Want to know how to execute the "basic stoppie?" First, get your motorcycle going as fast as you dare. Then squeeze the front brake just enough to pop the rear wheel into the air. If that sounds difficult and dangerous, it is. It's also one of the signature maneuvers choreographed by "stunters" - young motorcyclists who pursue a risky and sometimes illegal pastime using agile, high-speed sportbikes that have become popular in recent years.
The Internet is flush with Web sites and video clips dedicated to such high-risk motorcycle stunts.

"It's the new form of rebellion," said Dave Sonsky, editor of Super Streetbike magazine and Web site. "Instead of riding a loud chopper, you have a new generation riding these high power motorcycle sportbikes and putting them through their paces." Highway safety officials and advocates fear motorcycle stunters only encourage reckless riding. Motorcycle riders already are more inclined to take risks than people driving cars. One in four motorcycle riders involved in a fatal crash in 2006 did not have a valid license, compared with one in eight drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And more than one in three bikers killed were speeding, compared with less than one in four drivers of cars.

"We love risk-taking, and we love speeding in this culture," said Judie Stone, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. "When you see this along with the increase in motorcycle riding and motorcycles capable of greater and greater speeds, it's only inevitable that you're also going to see more of the risky behaviors." Motorcycle stunters acknowledge what they do is dangerous. And they don't recommend it for riders who aren't willing to practice or are too squeamish to deal with an occasional trip to the emergency room. "You can get killed doing this, so there's no question you don't take it lightly, and it's certainly not for everyone," said Texan "Big Scott" Harmon, who parlayed his motorcycle stunt skills into a professional career with Teamstunters. "I've been to the ER numerous times." Sportbikes first appeared in the 1980s. During the past decade, they have developed into racing machines capable of amazing acrobatics. In the 1990s, the average 450-pound sportbike motorcycle boasted 130 horsepower. Today's 400-pound bikes come with 160-horsepower engines, enough to approach 200 mph. Top sportbikes can hit 140 mph in an eighth of a mile.

"For the cost of a car - or much less in some cases - you can have a bike that will go as fast as a Lamborghini," Sonsky said. "It's pretty amazing stuff." To their critics, motorcycle stunters say relax. They note that the sport is coming in from the street and finding a home at the track and at motorsports shows where the riders are not a threat to drivers and medical care is readily available. Riders at these events are judged on style and professionalism. They wear full protective gear and perform on closed courses.
But many drivers can recall being passed by sportbikes that zip past in a blur before vanishing around the next bend like banking fighter jets. "For some people, this is a lifestyle," Sonsky said. "It's their new bling."