Originally Posted by skr00zloose
i hate to say it, but most riders wouldn't have the control to stay upright if they blew a tire, popped a chain, etc whether on two wheels or not.
i agree with keeping it off the streets, but there's just nowhere for a noob to go to start to learn. most guys start out stunting by doing higher speed (read:above parking lot speed) wheelies and whatnot. you need a long straight piece of pavement for that. unless someone has a runway they want to allow guys to practice on to start getting the hang of it, building skills neccesary to allow them to start doing things at slow speeds in a parking lot, then there's nowhere else to really go. yeah, there's a time and a place, and it's up to the riders judgement as to what's a safe, and what's not, time to do a wheelie on a public road.
yeah, i know it's never "really" safe.... but some times are better suited than others. i guess some people's judgement just isn't as keen as others.
If you can't keep a bike upright when a rear tire lets go or a chain breaks when on two wheels, you should go back to riding a bicycle or walking . And if you are allowing yourself to ride a bike with a tire that is in desperate need of replacement, you deserve to go down. Thats why it's always highly suggested to inspect your bike before going out. Sadly, I still see people riding bikes with bald tires and doing stunts on them as well. It's not a small percentage either. I know for a fact that it's not difficult to ride a motorcycle with a rear tire that lets go at 50+mph. I've also had belts break on me and never had any loss of control. Just loss of power.
I do somewhat agree that it is difficult to find a private place to practice but the highways and major roads are the last place you should be on doing stunts. If you can't find a private place, find a road that is 99% dead and practice there. Keep the stupidy unseen and make sure to have a friend with a truck and cell phone with you. Just in case you wreck and hurt yourself, your friend can call an ambulance for you and tow your bike home. After thinking about it, the best place to practice is on the dirt with a dirtbike. There are areas around here where you can practice on a dirtbike.