Triumphrat

raceanything · 11-27-2007

Great to see some one else who is drag racing a TT. I have a '00 that i have been playing with for a wile. just got it streched but didnt have enought time to get any tunning on the bike before the track closed. before i streched it my best time is a 11.31 @ 117 w/ a 1.82 60ft. i know there is more in the bike i just have to practice. also i havent tuned it in like a year. i just have a standard tune in the bike right now. it has been lowered (streched now but went slower because it spun) strapped, scoripon can, custom header, triumph performance cams and a k/n filter. next year it will be turboed and maybe have nitrous. i have the nitrous now but havent used it yet. i hope to get a low 10 or high 9 second pass next year. i love to see that someone else is playing with a triumph. would love to compare notes and see what kind of plans you have as well. i know there is some other things i have done but cant think right now. it does have a daytona tank and tail which i think looks cool. i will post some pic as soon as i take some.

BombFactory · 11-29-2007

Thanks MadDog and Race; glad you enjoyed the read. Race, you've got a pretty fast TT600 if you were running 11.3's before stretching it. I didn't even know you could get factory performance cams for a TT600 engine. I'm sure those with the header make a huge difference. I’m sure many of us on here would be interested in the Triumph part numbers for the cams.

I found out that there are races over in Sacramento year-round, but it is a bit of a drive and I haven't gotten over there yet. The cool thing about Sacramento Raceway is that they have test and tune days on Saturdays. For $50 you get 4 hours of track time; so if you show up on an unpopular day you can get 20 runs in (so says a friend)--that's if the clutch holds up! I'd love to do one of those days, as that would really help tune the bike in and also hone my launches. It appears that the front tire on the bike has a slow leak that I have yet to look into. I'm going to put in a call to the local motorcycle shop that I'm friends with and see if they have a front tire in the throw away pile that still has enough life left to race on. Heck, the less tread the less rotating mass, right!

Here are the latest pictures of the bike that my neighbor snapped with his camera (he's somewhat of a photography guru).

rustbucket · 12-01-2007

While you're at it you may as well pick up a nicely squared off rear tire - bigger contact patch!

starvin · 03-06-2008

sweet!! i ran my wife's zx-6r at the sac fun drags last year (which was the last year of the event

) however while there i saw a guy on a freaking tricked out huyabusa and believe it or not he was running a tomahawk retread on the back..i watched him make 7 passes including the burnouts and the tire still looked pretty good! if this is just a straight drag bike and you are warming the tires with burnouts that may be something to look into..

BombFactory · 03-13-2008

Well, last night was the second Wednesday night dragrace up at Infineon Raceway. I put the bike in my truck and headed up there. It was a pretty nice day but there was some strong headwind at the track. We made 4 practice passes before eliminations. I ended up dialing-in a 12.14 second against a guy on a Harley dialing-in a 13.40. The lights went down and I proceeded to have a really good run--shifts were spot on and everything felt great. I went through the last speed trap and when I began to roll off the throttle disaster! For whatever reason the front end wiped out hard to the left. I was thrown to the right onto my right shoulder on my chest side. I pushed myself over onto my back and struck a wide-spread 'X' pose to ride out the storm. I must say, I'm proud of the way I kept my head during the spill, as that coupled with my leathers saved my life or my body from extreme damage. I swirled and slide for a good 200 feet before coming to a stop.

I stayed on the ground until I was sure nothing was seriously hurting and then I got up and ran to shut the bike off which was still idling on its side (a little confused as to why it didn't shut off). By that time the ambulance was there along with the track cleanup crew. I took a ride with the ambulance to my pit where I assured them I knew my name, age, current location, and that I remembered the wreck. After they gave me the clean bill of sale I was dropped at my pit where the cleanup crew loaded the TT600 into my truck. Shortly after I got to my pit the gentleman on the Harley whom I had raced against ran up letting me know he was glad I was alright. He also told me that I won that round! I ran a 12.18 to my 12.14 dial in and went through the traps at 92 mph. So not only was I somewhat happy that I at least ran a good run, but I was shocked that I went down at 92 mph and walked away.

As for the bike, it really is not bad at all. The clutch and oil cover on the right side are ground down but still intact, oil pressure sensor is tweaked but maybe usable, brake lever ball is half-warn, and the supertrapp muffler discs are ground down about 1/4 inch. Other than that, I could not find any more damage-at least at 10:00 last night. My leathers did their job well and should be usable with some stitching on the jacket; although they now sport some major wear marks. Those Icon TiMax gloves really served their purpose, as a good part of the titanium palm studs are warn down but nothing got through to me. The spine protector on the jacket kept my head up, and the helmet doesn't have a scratch. As for me, I'm well for such a wreck but am pretty sore. So that's the word for now. I'll post pictures later.

Will · 03-13-2008

Did you figure out what caused the crash? A TT600 is generally very stable under hard braking. It almost sounds like there was something on the track or maybe your front tire disintigrated.

When you repair your bike, make sure there isn't a lot of oil in the airbox. If there is any oil in there, pull the plugs and then crank the motor a couple times to clear any oil that may have got sucked in to the cylinders. If there is oil, it can hydrolock and break things in a big way if you don't clear it. Clearing it makes a huge mess, but sure beats the alternative.

Glad you are alright. Get right back on the horse that threw you- being really nervous for a while is normal.

dynagroove · 03-13-2008

what a story! i am saddened, shocked, amazed and of course happy that you are ok! honestly, it sounds like you thought and acted very well under intense pressure and had a little luck on your side to boot.

jeff h.

redl1nerpm · 03-14-2008

glad to hear your ok

if you did the 1/4 in the low 12's isn't the trap speed usually well over 100 mph?

BombFactory · 03-14-2008

Thanks everyone; I must say that I'm glad I'm still kicking too! I've stiffened up quite a bit and my wrists, back, and ribs are aching today, but that just tells me I’m living.

As for what caused the wreck, I cannot help but think there must have been something on the track. Infineon Raceway gets really cold at night this time of year and the track, especially towards the end, tends to get slick due to this. Often times after night falls the cars running 10’s and quicker break the rear tires loose down towards the end, and motorcycles have done that also. I had not had any issues with traction the other 4 runs which occurred during daylight; but my last run was at night, so I think there was a combination of the weight shifting to the front wheel, the cold track, and possibly some debris blown on the track, as the headwind was bad at that time. As Will and I have discussed, a TT600 shouldn’t wipe out at 92 mph due to rolling off the throttle and light braking. Upon inspection yesterday everything in the front end looks like it is/was free and clear so I see no catastrophic failures of parts.

Redl1inerpm, my usual 12.0 second runs put me through the traps at 112 mph, but because the headwind was so strong and because I hit a really good 60 foot time that run, I went through at 92 mph, so says the time-slip. I guess that is another piece of luck that didn’t have me go down 20 mph faster which would be the norm.

chrisjames · 03-14-2008

Glad to hear you're ok. and its also good that you kept your cool while falling. I am sure you are worried about other things ATM but I sent you a PM