There's a Run What Ya Brung event this weekend. I know it's probably more suited to the ZZR and Hayabusa types but anyone here done it? Any experiences to share?
Ran lambrettas back in the late 80's on RWYB. Cant remember the time but it wasnt particularly great and was a complete and utter failure. I realised why the scoot needed a flywheel of a certain weight. My super lightened one didnt have enough inertia to keep the damn thing going properly. Back it was to the drawing board. :Bag: Nowadays I understand flywheels etc.
There's no skill required on straight line stuff,you just have to open the throttle,thats why I only do corners.............
It's not easy to launch properly, but it's hardly an art that compares with cornering and track riding. The whole point of motorbikes for me is that it's 80% rider and 20% machine instead of the opposite for cars. Drag racing goes back to 80% machine again. It amazes me the money people spend on drag cars and bikes to get an extra tenth of a second when next years model goes quicker anyhow. Four hours hanging off the bike around corners or one minute of drag runs?
Its an engineering exercise. Making huge power from these engines is not easy. I quite like to watch drag racing. Its good fun. I also disagree about launching being an 'art'. Just because you cannot see it doesnt mean it doesnt exist. The difference between winning and losing is all in the launch, the anticipation of the lights etc. Its a lot more detailed than it may look. Ask Smrz if launching is easy...
I dont mean to argue that there's nothing to it, I've done it in cars and know that it's not at all easy to get right.
I was ofcourse joking with my earlier comments.To compare straight line stuff with going around corners stuff is a completely different skill set and easily dismissed.As james G knows,because you're good at one doesnt mean that your over qualified at the other.If it was that easy why dont the Moto GP boys add another easier World championship to their biking CV via a drag racing championship?Why dont the marathon runners enter the 100 meters ??.The standard response is ofcourse "It doesn't interest me and its easy so not interested".I promise you that if you have a talent for going around corners it wont translate into being quick on the 1/4 mile.Modern cars and bikes have all of the bells and whistles i.e launch ,brake,wheelie and traction control to make the average rider/driver closer to the really skilled but despite this,they still wont win on these alone.Drag racing is all about beating your own best time in class on the day not other classes and because there are several variables on different tracks and days ie wind directions,wind speed,traction,ambient temps etc etc,who ever gets the best times on the day on the same track in class is your goal.
So I ended up having a pretty enjoyable day. Drag racing is not something I'd want to do very often, but it was worthwhile for being able to pin the bike open and give it its head. As the guys above mentioned, with a latter day DSG'd and launch controlled car, I can't see there being any real skill or enjoyment but a bike is a very different proposition indeed and controlling the launch is quite tricky, as is timing your upshifts properly. You also have to figure out if you want to stage first. I started off pretty apprehensive, bogging the bike on the first run and then not revving out in the gears. I'd been pitched alongside a full-on ZX10 with lengthened swingarm and the rest. It was noisy as hell so I couldn't hear what my own bike was doing. That first run was a crappy 14 seconds. As the day went on, I did a bunch more runs and improved each time (see the print below) finishing with a 12er. My group of friends and I started getting pretty competitive. One or two more goes and I'm pretty sure I'd have hit the low 11s. This guy had a very questionable location for his live NOS bottle. Maybe he wanted to be a rocket man.
See other thread, my mate Tom just broke the world Wheelie Record for normally aspirated bikes on Saturday - 1km wheelie topping out at 173.2mph through the lights - straight line stuff, tad amount of skill :Wideyed:
Glad you had fun. I didn't mean to sound like I was slagging off drag earlier, it was just my off the cuff opinions. Exige - 1km wheelie is pretty awesome!!
