Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums banner

Drag Raced the Speed Twin!! (Updated with new Best ET!)

6K views 48 replies 9 participants last post by  Hybrid81 
#1 ·
They finally opened up the Wednesday night drag races at Sonoma Raceway today. We had one race in March, which I won in the Gear Jammer class (stick shift), then shutdown because of the Rona. We had to wear masks and stay 6' away from each other, but at least I got to take it down the track. It has almost 1000 miles on it now and it has been killing me not to put my Meerkat and Vance and Hines on it. I also have the tools to tune it, just need to order the DNK tune. Anyway, I left it bone stock other than a tail tidy, tail bag, and aluminum headlight bezel. I wanted a bone stock baseline. So I get to the track and there is a tailwind. I was so happy. However, it turned into a huge headwind by the time I got my first pass. This bike doesn't block any wind at all. I sat against the tank and leaned way forward on the launch. My head is above the bars. Then I tuck way down and the wind still felt like it was going to rip my helmet off. It was really lifting up. Sadly, my first pass was my best 60ft. I clicked off a 12.04 @ 108.44mph with a 1.863 60ft. The wind is killing my mph. On the next pass, I wheelied even more, shifting to 2nd around 5k to bring the front wheel back down, and clicked off a 12.03 @ 109.0 mph. I was really surprised it could do this with such a strong headwind. On this pass I scooted way back on the seat after I hit 3rd so I could get in a better tuck with my head back further. To give you some reference of how bad the wind was, my dad went 13.202 @ 97.89mph on his 01 Bonneville. He has a best of 12.60 at almost 106mph with a slight tail wind vs our insane headwind. We were both shallow staged for that pass. I went shallow on the next two passes, but then had to go deep to try and get a better reaction time for the eliminations. Deep staging makes your ET slower by a tenth or two. In the semi final, I got a bi run so I got to run it out again. I deep staged but had a good launch and clicked off an 11.95 @ 110.24 mph! The 60ft was a lot worse than my best of the night because I was deep staged. I then totally wheelied in the final against my dad but he really screwed up on his dial in and went way under. I saw his light go green and it really screwed me up on the launch. I had to hit 2nd really early and I still wheelied so much I even went from one side of the lane to the other. I was way over my dial in and had a shitty light but my dad looked back too late and didn't hit his brakes enough and broke out. He had plenty of room with his 0.007 reaction! This 4 tenths pro tree is tough. I actually had my best reaction of the night but it was only 0.096. That was the final so I won the big trophy! I'll post pics of a few of the timeslips so you can see the incrementals tomorrow. Overall, total success. I wanted to beat my old bikes 11.97 @110 mph. Did that and won. I didn't get the launch down. I do great when I practice on the return road but then on the starting line I let the rpm creep up too much so I have to slip the crap out of the clutch. My good practice launches are a low rpm and get the clutch out quick and modulate the throttle. It is tough on this thing. That torque just wants to pull that front wheel off the ground. I might have to put that little Dart windscreen on there just for the drags to keep my helmet from getting so much pressure. Can't wait to put the mods on and go back out. It will be a while though. The bike loves the cold evening air.
Craig
 
See less See more
#3 ·
I am 175 and it got pretty cold. If I kept my shallow stage, it would have been a tenth quicker. The wind never let up, so the only reason it could have gone quicker is because it liked the colder air. The 60ft wasn't as good because of the deep stage as my earlier run, but it was still quicker since the cooler air was giving it more power. It felt really strong on the way home. I usually just ride on hot days. I was riding home at 11:00 at night with some nice and crisp sea level air. Probably mid 50's for the temp. The wind was just a killer though. It always is on Wednesday nights at that track. My old bike had a best of 11.97 @ 110mph and it was 7 tenths quicker and 4mph faster than my dad's bike. Last night I was 1.2 seconds quicker than my dad and over 10mph faster. This bike is way quicker than my old bike so it has the potential to dip well into the 11's with the right conditions, and none of my launches were ideal. I never rode 1st all the way out. Every pass I was short shifting to 2nd to bring the front wheel back down. I know what I need to do and did it every time on the return road, but then I do something totally different than planned every time I am rushing in on the line. I just need to try a bog launch and see what happens. I just couldn't get myself to do it. LOL
 
#5 ·
Everything is stock. I haven't even checked the tire pressure since I took delivery of it. LOL TC off for sure. It won't wheelie with TC on but it kills way too much power. TC off and Sport mode, only way I ride the bike. I do leave TC on when my wife is on the back. I know I scared her on the old bike when it would wheelie so I want to take it easy so she'll get back on it.
 
