[johnnySV]

i am going to drag my bike tonight for the first time @ the local Street Night, dragstrip.

i am a licensed road racer and definately familiar w/ launching my bike off the grid when the green flag drops.

my question is... what kind of differences can i expect on a drag track?

should i line up in the blue groove of other car's tires, or is it better to stay off to the side and away from the sticky rubber?

i dont assume a burn out is necessary on the ol SV considering how sticky the launch pad will be, right?

i will also likey have had my tire warmers on in the pits... i figure this cant hurt. plus, i might as well save my tire from chicken strips.

a friend told me to 'go' when the last yellow light illuminates. i guess if you see the green its too late?

any tips?

thanks,
jSV

 

[67GTONUT]

Yes, stay on the rubber tracks of the cars.... plenty sticky there

If you are gonna use the tire warmers, defintly no need to burn-out.

If you see the green..... your late..... That last yellow comes on.....GO!!!!

 

[threecpete]

I did 35+ passes a couple months ago at a drag seminar at MIR - best time was 12.29 (mostly stock).

A few tips:

-No need to do burnouts w/ street tires (stay out of the water). You'll want to up your tire pressure a bit - over 40 at least but play w/ it.

-It's all about keeping those revs up, not bogging and manipulating the clutch out of the hole. You'll want to strive to be wide open by the time you pass the tree.

-don't worry about getting both feet on the bike. The most important obviously is the shifter foot. I've seen guys go all the way down the strip w/ their right leg off the bike. And of course, clutchless shifts.

-when you prestage (1st set of yellows), get your revs up to where you want them and hold it. tuck and slooooowly walk until you stage (2nd set of yellows). dont move up any more or you'll increase your chances of red-lighting. it'll also hurt your ET.

-don't anticipate the last yellow but launch as soon as you see the last yellow. it helps if you don't concentrate on the entire light. I usually focus on one bulb of the whole light (like the right or left side for instance)

hope that helps. good luck and have fun.

 

[ShaggyZ]

Hey, Johnny! How did you end up doing at the track?

 

[sdobbs20]

i'm interested in doing a few passes at my local strip. thanks for posting the couple of little tips for us noobs!

 

[ShaggyZ]

i'm interested in doing a few passes at my local strip. thanks for posting the couple of little tips for us noobs!

Do everything you can to get out of the hole without looping your bike or chopping the throttle. The first 60 feet is the hard part. If you can get through that with only bringing your wheel a bit off the ground and not using your clutch, you should be cutting mid-12's assuming you're under 200lbs full geared up. I AM accounting for your likely high elevation, too. You have a number of mods.

 

[erstadw]

what rpm's are you guys launching at? Is around 5k ideal? I wanna get one of those raptor shift/lauch lights so i can get my shift point more consistant.