Frank posted -"Not sure if leaving off a button is legal in street ET as that is considered a starting line aid, so be careful about a line lock in that class. Eventually you will get protested- especially if you make rounds. Don't get caught up in that arrangement."
I asked Sam at the beginning of April, 2012 to get an official opinion of using a line lock in Street ET. Sam messaged me back that he was going to talk with Jay Reagan at the upcoming Valdosta event. That is where we found out that line locks are legal for all bikes in Street ET.
All the postings here should benefit anyone building a CB750 based bike. That's why the $2,500 was raised for Cup event sponsorship. Finding good information on how to bracket race '70s era bikes isn't easy to find. This web site should be a big help.
I've been though many, many protests, rules changes, etc. from racers who didn't like losing to a slow, old, Hondamatic. I ultimately got my equipment banned for 6 years at my home track. All this work to bring me down/quit had the effect to make me an expert on the rules. I could quote them exactly as written. I was good enough at it that a new track manager made me an IHRA tech inspector for 3 seasons. You take an exam each year. Protests on using me kept me from doing any tech work at that track. Several track owners later and I got my equipment banned. I moved to the other track in my state. About 2 years later, I became the bike tech inspector for that track. I've been doing tech inspections for the last 8+years there.
What I read from Frank was to not use a line lock on a Hondamatic. Why? Because you may get protested. Because it is a starting line aid. Jay Reagan didn't have any problem with line locks being used in Street ET as he considered them safety items. They perform the same function on clutch and automatic motorcycles. If protested and somehow approved, all line locks would have to be removed from the class. Since Sam asked the direct question, I don't know of any reason why there could be a protest of that. You don't start with a protest; you start with a question of the tech people - "Are line locks legal in Street ET?" That ends that potential issue. I have a big sore spot for anyone who gets beat by something different and the first response is to protest them. Frank is familiar with that attitude.
How does a Hondamatic hold a particular rpm on the starting line without a 2 step? Now that's a better question. People seem to want to equate a torque converter to a slider clutch. A slider clutch will launch a bike at a particular rpm. A torque converter will launch at a rpm that varies with the motor's power. On a hot day, a Hondamatic in Street ET will launch at several hundred rpms lower than it will in cold air days. The power of the motor determines the rpm that the motor will load against the torque converter fluid flow. The torque converter varies far more than the slider does. MiRock series seemed to have a person in power who felt that slider=torque converter. Their rules specified that all bikes in Street ET must launch with the action of a clutch lever. An interesting side note: Vic Force ran the Worm in Street ET at a MiRock event....(He didn't win)
The 2016 Cup rules never stated that all bikes in Street ET must have a clutch. There are rules for the bikes who have clutches to ensure that they aren't running sliders. Bill got that confirmed.
Automatics don't wheelie off the line with less than 105 horses at the rear wheel, unless you're adding weight to try to make a wheelie machine. I haven't afforded to go much higher in power. They don't behave like 130 rear wheel hp (or higher) that most dragbikes have. Hondamatics don't launch at 7 grand, or 8 grand, or 9 grand like dragbikes do. Enough money and you might be able to get there. Thousands of $$ to make your bracket bike less repeatable. That's why I say that it's apples and oranges. If you don't know the answer ask the question, don't offer solutions. Build the bike for your own preferences. Don't build it differently to avoid protests. When you get there, you've already done a lot right. Just know the rules when you start.