#7 ·
Quickest and fastest pass.

731174


Final Round against my dad on his 01 Bonneville. We both screwed up that run. My dad had a killer reaction like he always does which is why he is the guy to beat at the track, but he dialed way too soft. I had just run the 11.95 so I dialed for it but got too excited against my dad and wheelied really badly. My best reaction but work ET out of my 7 runs last night. Look how bad my 60' was. It may have been a little better than that because the beam was probably tripped by the rear wheel.
731177

Got this one in right under the wire. Track has a 10:00 curfew! My dad hit the brakes and still went way under his dial. That was his best run of the day. Probably would have been a 13.17. He broke out (quicker than his dial in) so I took the win!
 
#11 ·
No, I don't bother with corrected times. I would have to get all the weather information and wind info and then punch it into some calculator. I am not sure how many mods I will do separately. It will come down to how much time I can put into it. I am curious about the tune though, so I might do that after all mods are on and try to run it before the tune one day. The mufflers won't do anything and the filter/airbox snorkel will be minimal. The Meerkat should help. Oh, the mufflers might help if they are lighter. The good thing about having my dad there is I can always look at the change in delta's between our two bikes, so the conditions can be eliminated if you assume both bikes are affected by the same amount. Should be pretty close. I was originally a little disappointed in my first pass until I saw how slow my dad was, which meant the conditions were not very good. I want to get back out there in the Mustang too though. I am tied for first in the Gear Jammer class and the Bike class. I know my dad will take the bike class so I want to keep up there in points in the Gear Jammer class. Dealing with the mask while racing the bike is a pain in the ass too.
 
#13 ·
It can do better. Wish I could use all that torque off the line! Need to stiffen the rear and pull the front end down or stand up and lean forward with my head over the front fender. lol It might work better to get in the slippery part of the lane and try to take off spinning. I am just afraid that it might hook too early and come up too fast to be able to keep it from looping. That first gear is tall so if you're only moving 5mph and the tire is spinning at 50mph and decides to hook, say goodbye to your bike cause it just got launched out in front of you. Actually saw a drag Hayabusa do this on the launch. Guy stayed on it. It landed on top of him, both were upside down. Basically leapt out of the hole and did a 180 and landed on the seat with him still on it. Ouch, that's a heavy bike!
 
#14 ·
Well done,Craigers,those times for stock bike are exceptional in my opinion.I have been practicing my launches getting ready to take on a mate on his Rocket III(much like 'justdad,except I am in-experieced,and my mate is very experienced).I don't have the luxury of being able to time myself,but my gut tells me that my best results are when I launch at around 2500rpm,and get into 2nd as fast as I get can ,and then open slather.My big fear is that in the heat of battle,I will forget all this and go too hard too early.I can't help wondering how much slower the launch would be if I were to put on traction control and just go for it.These things are so hard to launch,and if you don't get it just right,TC may be a safer option.
 
#15 ·
I agree with everything you are saying, but screw the TC, that is all part of the fun. lol I am really curious too but not enough to throw away a pass at the strip because I don't want the computer intervening at all. I think it cuts too much out and I am afraid it will also cut out power in 2nd. On the street, when I did keep the front wheel down in first, it would come up pretty high in 2nd, so I am sure TC would kick in again. Maybe I'll try an aggressive launch on the street and see how it feels. TC would make it more consistent, but I like being able to do it myself. I just need more practice and I could be consistent with a lower rpm launch instead of trying to do my best each time. I do think that your strategy is good. That is what I want to do next time, somewhere around the 2500 mark. I kept starting around there but by the time the light went I would be up higher and eventhough I had the clutch out a little before I took off, I still kept getting on the throttle before the clutch would engage so I probably added 1000rpm or more from what I was holding it at. I think if I hold 2-3k I will come off at a good rpm. The thing has so much torque that I think it will still wheelie even with a low rpm bog launch if you go WOT and get the clutch out too quickly, but I do want to try it. I think I need to ease the throttle on from a lower rpm but get the clutch out quickly then go WOT and still have my head over the front wheel.
 
