First Time at the Drag Strip

[Torn 14]

Great times! I loved taking my street bike to the drag strip. I was running down the track and getting back in line over and over again. My buddy had to tell me to chill out a little in between a group of runs to make it easier on the bike. IMHO, work on your 60ft times. Reaction time is good if you're racing someone else, but the 60ft times can make or break a run. Try to get them under 1.6 seconds and you will see your 1/4 mile times drop like a rock.

I agree with dropping the 60' times but let's give the guy a realistic # to shoot for - under 1.60 on basically a stock FJR on street tires is not gonna happen - I think 1.70 - 1.80 range is more likely.

 

[Torn 14]

Good report....i've spend half my life...and all of my money drag racing (cars). Never tried it on a bike.

Same here - and then went out and tried on a motorcycle - HOOKED! Much cheaper and more exhilarating than the cars, in my opinion.

 

[chrisflock]

The vid with your bro on the ninja 250 was too funny. What was his time? I thought he was crashed near the end of the vid because he took so long to get back in the frame. Very cool. I will have to see if there is any 250 riders who what to race for "pinks".

We all got a good laugh out of that video too. His best time was 16.365s @ 77.33mph. It'll be interesting to see how his times improve after he puts an exhaust system and a jet kit on the bike.

The funny part is that his quarter mile looks ridiculously slow compared to yours, but it would blow the doors off a lot of cars...

I remember when a guy I worked with had a fairly well modded Civic, he claimed it was a 10 second car...when he ran it on the quarter, he pulled an amazing 17.1..

The sad part was, his crappy intake and huge aftermarket muffler probably lowered his power, and between their extra weight and the body kit's weight and drag, he probably would have run in the mid 16's with the car stock...

 

[Bungie]

I remember when a guy I worked with had a fairly well modded Civic, he claimed it was a 10 second car...when he ran it on the quarter, he pulled an amazing 17.1..

True that. I spent a couple of summers bracket racing in a 340 Duster. Great fun running 13.8's off the street all day long.

I can't tell you the number of guys who'd spend untold thousands to guesstimate the cars 'puttin out about 500 horse' and figures it'll run in the low 12 in street trim.

Ya, then they get them out on the clocks at 14.5 seconds and just go up and down the block about how the carbs need to be dialed in or the advance needs tweeking or the the drag from the fan belt or....

 

[Spook]

The vid with your bro on the ninja 250 was too funny. What was his time? I thought he was crashed near the end of the vid because he took so long to get back in the frame. Very cool. I will have to see if there is any 250 riders who what to race for "pinks".

We all got a good laugh out of that video too. His best time was 16.365s @ 77.33mph. It'll be interesting to see how his times improve after he puts an exhaust system and a jet kit on the bike.

The funny part is that his quarter mile looks ridiculously slow compared to yours, but it would blow the doors off a lot of cars...

I remember when a guy I worked with had a fairly well modded Civic, he claimed it was a 10 second car...when he ran it on the quarter, he pulled an amazing 17.1..

The sad part was, his crappy intake and huge aftermarket muffler probably lowered his power, and between their extra weight and the body kit's weight and drag, he probably would have run in the mid 16's with the car stock...

Sounds a lot like all those 200 horse power HD guys. all brag no go

 

[Rondo777]

Looks like fun! But Im a little concerned about this: [SIZE=24pt]6ft 135lbs[/SIZE]

Look me up if you ever get to AZ, I'll take you out for a nice, big meal!

 

[lnewlf]

Me too Bunjie-several summers at Lebanon Valley dragstrip with my '71 340 Duster. Stock, it turned 13.8..With some good parts[Chrysler sure grip with 4.11s, Hookers ,Edelbrock etc.] it would run mid 12s..Then one day on the way home from a good day[trophy] at the strip I raced a guy on a bored out 750 K Honda. We each dropped the girlfriend on the side of the road and took off- he totally cleaned my clock- the first time I had ever lost to a bike..Wasn't to long after I sold the Duster and bought a bike. The FJR is not the fastest bike I've had but close. and I love to smoke the pimple faces with their 'fast' fart cars and the guys with their high end Euro cars..

 

[dj313]

I agree with dropping the 60' times but let's give the guy a realistic # to shoot for - under 1.60 on basically a stock FJR on street tires is not gonna happen - I think 1.70 - 1.80 range is more likely.

Agreed, a 1.70 would be mighty sweet! I was just figuring UP would be able to lay on the tank and launch his FJR at a fairly high rpm... ZOOM-ZOOM!

 

[ionbeam]

My Gen I hooks up for 1.7xx 60' times at New England Dragway. At Lebanon Valley I might hit a 1.6xx because the track is better maintained. I've always run quicker and faster at the slightly higher LV dragway than the near sea level NED.

As far as running with the bags on, as long as the bags are empty they will be more of a drag liability which would be reflected in lower mph. If the terminal velocity is 120 mph or better the bags are having almost no effect on the run.

With the Gen II's longer swing arm they should hook up better than a Gen I. With the Gen II's lower final drive ratio they most likely won't run as quick as a Gen I. I expect a 2003 will whip all later year FJRs by a small margin.

I've found that my Gen I produces best results when shifted around 8.5k. I have a hard time getting my 1-2 shift done on time because it comes so quick, the rest are easier. Could be because I'm getting old...

Track rules vary, check with your local track before heading out. Everyone is expected to have a DOT helmet, over the ankle boots and gloves. Usually there is a magic number like 120 mph or 11.0 seconds that trigger the next tier of safety equipment. If I'm going to run 120 mph or 11.2 seconds or quicker at my local track they want me to have an engine kill lanyard hooked to the run/stop switch and I must wear leather or gear that has a tag attached that says KELVAR. If someone exceeds the limits without the gear or equipment they park your ass and your night is done.

