solid rear for racing?

[jabberjoe87]

What are peoples experience/preference/opinion with swapping out rear suspension for solid struts for drag racing? Is this a hillbilly idea or does it actually help with launching faster? This is for a race only bike.

[rapidray]

If you will use wheelie bars, yes, that is the way to go. No wheelie bars, NO struts. Ray.

[jabberjoe87]

thanks me and my partner in crime were planning on putting a wheelie bar on it as it wheelies out of the hole without any major mods. my plan is to hone down my 60 foot both with practice and setting the bike up properly before trying to build more hp.

[brveagle]

thanks me and my partner in crime were planning on putting a wheelie bar on it as it wheelies out of the hole without any major mods. my plan is to hone down my 60 foot both with practice and setting the bike up properly before trying to build more hp.

If you are having problems controlling a stock bike off the line, i'd recommend working on your clutch control and your launches before anything else.

[jabberjoe87]

my clutch controll is just fine, what i'm saying is that it is doing wheelies so when we start making it faster its gonna be doing bigger wheelies

[brveagle]

my clutch controll is just fine, what i'm saying is that it is doing wheelies so when we start making it faster its gonna be doing bigger wheelies

what is your sixty foot time?

[Agemax]

what bike is it, any pics?

[jabberjoe87]

i'll get some pics up from the track this upcoming friday. Its a 81 kz750 with cv34 carbs with 150 jets and straight pipes, and some racing springs. best 60 foot time was a 1.8 I THINK i'm not looking at the time slips. With the new springs the front wheel comes off the ground while the tire spins its a real banshee. Like i said i'll get some pics and post up the times

[jabberjoe87]

I forgot to bring my camera to the track last night, i can take some pics of the bike today in the garage so everyone can see how short the wheel base on this kawi is. at the track last night the best time was a 12.86 at 101mph. The average 60 foot time from all of the runs was between a 2.0 something and a 1.8 something, the time slips are in the truck and its raining out. I will take pics today

[gs1150streetracer]

Hello what dragstrip do you run at? went to cecil co dragway on a Wensday last year for test and tune...waited hour between runs and there was 35 bikes....95% Busa...Looking for something new..

[jabberjoe87]

we always have a good turnout on friday nights, get alot of runs in most of the time

[jabberjoe87]

going to the track again tomorrow. This time the front end is strapped down and it now has solid struts and is lowered.... alot. Still workin on the wheelie bar situation but we are going to see how she does. The suspension was so shot we just did away with the rear and for now strapped the front. Installed a big ole electronic tach with a shift light and altered teh handelbars for a more "racy'' position. Gonna bring the rear springs just incase the solid struts just hurt performance without the proper complimentary set-up. HOPEFULLY We can get under a 12.8 for a steady increase. Also got some really nice clutch springs in her now

[jabberjoe87]

the bike ran a 12.2 last night woohoo

[rapidray]

All right Joe! I'll bet it will go even quicker if you remove the strut & put shocks back on it. Struts work best with a slick & wheelie bars. Ray.

[FJman]

As you make the bike faster, you'll want shocks rather than struts if you're not using a wheelie bar.

The reason is that minor bumps or any roughness with the pavement (or anything else that upsets the chassis... like shifting...) will unload the tire for a moment, and the odds of getting tire spin goes up dramatically.

With the bike slammed and strapped, set the compression damping to full stiff and the rebound to full soft (if they're adjustable as such). You'll hit a limit (in fact, you're probably already hitting it) with your 60' times due to lack of power, as such 1.8's on a 12s run sounds appropriate to me.