[Pigface1]

Pretty decent pucker factor on that.. lol

I've been trying how to launch from a dead dig and just can't get it. Just rolling out and torquing it works, but I was working on getting the rpms up and just feathering the clutch. I can get it, but for the life of me I can't keep the front wheel down and I'm all the way on the tank. So, I decided just to stay in the throttle, the wheel stayed a bit up through 1st, 2nd, and then going into 3rd I don't know what the hell happened, but it started shaking like a bitch. So, I rolled off and held on.

What is the secret, are you supposed to just keep off of it enough until the front wheel stays glued to the ground I take it? I'll get out to the strip soon and I guess it'll be easier to tell once I see my 60' times. It's frustrating.

The guys I know that are launching hard are starting WOT and feathering the clutch. . Maybe it's just as simple as more practice?

 

[zx636r]

damper?

n by pucker factor? what u mean ur ahole puckering up. lol

 

[jeeps84]

Yea,
What you doing this on?
A dampener will help but, If the bike has one factory it wont make much difference under 100mph in a straight line.

 

[Pigface1]

damper?

n by pucker factor? what u mean ur ahole puckering up. lol

I have a damper. However, I haven't set up any of the suspension, etc, yet. I'm sure that has a little to do with it. lol

Yep, that's the "Pucker Factor." It's the only thing that kept my ass on the seat. lmfao

 

[Pigface1]

Yea,
What you doing this on?
A dampener will help but, If the bike has one factory it wont make much difference under 100mph in a straight line.

I'm doing this on my Busa and I was doing probably 110 when this happened.

 

[jeeps84]

The Busa is defiantly heaver than my 03 GSXR 1k.
I would think that would help in this situation.
Set up the suspension firs and try it again.
If the rear is to soft, it will cause the front to rise more easily. :2cents:

 

[Pigface1]

Interesting. . thanks man. As a rule of thumb, what do you do to your tire pressures and suspension when you go to a strip?

 

[jeeps84]

It depend on what tires you use!
Stock/street tires- Lower the rear tire psi to around 20psi
Flat tread patch Drag slick- just enough psi to hold it up.
Strap the front down and hold on.
Don't bother heating a street tire in the bleach.
The tread catches the bleach and will carry it to the pad.
Cause spin on the take off.
I haven't dragged on the strip in a few but it hasn't changed much.
Not much difference on the street except less traction.

 

[GsxrJack]

Interesting. . thanks man. As a rule of thumb, what do you do to your tire pressures and suspension when you go to a strip?

rule of thumb on tire pressure is start it out with 25 psi on the rear and if your still having traction problems after a healthy burnout then lower it a few psi at a time..(dont go below 20psi, chance of tire spinning on the rim is kind of realistic at pressure lower than 20) some people like to bring the front up to 40psi to help with rolling but its only good for a millisecond of a tenth imo....

I always left my suspension just the way i drove it on the street, little to gain with softening up the rear with a bike like the busa..you could tie 200 pounds of lead on the front fender and that bike is still gonna lift the front end, :crazy:

launching,,,,,best way to launch a big litre bike is to bring it up to around 6-7,000 rpms then as soon as you let out the clutch and it starts to grab, bring it to wide open, and at the same time slipping the clutch.try to get the clutch out as soon as possible while not bogging down the engine or flipping it over in 1st gear...easier said than done but practice will help a lot....the older cable clutches were easier to slip since the feel was a lot better, the hydralic clutches are sometimes like an on/off switch and slipping it can be tricky.....

bringing a busa (or any big bike)up to wide open throttle at the start is too hard to control and be consistant.and isnt necassary at all......a 600 needs to be launched at nearly wide open since its gonna bog as soon as the clutch is fully engaged if you dont slip the hell out of it.....a big bike doesnt need to be revved up to full throttle right at the start, since it wont bog as easily as a smaller bike......

i cant remember if the busa's steering dampner is adjustable, if it is then you want to put it at its hardest to turn the handlebars setting...this will help with the tank slapping...the tank slapping is probably happening because the busa is making the front wheel so light through the first 3 gears that its litteraly just skimming the ground and the best way to prevent the shimmy is a light touch on the bars as your shifting, sometimes your pulling on the bars without realizing it and when the bike touches down its out of shape and is gonna shimmy like a bitch in heat when it does decide to plant itself all the way on the pavement......

if the bike is getting too high of a wheelie in 1st gear then just short shift it,(shift sooner than redline) you wont loose too much time doing that, you never want to roll off the throttle during a dragstrip run since that will really kill your time..

at the track look at your 60' times, that will determine how good your launching...try for a 1.8 second 60 foot time, thats a decent 60 footer....i use to be able to run 1.6's but thats also with over a thousand dragstrip runs on different bikes...a 1.8 or a 1.7 is a very good 60 foot time, youll see a lot of people with 2.0's and thats just not good at all..the whole dragrace is done in the first 60 feet, then just keep it to the stops and shift.....

have fun......