#20 ·
Retjustdad, do the corrected times use wind speed too? That headwind kills our ET's and Speeds on these bikes at Sonoma. Funny thing is my non-intercooled supercharged Mustang did better ET's with a headwind because it cooled the motor down when the hood was up in the staging lanes. It was pulling harder through most of the 1/4 mile so the ET would be better and usually speed was unchanged because the extra power from being cold made up for the wind. If I correct my times it will probably add time! I know the corrected values on the dyno took hp away from my Mustang because our air here was so good. I still can't believe the mph you are getting on your Thruxton, especially at that altitude! Crazy. Did you notice my 1/8th mile speed? I had 93 mph vs your 92 mph run where you did 113mph in the quarter and I only hit 110 mph. Either the wind really affects this bike or I have horrible shift points to 4th and 5th. I am wondering if one of those little flyscreens like the Dart Piranha or classic would help any. I am sure it will help shield my helmet from taking the brunt of the wind, but I wonder if it would help the bike and rider cut through it at all and improve mph. I am in a full tuck with my chin basically on the tank and still get a huge wind blast. The gauges were higher on my Zephyr and you sat a little more in the bike instead of so high on top of it so my helmet didn't get pushed around nearly as much when in a full tuck.
 
#21 ·
I had to go back and look at the mph for 1/8 since I usually on track time here, but you right on the mph. I think your ETs were fabulous so I don't believe you missed a shift point enough to cut into your mph.

The wind sounds like a better explanation. Our track has the wind coming from the right side or from the two o'clock position. We don't get a tail wind but we don't have a direct head wind either.

I usually notice the wind because the American flag is just in front and side of the track...you can see it in a few videos.

The corrected time does Not take wind direction into consideration.

I had 10 runs in hot weather with no fairing and stock everything...my best speed was 112.712 mph and worst speed was 104.72 mph. I don't have any notes on wind, missed shifts etc. at that time to explain that variation except the bike had only a thousand miles on it during the 104 mph run and it was hot like tomorrow will be.
 
#23 ·
Thanks Jerry. I know this bike likes the cold weather. Your times are awesome, especially when you consider the heat and altitude. I can feel the difference in power between a cool night and a hot day. Hopefully the tune will bridge that gap a little. My carbureted bikes never had a big power difference like this with temp. My injected cars sure do though. I tuned out some of that with my 93 Mustang to make it more consistent at the track. I think it was mid 70's when the sun was up for the first few runs. You don't see it get a lot quicker because at the same time it cooled off, I started eliminations so I switched to a deep stage, which slows the ET. I got 7 runs that night. ET range was 11.95 to 12.19. Damn my launch was horrible in the final, otherwise that spread would have been a lot tighter.
MPH range was 108.03 to 110.24mph at the finish and 1/8 mile mph range was 91.19 to 93.05mph. I think the bike turned 1000 miles on the way home from the track.
Good luck at the track. I'll bet the Bonneville 60fts pretty well. When we test rode one, I could launch it hard because that front end is so heavy. I did one practice launch and was surprised how good it felt with the front wheel hovering a few inches off the ground. I was like, damn, that felt good! My dad was test riding that and I was on a Scrambler. The Scrambler would just wheelie any time I breathed on the throttle, lol.
 
#24 ·
Great times, Craigers. Looks like you had a lot of fun and winning doesn’t hurt either.

I got the wheel up often in Sport mode before swapping the front sprocket to a 17t. After that, it’s was rarely an issue. Now that I’m using the DNK tune, I’m back to popping the front wheel up again on hard launch. Not all of the time, but when I’m a bit too aggressive with my throttle/clutch work, it’ll start to rise, even with TC on.

I have this thing called “Dragy” that I used to use on my Street Twin. Need to find it so I can get some data as well. It uses GPS to determine 0-60, 1/4, etc. Not a track, but the best option I have at the moment. I’m really curious about what she can do with the new tune.

Side note, found a nice open stretch of highway yesterday to pin the throttle in 6th. Speedo was showing around 125 before I lost my nerve and let off. Guessing that equates to somewhere around 118-121mph adjusted.

Seemed like she still had more to give.

You‘re going to love DNK. And to answer a question you’d asked a while back, no, with the latest revision, theres no snatcheness at low speeds in any of the 3 modes.
 
