You should be able to get the front to lift without giving a tug on the bars. All of the motion should be in the bike. Your body should be perfectly still. If you jerk the bar, the sudden weight transfer will increase the possibility of the dreaded loop out.

Once you have the front wheel in the air, you want to keep the bike as close to the balancing point as possible, this is the tricky part. Remember to keep your foot ready to tap the rear brake to stop going over the back. Stay concentrated and refrain from waving to your pals who are watching. You want to keep a steady throttle and raise/ lower the front by transferring your weight.

Weight distribution is the key to keeping the wheel in the air rather than the acceleration. You could keep the front wheel off the ground by continuing to accelerate but that would not be a “controlled” wheelie. Naturally you are going to be leaning fairly far back, but with your legs gripped to the bike it will allow you to stay in control. To get the front wheel higher lean very slightly back until you feel comfortable. Once you are past your balance point you will feel like you are going to fall backwards, this is a good time to let close the throttle a little bit, nothing sudden.

Just gently close/ open. If you tap the rear brake, do so ever so gently. The key to riding wheelies is to use the power of the bike and your body position to stay at or as close to the balancing point as possible. When you want to put the front wheel down, you can either let off the gas or move your weight forward slightly, if you are going pretty fast make sure you bring the front wheel down straight to keep the bike from getting head-shake. After finding your balance point, riding a wheelie for 20 feet becomes the same as riding one 300 feet or longer. It is all a matter of balance, just like when you first learned to ride a bike, find that neutral point and the bike will ride itself.