World-first bid at steepest street

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Ian Soanes, who will attempt to wheelie down Dunedin's Baldwin St today, practises for what is believed to be a world-first stunt. Photo by Matthew Haggart.

Cardrona stuntman Ian Soanes has a New Year resolution which befits a man they call the "Wheelie King".

Today, Mr Soanes will line up at the top of Baldwin St, in Dunedin, to wheelie his way down the world's steepest street on his motorcycle.

Soanes is hoping to add Baldwin St to his impressive resume of world-first stunts.

"It hasn't been done before. It's a challenge and I thought `I should do that,"' he said of his bid.

The key to pulling off the trick is maintaining a precarious tipping point down the 19deg street - that, and not cooking the bike's rear brake, Mr Soanes said.

"It's not death-defying or anything, but it is very difficult.

"Anyone can wheel-stand up a hill, but when you go downhill you have to be behind balance point or the motorbike keeps speeding up.

"You're on the point of falling the whole way down."

The 55-year-old said his main concerns were a "bit of road rash" and a possible back injury if his bike falls on him.

"Things can go wrong with any stunt, but if you remove all of the danger then I feel like it's cheating.

"It's about taking a calculated risk. You think through any stunt really carefully," Mr Soanes said.

He will ride a two-stroke 250cc Suzuki Enduro, which, unlike a four-stroke bike, will not allow him to engine brake.

"Having the brakes fail from overheating coming downhill on such a steep slope is a real possibility," he said.

Mr Soanes, who owns and operates the Cardrona Adventure Park in the Cardrona Valley, has fashioned a 30-year stunt career during which he has jumped monster trucks over aeroplanes and through burning double-decker buses, been the first person to wheel-stand a tractor and performed leaps on motorcycles.

His stunt career has resulted in numerous injuries sustained in crashes or when stunts have gone wrong, such as the time he was crushed by a tractor when it tipped on him while he was driving it on two wheels.

Mr Soanes will attempt his Baldwin St stunt at 5pm today.

Baldwin St
- World's steepest street
- Length: About 350m
- Maximum angle of about 19deg, or a gradient of 1:2.86.
- Motor stuntman Ian Soanes plans to wheelie his 250cc Suzuki Enduro two-stroke motocross bike down Baldwin St at 5pm today.