Disappointing results

[bobgroger]

Went to the Test N Tune night at Pacific Raceway with the '83 1100e this afternoon, got in 10 runs in 2 hours before I figured it was beer drinking time. The bike seems to run great, no missing or flat spots. I sucked at launching but got better by the end. Here's the sad facts:
best 60' 2.162
Best 1/8 8.198 91.05
Best 1/4 12.646 108.79.

I have drag raced enough to know the driver is the ET, the horsepower is the MPH. Obviously I am down on power, where should I start first? I am thinking leakdown test? Another T&T next Friday, I will try a different bike. BTW rider with gear is ~230. There was a bone stock FZ6 going 125MPH...

Now drinking beer

[stetracer]

Get that 60' footer down to the 1.60's and you will be in the 11.50's. Your mph is down because your not getting the throttle wide open soon enough. Don't go looking in the motor just yet get some more seat time first

[Buffalo Bill]

Those times are slower than a magazine test of the 82 GS1100G from back in the day; 11.8 @ 108.

[Cipher]

I bet the rider weighed a lot less.

[bobgroger]

Get that 60' footer down to the 1.60's and you will be in the 11.50's. Your mph is down because your not getting the throttle wide open soon enough. Don't go looking in the motor just yet get some more seat time first

You are right, I did have problems getting off the line, getting to full throttle, and getting my feet on the pegs in time for second. I guess I will go back next week and see if I can improve. It was great fun, and I got to make lots of laps. There were only 5 bikes there. There was a 300+ pound guy on a ZX14 running 9's so there is still hope I thought there was something wrong though because the FZ6 with a first timer was going low 12s at 124, those must be really quick.

Going to do the posplayer quick turn throttle mod today.

[Griffin]

Those times are slower than a magazine test of the 82 GS1100G from back in the day; 11.8 @ 108.

I bet the rider weighed a lot less.

Charles Everitt was the 1/4 mile tester for Cycle Guide at the time. Jeff Karr was the tester for Motorcyclist. John Ulrich for Cycle World. Mark Homchek for Cycle Magazine. All four of them were also road racers and had launched hundreds of times at the same racetracks for years while testing for their respective magazines.

The physically largest of those four was Karr, who might have been a buck seventy-five in soaking wet leathers.

[Cipher]

Pee Wee Gleason used ot do a lot of runs for mags. He looks small on a bike. Hell Jockeys are small for a reason.

[bobgroger]

Here is a good history of the progression of performance. The 83 1100es was first in the 10's (barely) at 120

http://www.cycleworld.com/2012/04/02/fifty-years-of-do-you-have-any-idea-how-fast-you-were-going

[Griffin]

The GS1100ES test you're referencing was the first run into the 10s by a staff magazine rider. Gleason was a fill-in tester for the mags when their regular tester wasn't available. The mags wanted to use the same rider every time to get the most consistent results.

Long before Ulrich launched an '83 GS1100ES into the 10s for the September '83 Cycle World issue, Gleason had ridden a GPZ1100, a GS1100ES, and a pre-production V65 Magna into the tens. When Mark Homchek was laid up with a broken wrist in December '82 and January '83, Gleason rode the GPZ and GS for the February '83 Cycle Magazine article on the GPZ, GS, and CB1100F. He was unable to get the CB into the 10s though. Gleason rode the Magna for Honda so they could make their infamous "world's fastest production motorcycle" commercial in October of '82, and had a couple runs in the 10s.

For the August '83 issue, Cycle Guide hired Gleason for their "Quickest and Fastest" shootout. Gleason rode a GPZ1100, a GS1100S Katana, and a pre-production GPZ750 Turbo all into the 10s. He could not get the Magna into the 10s for that article though.

Gleason weighed about 135 lbs. at the time, and was the quickest draw in the west during the early '80s for street bikes.

[bobgroger]

Wasn't that about the same time period where bikes sat unsold in the showrooms for years?

[Griffin]

Wasn't that about the same time period where bikes sat unsold in the showrooms for years?

Yup. My brother bought a brand new 1982 GS1100E (I still have it) in November of 1987.

There were several other GS and KZ motorcycles from 1981-1985 sitting beside it.

[bobgroger]

My Front end strap is installed, and the quick-turn throttle mod is done. Heading back tomorrow afternoon for another shot.....
Going to concentrate on the launch.

[bobgroger]

Only got 3 runs today, some sort of Car Club thing going on. Making improvements, best 60' 1.94. best ET 12.24, 111.1MPH. Went down 3 teeth on the front sprocket (15 was all I had), front wheel in the air through first gear. Lot easier with the throttle mod.

[GS1150Pilot]

Three teeth on the front? Yikes!

[bobgroger]

Three teeth on the front? Yikes!

Stock IIRC is 15-42, it had an 18 on the front and 45 on the back. 5th gear 8000 rpm through the traps instead of 4th gear now. Much snappier! Plus it lengthened the wheelbase about an inch.