Hit the dragstrip for the first time last night

[Angel of Death]

Bike is a '92 with a K&N, stage 3 jets, Supertrap 4 into 2 and otherwise stock with 36k miles.

I spent the night at New England Dragway in Epping NH, right down the street from the SigArms Academy. I was the only non-crotchrocket, non-stetched out bike there. Slow night, only 10 bikes the entire night! The bike and I and all my gear (no leather pants) weighed in at a portly 842 lbs! Ouch!

First run was my best, but having never drag'd before, therefore my first launch was terrible. I took the advice on 'max launching from a link I got here somewhere. Now I haven't drag'd anything in about 6 years, 5 of those spent in the Marines and 4 overseas so I've been out of the game forever. Plus I've never drag'd a bike before so it was quite disorienting at first.

Terrible launch, best time of the night, go figure. Staged at 4k RPM.

R/T ... .713
60' ... 2.136
330 ... 5.440
1/8 ... 8.090
MPH ... 91.83
1000 ... 10.406
1/4 ... 12.403
MPH ... 112.51

Second launch, really can't remember what I did specifically other than staging at 5k RPM.


R/T ... .177
60' ... 2.368
330 ... 5.596
1/8 ... 8.220
MPH ... 93.84
1000 ... 10.547
1/4 ... 12.540
MPH ... 112.52

Third launch, turns out, 6500 was a bit high as the clutchwork put my front wheel about 16 inches off the ground. That scary spectacle killed my mojo, otherwise would have been a good run. Shifting at 11,5 probably wasn't the best idea either.

R/T ... .110
60' ... 2.329
330 ... 5.636
1/8 ... 8.284
MPH ... 92.62
1000 ... 10.597
1/4 ... 12.599
MPH ... 112.14

I'm absolutely open to constructive criticism, but probably won't make it back to the strip before next season.

Thanks, Erik
________
What Kind Of Boat Does Dexter Have?

 

[rhoke]

First of all I want to say thanks for your service time over seas. Second those are not that bad of times considering this was you first time dragn on a bike. Main thing is to improve 60 ft times other than that it will just come to you. Thanks again too bad your with Marines:bang head:, Army is way to go. HOORAHunk: LOL. Roy

 

[one2dmax]

60' time will help you get faster but the real indicator of potential times you can run is the MPH. If you note the MPH barely varied for you. Based on what I see even with the best launches I would expect a high 11 with your setup. If you do some tuning changes (better header/jet kit) and get the MPH higher you can get a faster elapsed time.

Either way it's all fun!

Sean

 

[shawn kloker]

I also agree with Sean. Start shifting at 9500 not 11500.You are just waisting your time that high.Torque has fallen way off by then.

 

[lankeeyankee]

Shifting at 11.5 I am surprised you made it back to the return road after the first pass. The VMAX redline is 10.5 and this motor stops making hp after 8500. I shift mine at 9200 with a stock 85 engine with a kerker and carb mods running 101.
Not sure why your MPH is so low off about 10MPH which may be due to the high shift points. I am not sure how tucked in you are after 1st gear. After I hit second gear I am tucked in tight against the tank with my eyes even with the speedo. This helps with the wind resistence since the VMAX has no fairing. I know this will kill about 5-7 MPH off.
60FT times is the key to ET. Getting the first 60ft of the track greatly lowers your ET in the long run. Launching the VMAX takes years of expierence and hundreds of passes to get down in the 1.5 - 1.6 times. Little practice most can pull off a 1.7 once in awhile. There are many tricks to launching a stock chassis VMAX mostly the key is in the clutch control. Most of all if your not out trying to win money bracket racing have fun and compete against yourself. The dragstrip is the best I belive in tuning a bike and also its legal fun and an excuse to reem your bike out.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

I never broke below 12 my first two trips to the strip with my Max, practice counts......

After the 4th trip I was hitting 11.60's with a stock bike and weight at 860 with full gear.........

lankey's right about shiftting, he knows, hit it around 9500 and also just "blip" the throttle while pre-loading the shift lever without jacking with the clutch at all...it's actually easier on the driveline than using the clutch and shocking the driveline...

I launch at around 6000 and try to feather the clutch till full engagement off the line but it still ends up being more of a bog and loft method anyway.......

A decent rider oughtta be able to pull 1.80 60' times without to much trouble after plenty of practice,,,

Good luck,,,

 

[Angel of Death]

I appreciate all the advice guys! 60 foot times certainly where I need to work the most, along with shifting a lot earlier. I'm going to try to make it to the track one more time this year, but with living in Jersey (school) and driving back to MA and then on to NH for the strip it sure is stressful. Best of luck to you all and thank you. Erik
________
Expert insurance

 

[KJShover]

you'll do just fine with more seat time. Just lay off the revs. Coprunner lives in Jersey, you and he could practice together.

You can't miss him. he's on a 07' max and is prolly doing 110 right now while looking over his shoulder.

CR, I couldn't resist

 

[Rusty McNeil]

QUOTE=KJShover;46145]you'll do just fine with more seat time. Just lay off the revs. Coprunner lives in Jersey, you and he could practice together.

You can't miss him. he's on a 07' max and is prolly doing 110 right now while looking over his shoulder.

CR, I couldn't resist [/QUOTE]


:rofl_200:

 

[lankeeyankee]

Your bike isnt tuned properly. MPH is real low. I know how mine ran running 90 MPH in the 1/8 was a real slug and didnt feel like the RPMS were rising.
Your air should be awesome up in NH what sea level are you at? Should be atleast seeing 99MPH in the 1/8 and 121MPH in the 1/4

Bike is a '92 with a K&N, stage 3 jets, Supertrap 4 into 2 and otherwise stock with 36k miles.

I spent the night at New England Dragway in Epping NH, right down the street from the SigArms Academy. I was the only non-crotchrocket, non-stetched out bike there. Slow night, only 10 bikes the entire night! The bike and I and all my gear (no leather pants) weighed in at a portly 842 lbs! Ouch!

First run was my best, but having never drag'd before, therefore my first launch was terrible. I took the advice on 'max launching from a link I got here somewhere. Now I haven't drag'd anything in about 6 years, 5 of those spent in the Marines and 4 overseas so I've been out of the game forever. Plus I've never drag'd a bike before so it was quite disorienting at first.

Terrible launch, best time of the night, go figure. Staged at 4k RPM.

R/T ... .713
60' ... 2.136
330 ... 5.440
1/8 ... 8.090
MPH ... 91.83
1000 ... 10.406
1/4 ... 12.403
MPH ... 112.51

Second launch, really can't remember what I did specifically other than staging at 5k RPM.


R/T ... .177
60' ... 2.368
330 ... 5.596
1/8 ... 8.220
MPH ... 93.84
1000 ... 10.547
1/4 ... 12.540
MPH ... 112.52

Third launch, turns out, 6500 was a bit high as the clutchwork put my front wheel about 16 inches off the ground. That scary spectacle killed my mojo, otherwise would have been a good run. Shifting at 11,5 probably wasn't the best idea either.

R/T ... .110
60' ... 2.329
330 ... 5.636
1/8 ... 8.284
MPH ... 92.62
1000 ... 10.597
1/4 ... 12.599
MPH ... 112.14

I'm absolutely open to constructive criticism, but probably won't make it back to the strip before next season.

Thanks, Erik