A wheelie on a motorized vehicle is nothing new. In drag racing they are considered a problem, robbing power that could be used to accelerate the vehicle faster, and many classes of drag racing use wheelie bars to prevent them.
But those are for vehicles specifically built for drag racing, which rarely are street-legal, or unmodified from stock. In contrast, since at least the 1970s, some motorcycles straight from the showroom floor were able to be wheelied.
In the late 1980s and continuing today, motorcycles, and especially sportbikes, have become lighter and more powerful, and have therefore become easier to wheelie. Other stunts have also become possible if not easy with the advancement of motorcycle technology. As Martin Child wrote in Bike, "With lighter, shorter, better-braked bikes on the market,the stoppie has never been so easy for so many."
In the 1990s some riders made performing stunts the primary focus of their riding. A wheelie or other stunt was not just something to do while riding, it became the main goal in riding.
Common stunts
Wheelies
A basic wheelie is the lifting of the front of the motorcycle off the ground by means of either power or use of clutching. There are many variations of the basic wheelie...
The "circle" is a wheelie performed traveling entirely within a circle, which is very difficult to do. Even more difficult is a circle wheelie with the rider's right foot on the left peg, which is called a "Ralph Loui".
The "high chair" is a wheelie with the rider's legs over the handlebars, while a "tank wheelie" is one in which rider sits on the tank with legs spread. A "frog" is a wheelie in which the rider stands on the tank, and a "seat stander" is performed with the rider standing on the motorcycle's saddle. Standing on the windshield while riding the bike at 12'oclock is called a "watch tower".
The "12 o'clock" is a very high wheelie, past the normal balance point of the motorcycle. A variation of this is the "coaster", in which the bike is balanced without the acting force of the motor, that is, with the clutch pulled in. The motorcycle is pulled so far back beyond the balance point of the wheel that the rider must constantly ride the rear brake to keep his machine from falling over backwards, causing him to slow down. A rider can pull in the clutch to create the effect of a wheelie with no engine noise. Conversely, some riders will pull in the clutch and peg the engine on its rev-limiter, called a "rev-limiter coaster".
The opposite of the 12 o'clock is a wheelie in which momentum is used to lean forward, lifting the rear wheel while continuing to move forward at a high speed — this is called a "nose wheelie".
