How to Do a Motorcycle Burnout

Yet another guide on ‘the best way to ruin your tires’ crossed our minds, as many beginner riders have three things on their 'to do list' when starting their riding career: wheelies, stoppies and... burnouts. Since we have already given you a few (hopefully useful) tips on how to do the first two stunts on the list, it is time to see what the steps in doing a motorcycle burnout are, which is also known as a ‘peel out’ or ‘power brake’.

First things first, the burnout, as explained in the unwritten bikers’ dictionary, is the practice of keeping the bike stationary and spinning its rear wheel, causing the tires to heat up and therefore causing smoke from friction.

Get Ready

Well, as you might have guessed, this is also an illegal practice if it is not performed under controlled conditions, not to mention dangerous even when done by professionals and you could also endanger your license. Though some may say you can't hurt yourself while doing a burnout, there have been some not-so-happy situations.

Just like with all the other stunts performed with a motorcycle, if you aren’t aware of the risks involved than you’d better think twice before hopping on the saddle and ‘smoke’ your way to getting the girls’ attention. So to get the job done, you’ll need a full protective gear (just in case), a legal place to practice, a motorcycle... and a new rear tire when you’re done. Make sure that your rear tire is worn out, as you surely don’t want to burn out a fresh one. It could hurt your budget. You might consider taking a friend with you to carry a spare rear tire.

So if you want to do it on public roads, don’t! If you want to do it without protective gear, don’t! If you want to do it to show off... well, don’t! And never start a burnout with your front tire on a wet surface...

Technique

You still want to do it, don’t you? Well, since this is what you have in mind, then let’s see what to do, so you don’t break something. A leg, for example. Since you are wearing your protective gear, mount the motorcycle and stand with both feet as flat on the ground as possible. If you have shorter legs, then do the best you can. Turn on the ignition and leave the bike in neutral until the engine gets to normal operating temperature.

Pull the clutch lever all the way in. Hold on the front brake with all four fingers and don’t let go until you finish the burnout. If you want a shorter burnout (about 1 minute long), put the bike in the first gear, but if you want to last longer, then shift to second. Performing your burnout while in the second gear prevents you from bouncing off the rev limiter, thus avoiding possible engine damage.

Now slowly release the clutch to the point just before the engagement begins (if you know your bike and how it behaves, you should know where is that certain point). Rev the engine up the powerband, which should be at about 80 percent of its capability (in most cases to about 10,000 rpm), close to the red line.

Lean forward just a bit, but not too much. Release the clutch and you have a burnout. This means the rear tire should be spinning. If it's not, give it slightly more power or let the clutch out faster. If you feel the bike going too much to either sideor that you are losing control, quickly disengage the clutch and release the throttle in one quick smooth motion. Try it a couple of times until you get comfortable doing this.

Now that you know a few things on how to perform a motorcycle burnout and managed to turn a few (female) heads, start jumping for joy and take a cold shower. And since you’ve been a good learner, we’ll treat you with a tip: they say that if you do a burnout on a paint stripe, it does less damage to your tire and makes more smoke.

Ride safe!