For the avoidance of doubt a wheelie is when you lift the front wheel in a controlled manner, it’s not just popping one up! At first it will seem like you’re a mile high but trust me you’re not. When you’re holding on to the bars and dangling by your arms you’re probably too high. It really does take quite a bit of practice to get right and there is a real danger of crashing your bike.

What do you need before you start?
Decent suspension with good fork seals
Chain in good condition and correctly adjusted
Take up any throttle slack
Decent tyres
A clear, clean and dry straight road.

Once mastered wheelies are best performed:
Outside casualty units of most hospitals.
At a biker meeting when the boys are showing off.
At traffic lights if a bloke pulls up alongside you.
When you feel like it.

Even though these techniques were perfected on the Bandit I have used them on other bikes.

"The 1200 is easy but the 600 requires a bit more skill"

The Bandit 1200
I’ve also used the following technique on most litre class sports bikes including:
Fireblade, GSX R1000, ZX 9R, ZX 636R (yes really), Aprilia Mille, R1
It should also work on anything with enough torque, you’ve just have to experiment to find the powerband.

The Instructions:
Select first gear Over-grip throttle so you can get at least three quarters movement in one twist.
Grip the tank with your knees
Steady yourself and cover the back brake.
Accelerate fairly slowly in a straight line up to about 22-25 mph
Do not dip the throttle to compress the forks *
Twist the throttle in one fast sharp movement.
The front *will* come up.

* On the 1200 you do not have to dip the throttle to compress the front because the engine has so much torque. Some bikes do need it though and you will need to experiment.

At first the bike will just shoot forward but it will start lifting as you gain confidence with your throttle. The secret is to really give it a sharp twist

You’ll find there's about a quarter of an inch of movement which will control the height but this takes practice. When you get it right you will be able to keep it up and even produce a slight nodding movement to wave at other riders. The next stage is snicking through the gears.

The Bandit and other 600s
The technique for a Bandit 600 is different and this is how you wheelie a Bandit 600 from almost a standstill. It really does work but take care. It also works for most other bikes but you'll have to play around with the revs. When you get it right it looks good. When you get it wrong just don't look.

On a straight level road and in 1st gear.
Gently rev to 1500
Open throttle quickly to just 2000
Close throttle quickly to compress the front forks
At the same time apply back brake. This causes the bike to squat.
Open throttle to 5000 at the same time release back brake
Flick the clutch.
The front will come up quite quickly.

An easier way but not as spectacular:
Rev to about 4,000 rpm
Pull in clutch and rev to 7000 (ish) you'll have to experiment to find the best position for your weight and seating position.
Release the clutch very quickly.

NOTES:
I prefer clutching up on the bigger bikes since it gives more control, the technique for this is fairly simple.
In second gear at about 45mph close the throttle slightly then rev to about 5,000 (on the gixxer thou) and flick the clutch. The front will rise sweetly, you can either hold it there or snick through the gears. To lower the front end you can squeeze the back brake which will bring it down gently, I also just close the throttle off a bit. With practice you should be able to make a nice soft landing. The last thing you’ll want to do is land hard and damage your head bearings.