High Lord Gomer
Poked with Sticks
- Sep 26, 1999
- 11,788
- 35
Well, for a month, anyway. :)
http://www.carolinadragway.com/preview/results.php
During the practice rounds I couldn't keep the front wheel on the ground. I have 6" swingarm extensions that I usually put on when I go to drag race but I didn't this time. I have run 11.31 without the extensions, but all of my practice runs were 11.6 - 12.0, depending on how soon I could get the front end back down. I even tried taking off at idle thinking I might be more consistent if I didn't slip the clutch at all. That didn't work because the bike almost died from being full throttle at such low RPMs. On my last practice run I finally decided to slip the clutch gently to keep the front end down and it seemed to work.
There were only 5 of us in the bike class with the first one to sign up getting a bye in the first round. I lined up with a guy on his father's ZX-14 (he normally rides an R1. Both he and his father were running in the nines in practice but switched bikes for the races for some reason. I dialed in an 11.80, figuring that if I wheelied, that would be about what I might run and if I didn't I could back out of it near the end. I had a good light, .048, kept the front end down so I had 1.846 at the 60' mark, then looked over for him when I got near the end. He was way back there so I got on the brakes and slowed down to 101.9 mph. I ended up breaking out by .26 seconds but got lucky because he redlit. Otherwise he had a good run with a 9.928 on a 9.90 dial-in.
In the second round I lined up with a guy who had just gotten back into riding with a Katana 750. I changed my dial-in to 11.60 after running an 11.54 on the brakes. The person with the best reaction time in the first round got the bye in the second round. I was thinking I might have it with the .048 but Jamie, a regular who runs the full points series, had a .012 reaction time in his first round! This race was unusual for me because I'm usually the slower guy racing against full-blown drag bikes and 'busas. The other guy was still learning the lights and had a bad reaction time of .370. I had a decent light (for me) with a .084 and kept the front end down for a 1.875 at the 60' mark. I caught the other guy after the 1/8 and rode just ahead of him. I was still a little too far in front so I got om the brakes before the lights and got down to 94mph.
WooHoo! I'm in the finals!
Jamie, on his ZX-9, runs consistely between 10.6 and 10.8 so he dialed in 10.7. I left mine at 11.60. I was surprised that I had a better reaction time than him, .078 to .113. I again was able to keep the front down and got to the 60' mark at 1.885. When I looked back Jamie was a fair bit back so I got on the brakes. Then he seemed to be too close so I got back on the gas. Then I got back on the brakes again before the end, slowed down to 93 mph, and (if I'm reading the slip right, finished .0969 seconds ahead of him. It was close! I knew something must have been wrong because he runs 10.6 - 10.8 EVERY time. Turns out his clutch was slipping.
3 lucky passes and I got a trophy, but they haven't posted those pictures, yet.
http://www.carolinadragway.com/preview/results.php
During the practice rounds I couldn't keep the front wheel on the ground. I have 6" swingarm extensions that I usually put on when I go to drag race but I didn't this time. I have run 11.31 without the extensions, but all of my practice runs were 11.6 - 12.0, depending on how soon I could get the front end back down. I even tried taking off at idle thinking I might be more consistent if I didn't slip the clutch at all. That didn't work because the bike almost died from being full throttle at such low RPMs. On my last practice run I finally decided to slip the clutch gently to keep the front end down and it seemed to work.
There were only 5 of us in the bike class with the first one to sign up getting a bye in the first round. I lined up with a guy on his father's ZX-14 (he normally rides an R1. Both he and his father were running in the nines in practice but switched bikes for the races for some reason. I dialed in an 11.80, figuring that if I wheelied, that would be about what I might run and if I didn't I could back out of it near the end. I had a good light, .048, kept the front end down so I had 1.846 at the 60' mark, then looked over for him when I got near the end. He was way back there so I got on the brakes and slowed down to 101.9 mph. I ended up breaking out by .26 seconds but got lucky because he redlit. Otherwise he had a good run with a 9.928 on a 9.90 dial-in.
In the second round I lined up with a guy who had just gotten back into riding with a Katana 750. I changed my dial-in to 11.60 after running an 11.54 on the brakes. The person with the best reaction time in the first round got the bye in the second round. I was thinking I might have it with the .048 but Jamie, a regular who runs the full points series, had a .012 reaction time in his first round! This race was unusual for me because I'm usually the slower guy racing against full-blown drag bikes and 'busas. The other guy was still learning the lights and had a bad reaction time of .370. I had a decent light (for me) with a .084 and kept the front end down for a 1.875 at the 60' mark. I caught the other guy after the 1/8 and rode just ahead of him. I was still a little too far in front so I got om the brakes before the lights and got down to 94mph.
WooHoo! I'm in the finals!
Jamie, on his ZX-9, runs consistely between 10.6 and 10.8 so he dialed in 10.7. I left mine at 11.60. I was surprised that I had a better reaction time than him, .078 to .113. I again was able to keep the front down and got to the 60' mark at 1.885. When I looked back Jamie was a fair bit back so I got on the brakes. Then he seemed to be too close so I got back on the gas. Then I got back on the brakes again before the end, slowed down to 93 mph, and (if I'm reading the slip right, finished .0969 seconds ahead of him. It was close! I knew something must have been wrong because he runs 10.6 - 10.8 EVERY time. Turns out his clutch was slipping.
3 lucky passes and I got a trophy, but they haven't posted those pictures, yet.