Drag runs are like potato chips -- bet you can't have just one :lol:

 

[dj313]

I have a hard time getting my 1-2 shift done on time because it comes so quick, the rest are easier. Could be because I'm getting old...

Can you flip the shift linkage and go to 1 up, 4 down on the FJR? I found I can bang down into 2nd a lot more quickly than trying to hook the shifter and lift up for 2nd... As always, YMMV!

You're right too, just like potato chips!!!!

 

[dean]

What track were you at? I never did a drag strip "race day."

Lapeer Dragway in Lapeer, MI

no kidding. i was there later in the day. my 1/4 mile time wasn't quite as good:



dean

 

[Sherman]

6' and 135? WTF is that?

Where are you from, Andersonville?

 

[Torn 14]

I agree with dropping the 60' times but let's give the guy a realistic # to shoot for - under 1.60 on basically a stock FJR on street tires is not gonna happen - I think 1.70 - 1.80 range is more likely.

Agreed, a 1.70 would be mighty sweet! I was just figuring UP would be able to lay on the tank and launch his FJR at a fairly high rpm... ZOOM-ZOOM!

The pickleman is incredibly light but with the stock center of gravity of an FJR, you can only launch it so hard (even with all the traction in the world) before you turn the Feejer into a human fly swatter. As Ionbeam stated, track maintenance is very important and the faster you go, the more crucial it becomes. My best time to date on my stretched and slammed ZX-14 is 9.39 @ 146 mph. My best 60' time is 1.49 but I usually launch soft enough to pull lower to mid 1.5 60' times as I need to modify the undertail to keep the rear tire from slamming into it on launch(the faster you go, the more issues arise). In my opinion, 1/4 mile time is really all decided in the first half of the track (1/8th mile) and the first 330' is really the most critical. Ahhhhhh, SPEED is GOOD!! :yahoo:

In case anyone wanys to check out my drag videos . . .

https://www.youtube.com/corporateklown

 

[TechMaven]

Each .10 improvement in 60' time will get you about 2/10's better e.t.

 

[UselessPickles]

6' and 135? WTF is that? Where are you from, Andersonville?

Why does everyone have a problem with my height/weight? I'm a very normal and healthy person:

 

[Torn 14]

6' and 135? WTF is that? Where are you from, Andersonville?

Why does everyone have a problem with my height/weight? I'm a very normal and healthy person:

Dude, that's nasty! :blink:

 

[UselessPickles]

Lemme get this straight... You were running with the bags on. Uh, why?? :blink: Dude, spell this with me: D-R-A-G. (and I'm not talkin' about dressing in drag either). Drag is not our friend on the drag strip. Next time pull those bricks off there and give it a go. You're bound to pick up a couple tenths at least!

I went to the drag strip again today and did a few runs without the bags, and also a different fuel mapping with a little more fuel at higher RPMs to hopefully help a bit with the extra airflow of my airbox mod and Holeshot headers (Remus Hexacones and custom dyno tuning coming next spring).

Best time of the day:

60ft: 1.939s

1/8 mile: 7.428s @ 104.87mph

1/4 mile: 11.360s @ 120.60mph

Best time of the day with bags on:

60ft: 1.971s

1/8 mile: 7.538s @ 103.63mph

1/4 mile: 11.511s @ 119.40mph

Compare to my previous best (with bags on):

60ft: 1.962s

1/8 mile: 7.529s @ 104.38mph

1/4 mile: 11.519s @ 119.72mph

A lot of people (including my dad who gets pretty consistent times with his Charger SRT8) were saying that their times were about 0.2-0.3s slower than normal today. I think it might have been the track conditions. I spun my rear tire during the launch quite a bit today. On a few runs I launched cleanly, but then my rear tire broke loose and spun for a while while accelerating through first gear. There seemed to be less grip on the track compared to last time. I'm thinking that with better track conditions, some more practice launching, and the addition of slip-on exhaust with custom dyno tuning might get me into the upper 10s range.

 

[OGRE]

What are the safety rules where you race? They wouldn't let me run at Atlanta with a textile suit.... gotta have race leathers if your bike is over 600cc.... and being 6'8'' 265 there is no such thing as race leathers unless I go custom.

 

[UselessPickles]

What are the safety rules where you race? ...

Rules are based on 1/4 mile times. All bikers are required to wear a SNELL+DOT helmet, leather jacket, leather gloves, long pants and over-the-ankle leather boots. If your 1/4 mile time is 11.99s or less, full leathers are required and maybe a tether?

They seem to be lenient on the test & tune days. I ride with full textile gear (with armor), no tether, and have not yet been hassled.

 

[UselessPickles]

Follow-up on the rules...

From the drag strip's website:

7.Motorcycle, quad and snowmobile drivers must have helmets, face shields, leather jacket, leather gloves and ankle high leather shoes or boots ( NO TENNIS SHOES )and all machines must have chain guards.
8.All drivers of machines running 11.99 in the 1/4 mi, or 7.49 in the 1/8 mile or faster must be wearing full leathers and machine running 10.99 in the 1/4 mi. must be equipped with a tether.

DRIVERS MUST KEEP FRONT WHEEL ON TRACK . NO LIFTING FRONT WHEEL OVER 8 INCHES.FRONT WHEEL MUST BE ON THE TRACK PAST 60FT. MARK

Yeah; I'm breaking the rules. oops...