Never seen an RS or any GP bike tweaked for drag racing like that. I love the look of pure racing machinery. It's amazing a functional motorcycle can weigh 138 lbs. Is there a class for these at the track or is it just for fun?
How do you launch with that powerband - did you beef up the clutch or plan to change it often? What kind of times and trap speeds do you expect? The power to weight has to be right there with modern liter bikes.
tsflstb, thanks for the intrest and some good questions and points raised.
I was surprised at your amazement of the bikes weight. The FIM set weight limits for racing, was this not the case, I am sure the factories concerned would get them a lot lighter than what I have done. Even myself, if I were so inclined could build a machine using the same motor down to about 80lbs with the use of lighter and stronger materials. It's all a matter of cost and I believe my bike as built will be up to the task put before it.
I know you are a weight freak with your 345lbs 400 weighed on your Wal-Mart bathroom scales
people laugh we you tell them how you weighed them. If you were to put your bike on a very accurate set of scales, I'll bet there wouldn't be + or - a lb or so. I weigh mine the same way
The bike hasn't been built for drag racing although it looks a little as if it has. It's been built to attack all the British short distance speed records in the 175cc class. The distances are quarter mile, kilometer and mile, from both standing and flying starts.
For the standing quarter, this is the reason for it resembling a small drag bike, it needs to get off the line quickly without going skywards, hence the longish swingarm. At normal club sprints there is no class for 175cc machines so I have to run in the 250cc class. At that stage, yes, it's just for fun and I'll be using these events both sprints and drag races to test the bike before the British Records Weekend next year.
You asked how I launch with the power band. That's a good question. Under 7,000rpm it has zilch power
anything over those revs and it may as well be spinning at 13,000 with around 40bhp straight in
that's why I have given myself a full season of testing to give myself a better chance of achieving my goal.
The clutch is stock HRC item and should be more than up to the job. The guy that built my motor has been sprinting one in 125 format for years with no clutch problems.
The speeds I am hoping to better are, British LSR of 118mph, World LSR of 126mph and the outright LSR (American National Record) of 133mph held by Belan Wagner on the Bonneville salt flats. By May 10th I should know if it's anywhere near to these speeds when I put the bike over its first standing kilo with a speed trap at the end.
Regards Sam.
