Any bike drag racers out there?

[husker525]

My bike will be seeing some 1/4 and 1/8 mile drag strip times in the near future at Bandimere Speedway in Denver.

I have never drag raced a motorcycle, other than rolling starts. I have great reaction times for a man of my years, and can pull holeshots in the dirt all day long.

My question is.....

What gear and what rpm launch to leave at the light? I already know about body position to minimize wheelies, and maximize weight shift and traction.

I am concerned about lighting up the rear tire, or worse, having the bike wheelie and fly out from underneath me on the launch.

Do I feather the clutch, dump it, or a subtle combination of both.

Once I have launched, I have the rest relatively under control. Any advice will be taken into consideration.

Thanks in advance...

[MikeN02]

Maybe try to get or look into an extended swing arm and have it lowered. People who drag bikes do that to not wheelie the bike and some other aerodynamic stuff.

[99vengeur]

I haven't drag raced bikes, but I think feathering the clutch might give you the best control for initiating the launch while not overpowering the rear tire. Also, you may want to try launching in 2nd gear because the FZ6R seems to have a really short 1st gear.

That's just how my mind is visualizing it.

[husker525]

Thanks for the tips, I appreciate them. As far as modifying the bike's suspension components, (i.e, lengthened swingarm), I still want to keep this bike as streetable and borderline stock (relative term now) as possible. I am looking into maybe fabricating a quick release wheelie bar of sorts, or something along those lines.

When you have an extended swingarm over 2", you move the center of gravity of the bike. This actually can cause more tire spin problems, as your weight is moved farther away from the rear tire. You can compensate for this with different tire compounds or even a wider rear tire, but a wider rear tire without fabbing a different swingarm configuration and width starts to come into some challenges.

I am only drag racing it at certain events for publicity, and to show that not only does it look good (IMO), it also runs well. Will it beat a liter bike or another 600? Who knows, a lot comes down to rider, but I know it won't be a slug either.

Keep the tips coming, please....

[Funkmaxtor]

Don't dump the clutch. I have tried to launch a few times now. Every time I end up standing the bike up almost vertical before chopping the throttle to bring it down. I'm still working on that slipping the clutch deal... I would guess that our bikes would be very low 7's on a 500ft track. But I really don't have a time or evidence to back that up. I would definitely like to see someones "official" time. Good luck!

[husker525]

I have seen a few articles on the net that stated our bikes ran in the low 12's for the 1/4 mile. I guess we will find out if thatbis more fact than fiction in the near future. The x-factor where I live is being a mile above sea level.

[husker525]

Well, it is official. I took the bike to the 1/4 mile dragstrip at Bandimere Speedway, located in Denver, Colorado at an elevation of roughly 5600' above sea level.

My 1st 2 time trials were a disaster, all because of me. Missed shifts and inadequate launches, as well as red lighting seemed to be a problem for me.

I finally got it sorted out, the best run was a 12.11 in the 1/4 at a speed of 124.

Just for the record, I launched at 8k, feathering the clutch, and shifted at 10k.

Stock rear tire, no NOS, just motor. I found I was carrying the front end through 2 gears, then hazing the tire 1/2 way through 3rd, (which was butt puckering for me, I might add).

I attempting to locate a scanner to see about displaying the time slips, but that will take a few days.

I totally suck at this bracket drag racing, and dont plan to TIVO me on any upcoming PINKS episodes...lol

The good news is I didn't crash, unlike one unlucky guy who broke his crotch rocket in half and walked away. I also had the fastest ATV in the 1/8 mile, all while smoking the tires and wheelying down the track. It was a fun day, and a learning experience.

Just for a footnote, the fastest bike of the day was a Hyabusa, which turned a 7.1 second 1/4 mile pass at 219 mph. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Superzoom]

Wow, Husker, your time is really, really impressive. I think your time equals or beats what bike magazine testers are getting.

I've never had my front wheel come up. But I'd love to at least know how to get a solid launch from a dead start.

[99vengeur]

Were you launching in 1st or 2nd gear? Did you try both?

BTW, those are some pretty good numbers. See, our bikes are definitely not all show and no go! We can move and groove with the rest of them. Plus, we are a lot more comfortable doing it!

[angelsneverlose]

Do you have any of the slips? Im not calling BS or anything, but ive been three times now this year and the CBR's and R6's are trapping between 122-127 MPH for the 1/4. Two of them are friends of mine and running 11.3-4's in the 1/4.

I just find it hard to believe that our bikes are trapping at 124 when some CBR's are only able to get 122MPH... Clearly our bike is not as quick as a R6 or CBR, since i own an R6 as well and only trap 124 MPH and get 11.8's or so (i suck at launching, but this does not change the high end trap speed)