 

[Pigface1]

Thanks a lot guys, I really appreciate it!

Jeeps, I don't know of any tracks are using bleach anymore, it's just a water patch. Typically people running street tires do a small burnout just to clean the tires off. .

GSXR Jack, I was getting 2.0s on my runflats in my vette which is pretty tough to do, but I've yet to take a bike to the track.

Yes, the tankslapper happened when I went into 3rd. . in 2nd I took it deep into red and speed shifted, which I have to do. If I clutch at WOT, I can't hang on.

I'll see if the damper is adjustable. Loosening my grip will help prevent a tank slapper in the future? Interesting, I'll try that.

 

[GsxrJack]

Thanks a lot guys, I really appreciate it!

Jeeps, I don't know of any tracks are using bleach anymore, it's just a water patch. Typically people running street tires do a small burnout just to clean the tires off. .

GSXR Jack, I was getting 2.0s on my runflats in my vette which is pretty tough to do, but I've yet to take a bike to the track.

Yes, the tankslapper happened when I went into 3rd. . in 2nd I took it deep into red and speed shifted, which I have to do. If I clutch at WOT, I can't hang on.

I'll see if the damper is adjustable. Loosening my grip will help prevent a tank slapper in the future? Interesting, I'll try that.

I got a 2.03 on my runcraps on my 2000 and ran a 12.999 @108 with my vette bone stock vette, (only mod was the smooth tube at the intake, still had the paper air filter on it) launching the car was a lot harder to me than the bike, but with more and more runs im getting use to it.....with my mods i have now (blackwing, borla's and predator tuner) im hoping for a low 12 and a 1.9 with the kuhmo's....well see

 

[Pigface1]

I've got heads, cam, etc and haven't been able to run it well yet. The last time I ran it, I blew my clutch in the run and got a 12.7 @ 118. I should be trapping low 120s I think.

 

[jeeps84]

Jack
You say a 2 is a bad 60ft.
I have seen guys try so hard to get it.
So hard that they would lose the rest of the race.
When I was running my GS and GSXR I thought a 1.8 was pretty good w/o wheelie bars.

Pigface1
:sorry: I didn't say that 20psi should be the limit for street tires or unlocked bead.
As far as bleach, old habits die hard!
water just the same will carry on to the pad.
Dry hope it to sling it off!

 

[fishman]

Have you tried strapping the front down? It will help with keeping the front wheel on the pavement.

 

[jeeps84]

:withstupi

 

[Pigface1]

Have you tried strapping the front down? It will help with keeping the front wheel on the pavement.

No, I haven't. . that may be something I do at the track, but I'll need someone to show me how.

 

[GsxrJack]

Jack
You say a 2 is a bad 60ft.
I have seen guys try so hard to get it.
So hard that they would lose the rest of the race.
When I was running my GS and GSXR I thought a 1.8 was pretty good w/o wheelie bars.

Pigface1
:sorry: I didn't say that 20psi should be the limit for street tires or unlocked bead.
As far as bleach, old habits die hard!
water just the same will carry on to the pad.
Dry hope it to sling it off!

1.8 is good...thats why i told pig to try for it.....I could run low 1.7's all day on my old 600 hurricane and with my gsxr1100 i could run mid 1.6's constantly with a best of 1.62....
again, ive got thousands of dragstrip runs and over 25 years of doing it....

this is how i rate people that go to the drags, as far as a rider goes....this is all with no tiedowns etc, just lowering the rear wheel pressure....

2.0 is pretty easy to get your first or second time at the track

1.8 means youve got some skill and should get you the times that the magazines get for your bike, or at least pretty close..
I use to launch at around 1.8's speed for roadracing, (pretty safe yet hard launch) and it usually got me into turn #1 first or second...

1.6's..1.7's means a lot of practice and seat time and a lot of rear tires and clutches (3 or 4 a season)
this will get you the times the magazine guys get for your bike or better ..mostly better, not too many of them can get 1.6's either there are some, not sure if they are afraid of smoking a clutch on a bike loaned to them for a test though either....


then you have the truley talented guys like gladson etc that can run 1.5's and get insane times on anybike with a couple of tries.....

 

[GsxrJack]

as far as the tank slapper, like i said, the busa makes that front end real light and you may have just hit a little bump in the road and made it wobble, it may never happen in a straight line ever again :thumbs:

 

[Pigface1]

Well, I didn't panic, so that's a good thing. And I didn't panic Saturday when a carpet magically appeared in front of me on the Interstate at about 80mph. lol Everything else is just details, I'll get the hang of it. . Thanks a lot for the input.

 

[Pigface1]

Okay, I worked on it a little yesterday and tightend up my damper, big difference. I launched at around 5-6k and feathered and the bike is actually controllable now. :lol: It's still damn hard to get your feet on the pegs, but I'll get it. We'll see just how crappy I am on Friday, I hope.

Thanks, Jack! :cheers: