Taking my FJ DRAG RACING this weekend

[Lotsokids]

1tinindian - Yeah it runs into my frame sliders. I plan to cut it back and angle it up sometime soon.


cyclenutk75 - That's awesome about your son. The R1's were hard doing the Sport Bike course... seems they are geared kind of high or something. A couple of the corners were slow. I instructed at McChord AFB, but after the "hostile takeover" of the Army with the joint basing, the AF course seems to have dissolved and an Army program was set up.

AF Base Commander = Colonel
Army Base Commander = General

Guess who won?

[Lotsokids]

Here are my scanned time slips.

[andyb]

Looking pretty good! 

They're hard to read though, so...

reat      .3988            .4365            .2934
.60      1.933             1.945           2.263
660     7.565             7.597           8.004
.mph  95.83             96.59           95.75
1/4    11.759           11.744          12.199
.mph 115.20            117.42        115.31


So a gain of 20-21mph on the back half.

Just comparing to my own "best of" runs with a comparable setup (pm me and I can give you all of the details), but in short I was lowered .25" or so at both ends, piped and pods.    The best I'm seeing is a 1.83 60 time (an even tenth quicker) and 99mph at half track; 122mph at the line after 11.395s.  Notice that I picked up 23mph from 660-1320 and that was while fighting more air resistance (higher speeds).  That tells me your motor has more to give, just gotta tune for it!  I use the back half mph gain as an indicator because functionally it's one shift at most and you should be easily able to leave the gas open, so it takes the rider out of the equation.  For one of your earliest tries at racing, you did excellent!! 

My first pass was a 12.80, by the end of that day (8 passes) I managed 11.84.  Turns out my tune was a billion miles off, and with just adjusting the carbs and not really changing my riding style I ended up at 11.39.  Leaving the tune there and adding a strap on the front (and incredibly great weather) I netted a 10.97.  So while when you're running, it feels like a long ways off, it's actually pretty easy to go loads faster at the "slower" motorcycle speeds (sucks ass I understand to go from 8.90 to 8.50, but 11.90 to 11.50 is cake!) 

I know a lot of folks look down their noses at dragracing, because "any idiot can go fast in a straight line" and I don't argue with them.  But it takes a special kind of idiot to snap the gas fully open and abuse the clutch to go quickly in a straight line. 

[Lotsokids]

Thanks Andy. I'm not sure how to tune it any better. I think I'm at the end of my personal tuning skills. I don't have a dyno here, either.

For the record, I'm not offended by comments or improvements that could be made. No worries there. I admit I'm not the best... in fact, Saturday I was the worst, but I sure had FUN. Can anyone race for a couple days in the U.S. for only $20?

Very impressive that you got into the 10's. My goal last weekend was just to get into the 11's.

[FJTillDeath]

According to internet stats the bike does(can) a standing quarter mile in 10.7sec at 200kph...

So im pretty sure you will be able to do it lotsokids.

Im lucky in a way that I only weigh 70kg with riding kit(154pounds) yeah I know Im a skinny shit, difference is I have no drag experience other than on my 125 and theres not much difficulty at launching a 110kg bike at max throttle, the FJ on the other hand is something I would have to get my hands on and really knuckle down, so from the race virgins like me, you, Andy and a bunch of the other guys here are great inspiration

[andyb]

According to internet stats the bike does(can) a standing quarter mile in 10.7sec at 200kph...

So im pretty sure you will be able to do it lotsokids.

Im lucky in a way that I only weigh 70kg with riding kit(154pounds) yeah I know Im a skinny shit, difference is I have no drag experience other than on my 125 and theres not much difficulty at launching a 110kg bike at max throttle, the FJ on the other hand is something I would have to get my hands on and really knuckle down, so from the race virgins like me, you, Andy and a bunch of the other guys here are great inspiration

Depending on which year and who tested it.  That's also an altitude corrected time.  For comparison, on a particularly nasty day at the track I managed a 10.58 on my ZX9 (with a gentle help from a nitrous bottle), so that's what the timeslip said.  Had I been writing for a magazine, it'd have been written as a 10.17!  I think fj1289 (on this forum) went mid 10's with his FJ (big overbore, headwork, cams, but it wasn't running properly), yet with the air he was running in a corrected number would have been well into the 9 second range!  Assume that the magazines are testing with a very competent, lightweight jockey (130-150lbs in gear, typically), and their idea of "stock" isn't always what came out of the showroom.  For example, Rickey Gadson ran an R6 down the track and posted a 9 second run, but it was lowered, strapped, geared, and on race gas.

If you can get an internally stock FJ to run mid-low 11's at stock height, you're doing very, very well indeed.

[Steve_in_Florida]

Great thread! Loving the photos & stories.

Excellent bike. Nice color scheme.

[FJTillDeath]

If you can get an internally stock FJ to run mid-low 11's at stock height, you're doing very, very well indeed.

I understand that, but now my friend, 60kg heavier than me, who has a zx14(if you may remember me saying loong long ago) beat my bike just barely while my other friend 20 kg heavier than me (much more experienced than I) was riding it. If I learnt and practised would I be able to beat this zx14 with my wieght advantage and some good tuning?

[Steve_in_Florida]

^^^^^^^^   I see that your right controls include the option for OFF/PO/ON for your lights. Do you also have the high beam trigger on your left controls, up by your index finger?

[FJTillDeath]

^^^^^^^^   I see that your right controls include the option for OFF/PO/ON for your lights. Do you also have the high beam trigger on your left controls, up by your index finger?

My bike has that I thought all FJs did - otherwise what significance is this?

[andyb]

I understand that, but now my friend, 60kg heavier than me, who has a zx14(if you may remember me saying loong long ago) beat my bike just barely while my other friend 20 kg heavier than me (much more experienced than I) was riding it. If I learnt and practised would I be able to beat this zx14 with my wieght advantage and some good tuning?

He should slaughter you if he's a good rider. 

The non-US market FJ's have the switch to turn off the headlamp.  It's blanked for the US market.

[FJTillDeath]

I understand that, but now my friend, 60kg heavier than me, who has a zx14(if you may remember me saying loong long ago) beat my bike just barely while my other friend 20 kg heavier than me (much more experienced than I) was riding it. If I learnt and practised would I be able to beat this zx14 with my wieght advantage and some good tuning?

He should slaughter you if he's a good rider. 

The non-US market FJ's have the switch to turn off the headlamp.  It's blanked for the US market.

Bummer, Il make sure hes drunk if I challenge him again :hang1:not too drunk though - he still needs to ride in a straight line. Just for interest sake Andy how would the FJR1300 fair against the zx14 in a drag race?

As for the switch I didnt even realise there was that much of a difference between different country models

[andyb]

Never seen an FJR at the dragstrip.  I'd have to guess that it would lose to a ZX14 though, it's down on power and a pinch heavier by comparison but more importantly can't be geared.  I'd also guess that most 14 owners go for more power mods, and more FJR owners look into comfort and usefulness mods. 

But it's hugely down to the rider.  I've lost badly to stupid crap that I should have smoked because of mistakes before.. and beaten guys I should have been destroyed by for the same reason!

[FJTillDeath]

Never seen an FJR at the dragstrip.  I'd have to guess that it would lose to a ZX14 though, it's down on power and a pinch heavier by comparison but more importantly can't be geared.  I'd also guess that most 14 owners go for more power mods, and more FJR owners look into comfort and usefulness mods. 

But it's hugely down to the rider.  I've lost badly to stupid crap that I should have smoked because of mistakes before.. and beaten guys I should have been destroyed by for the same reason!

Oh okay thanks for clearing that up, I merely asked because as again internet stats showed the FJR at quite the equivalent to the 1100 with the standing quarter mile. 1 last stupid question, since the 1100 beats the 1200s(usually) is that the same for the FJR1300 and 1100?

[Lotsokids]

Here's some interesting info about my race video. My landlord's brother came over and translated the announcer's comments. He said the announcer said that I had no chance against the other racer in the right lane. He also said this is an international race - an American against a Hungarian. I'm sure the announcer knew I didn't speak much Hungarian. I didn't know he was talkin' smack before I even got to the line.

Do I need to go back next year with a vengeance?

Andy, want to come over and tune this thing for me?