it up to the balancing point so even if you only manage a short wheelie the front tyre makes a lot of noise when it makes contact with the tarmac. My only worry is that one day I will land it on some oil or diesel and it will have me off!!

Well I tried this today. It has the akra map loaded and I ride in sport mode.
Wheelie throttle only in 3rd gear, yes. In 4th gear yes!!!
Flat road no crests! hayabusa next to me couldn't keep up till I backed off as it hurt my neck ...


The akra map feels actually less exiting but it does pull hard and smooth, a bit deceiving!

I understand the pre coffee bit lol

How can some of you not say it doesn't wheelie by itself in 4th gear?
I made this video half a year ago, during the run-in. I used maybe 4/5 of the throttle and it just came up on flat roads. With a 17t sprocket. power wheelie, no clutch.



And this is with the full akrapovic system, still 17t sprocket front. However, now I used a clutch on 5th gear.



But around 9000-9500rpm it lift the front wheel up by itself in 5th gear. 17t sprocket.


And now when I've changed to 16t sprocket it's ridiculous

Mine has only 350 miles, so I just now turned off the MTC and tried to see the power wheelies. With it on, it wasn't doing it more than a couple of inches in 2nd or 3rd, cracking the throttle. Or when it did come up high in 2nd, I could feel a drop in power.

WIth the MTC off and in 3rd gear, at 60 mph it came up high enough I stopped it. Nothing in 4th, starting at 4K, 5K, or 6K. It did take off like a scalded dog, just not one on its back legs.

I also had the traction control light come on cracking it in 2nd, where it didn't pop it up, even though it was turned off. Traction control I thought was to prevent wheel spin, and in 2nd it should wheelie before it spun the tyre. ABS was still on. I don't see where ABS should affect wheelies, or why would the MTC light would come on when it is turned off.

Where am I wrong, and do they really flash it at the first service to give more power?