Air shifter questions

[Anonymous]

I raced my GS 1100 twice this year, went five rounds the first time and won the next. I am considering racing it more next year, and would like to instll an air shifter.

Does anyone here have one? If so, how did you mount the air cylinder? Any other suggestions or tips? I was looking at electric over air.....

How long do the bottles last? I really don't want to install a compressor.

If I go ahead and do this, I may even install an Auto Shift, so all I have to do is run the throttle wide open and let if shift itself........

[Anonymous]

Why dont you just call these folks

http://www.murdochracing.com

[Paul]

Listen to Scotty!
It will be cheaper & easier to buy an airshift kit than make one yourself - I know, I've tried! And I used to have access to all sorts of pneumatic components.

[Anonymous]

No, I am not trying to make one myself, I was looking at Pingel's.

I was just wondering how you guys mounted the air cylinder on the shifter and the frame, and if anyone has any experience or tips to installing one.

Thanks for the tip, Scotty

[lecroy]

Normally I use 4130. Mount all bottles inside of frame. Refill on every run. Mount the filler outside the frame. Again, if you run an auto shift you will need to kill the engine to unload it or you need a transmission that was made for this. If your driving the bike on the road, forget the transmission. There are some pictures of my old bikes on my site.

Best advice I can tell you is measure twice, cut, weld and tap once. Make sure the piston is centered. Make sure the piston has a half inch or so of clearance on both ends of travel. Make sure the cylinder is allowed to move free. Wire it such a way that when the power switch is off, the power to the solenoid is also off. Don't try and cobble anything! Normally it will take longer than doing it right and why risk it. If you don't have a Tig, find a good fab. guy in your area. Don't be afraid to interview people. They are working for you. A good fab. guy can help you when it comes time to do this kind of work with suggestions.

I like to make fake parts out of cardboard and try them out.

Read the rule books!! They have a LOT of information on what you can and can't do. Many of the rules are there to keep you safe.

Have fun with it and post some pics. of your progress.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Lecroy.

I already have the undercut trans and HD basket. I plan on using a kill on the engine to shift.

When you said you fill it every pass, is that CO-2 or compressed air?

[lecroy]

I just used compressed air.

When I talked about the full auto, I was not talking about an undercut gear. You would need full auto gears which will have less dogs to allow for a longer shift time. They work good for going forward, but if you have to let off the throttle you may damage the unit. These have so much backlash with the fewer dogs that they can't handle this kind of force. That's why I was saying don't go this route on a street bike.

As long as you plan to kill the engine, no big deal. When I hear "full throttle shift" I think just that, no engine kill, full throttle. If you want to win, this is the way to go. Then you want to get rid of that old clutch........

[Anonymous]

If this is a Street//Strip and not a "trailered" to & from the track I'd seriously look into using Dale Walkers Electric Shifter(www.holeshot.com)If the bike still has a charging system there will be nothing to "Fill" after each pass and there is a switch to dis-able the system on the street(if you so desire ) Priced pretty close to "air" shifters and a lot less plumbing, no "bottle" and fully adjustable for "kill time"
Unless you build a Pro Mod or Pro Stock machine this would be my choice for this purpose.

[lecroy]

Paul,

Are you currently using one? If so, what kind of setup?

I could not find anything on the solenoid (travel, force, delay time and time error). Do you have any details about it?

[Anonymous]

Paul,

I looked into the holeshot shifter, but it was $469, the pingel electric over air is only $212.

That is the ONLY reason I am considering the air shifter vs the solenoid. If I had the time, I would try and make my own. There are solenoids on the market they make for shifting auto trannys in drag cars that would work in that instance. Look at Biondo racing products and they sell a ton of different ones. Some you "ARM" by cocking them and then the power is released and it springs out. The other kind kicks out when energized, that is the type I would need.

Thanks for all the tips!