#27 ·
I am going to try and get out to the track tomorrow with Vance & Hines mufflers installed, K&N filter, and snorkel removed. I don't expect much from the mods but hopefully I can get a run before the wind turns around and better my time. I'll compare with my dad to see if I am further ahead of him than last time to know if the mods helped or not. I did a couple launches on the street yesterday and I just keep taking off with too much rpm which means I can't get the clutch out fast. However, I tried a super low rpm launch and got the clutch out quickly and it still wheelied too much. This thing would be great off the line with an extended swingarm and wheeliebar. I can't go wide open throttle until I am pretty far out otherwise the wheel comes up high enough to make me lift or short shift to 2nd to bring it down. I really need to find a good deserted road so I can try a bunch of different things.
 
#28 ·
I tried a super low rpm launch and got the clutch out quickly and it still wheelied too much. This thing would be great off the line with an extended swingarm and wheeliebar. I can't go wide open throttle until I am pretty far out otherwise the wheel comes up high enough to make me lift or short shift to 2nd to bring it down. I really need to find a good deserted road so I can try a bunch of different things.
With your weight well forward and high RPM aggressive clutch release will front wheel still come up or will rear tire break loose but still provide enough traction to get you going quickly? Your deserted road experiments will tell you a lot I bet!
 
#29 ·
It just wheelies. I launch it with my stomach on the tank and my head over the bars. I sit as far forward as I can. I launch it like I used to launch my dirtbike. I am afraid to actually try to do a burnout because if it hooks, it will loop it. That first gear is tall and it has gobs of torque, so if the tire decides to hook I will not have enough time to hit the back brake to bring it down. Just letting off won't do it. I think a 5000rpm clutch drop will have the tire spinning 40 mph. Had it doing 80mph on 1 wheel yesterday. Oops. LOL I need more practice though because this thing is too touchy when it gets up high at the balancing point. I let off too much and it throws the wheel down so I then get back on it too hard and it comes up too high again so then I do it all over again. At least in 1st and 2nd. Much different than wheelies on the dirtbike, which I haven't even been on in 3 years.
 
#30 ·
Your time slips look pretty good to me but it is hard to know how mine compare to say for sure since we run in so different conditions. I don't know what I would run at your place or you at mine.

The corrections for density altitude only say what the final ET and speed are but not the 60,330, 1/8 or 1000 correct to.
 
#31 ·
Yeah, and the wind condition has a huge effect at our track. My dad ran the following week and picked up 5mph and 4 tenths. He runs every week and runs the bike consistently, so that is all in the conditions. If I just correct my 12.04 run when he was in the lane beside me by the amount that he picked up from that run to last week, it would get me to 11.76 @ 113mph. His bike is probably affected by the wind more than mine just because he is down on power though. It might affect my mph the same but not my ET as much. Anyway, I know it can do better even in the same conditions if I can get my head out of my ass on the starting line. lol The bike just wheelies too easily and I want to get on the throttle earlier than I can.
 
#32 ·
The airbox is so loud with the snorkel out. It vibrates more and actually hurts my ears if I rev it way up with full throttle when sitting still. Not sure I will leave it like that. Hopefully I'll hear the exhaust more than the airbox when I put the Meerkat Decat on. I wonder if the tune is actually different for snorkel vs no snorkel.
 
#33 ·
Made a couple videos from my test ride yesterday screwing around with the Gopro and external mic. Not sure why the quality looks like crap on the uploaded clips, but oh well.

First practice launch. Launched soft to keep the wheel down in 1st. It was up all the way through 2nd but nice and low so I didn't have to lift.

2nd practice launch

Wheelie, but my throttle control was way too erratic and had the wheel going up and down way too much in 1st and 2nd.

I need to mount it differently. Camera placement sucks. It is heavy way on the side with the external mic adapter added to it and the wind was pulling on it hard at speed. Mount kept catching on my jacket too.
 
#34 ·
Made a couple videos from my test ride yesterday screwing around with the Gopro and external mic. Not sure why the quality looks like crap on the uploaded clips, but oh well.

First practice launch. Launched soft to keep the wheel down in 1st. It was up all the way through 2nd but nice and low so I didn't have to lift.

2nd practice launch

Wheelie, but my throttle control was way too erratic and had the wheel going up and down way too much in 1st and 2nd.

I need to mount it differently. Camera placement sucks. It is heavy way on the side with the external mic adapter added to it and the wind was pulling on it hard at speed. Mount kept catching on my jacket too.
Craigers -

Those videos were GREAT! Man, that front end sure does get light. OK, is the speedo in the corner a GoPro function? Is it accurate? I had your 0-60 times around 3.10 sec. That's quick! What happens on your launch if you run with Traction Control on? How does it impact ET & trap speed? Keep those videos coming! BobC
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top