History
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." But at the same time, the cost of a motorcycle has remained relatively low compared to other street-legal vehicles with similar power-to-weight ratios.
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.
Read more about this topic: Motorcycle Stunt Riding
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