Heading to drag strip this weekend for the first time on my 06 BB, some tips on bike setup and launching down the track would be very helpful.

Thanks

Head down, throttle OPEN!

Wait for PartsGuy to speak up, he's a dragster. Get those revs up off the line and keep the front down. If you get addicted it could give your clutch some pain. Good Luck.

Well have fun and make lots of passes 'cause practice makes perf....an addict out of you.

Keep the fuel load low.
Minimum 5000 rpm to start,the bike will probably bog on you but start easy and progress up.Get on the gas,tuck in and shift quickly.

Let some air out of the rr tire,lube your chain.
What rr tire do you have? 20-30 lbs max anyway.
Practice clutchless shifts,load your foot under the shifter and see how little you can cut the throttle with each shift.Other than the first 60 ft,this is where most time is saved.
Watch your tach and shift at 10,000.
Practice the shifting this week before you go.The less you have to think about the smoother and quicker you will go.
Leave on the 3rd yellow,wait for the green and you'll look like a big wiener.

My first time at the track on my then totally stock bike,the best I could do was 10.7 . Later that year(with a 16t sprocket and lowered) 10.43 (see avatar)

If your launch rpm is 6000 or less and the track is sticky,just do a short burn out to clean the tire.3 seconds. Big burn-outs put a lot heat into the clutch and makes it grabby-no fun-causes extreme foul language.
Drive around the water at the burn out box.

Try not to get beaten by a 600.

Stupid question but rather ask than f**k up...do you dump the clutch or ease out of it

Sounds like you've been up the 1/4 mile a few times Partsguy, thanks for the advice. Running Michilen Pilot Road 2 tyres. i have been practicing clutchless shifting this week, it's a little easier than i thought, but haven't yet tried it at high RPM. If i get beaten by a 600 i won't forgive myself, i'm really only hoping to beat my brother, he rides a GSX-R 1000 K8, his first time too, what do you think my chances are with him ??????

I've raced my 98 a handful of times and I can say the hardest part is the launch...revs should be between 5 and 6k and eeeeeeeeeeezzzz out the clutch...hydraulic clutches are the hardest to feather out...had better luck with my old zook with a cable clutch...the rest was easy, speed shifting at 10k...before you know it, you're going into 4th and the lights right after...yee fricken haw...

Originally Posted by Black06XX

Sounds like you've been up the 1/4 mile a few times Partsguy, thanks for the advice. Running Michilen Pilot Road 2 tyres. i have been practicing clutchless shifting this week, it's a little easier than i thought, but haven't yet tried it at high RPM. If i get beaten by a 600 i won't forgive myself, i'm really only hoping to beat my brother, he rides a GSX-R 1000 K8, his first time too, what do you think my chances are with him ??????

Yep,'bout 500 times at least.Since 2002 on the Bird.

Odds are with your brother,you could maybe with luck,beat him to the 1/8th and then he should come screaming past you.

Cutting a good light helps a lot in those situations.Has nothing to do with time but its all part of the race.

Don't let your brother see you drop the tire pressure to 20p.s.i.

Thanks for all the advice Partsguy, had a great day, managed to get 7 runs done and slowly improved on evry run. I totally messed up my 1st run, i think nerv's got the better of me, had massive wheel spin off the line, and rear of the bike was snaking everywhere, then because i was i such a mess i forgot to change gears and hit the limiter. When i did manage to cross the line it was a time of 16.87secs @ 120km/ph, pretty sad hey.
Things got better as the day went on, but i had trouble at the start every run, didn't matter what i did, i couldn't get the rear wheel to stop spinning, it did seem a bite slippery on the line, maybe it was just me.
My 5th run down was my best for the day, 11.56secs @ 204km/ph. Now that i have a little experience i'll be better for it next time, i'm hoping to break into the 10second area, i think i can manage that.
You'll be happy to know that i wasn't beaten by any 600's, because there wasn't any there,lol, but a guy on a ZX-9 did just get me, that was on my best run too.

Thanks again, i'll let ya know how i go next time.

LOL,I can't tell you how many times I've screwed up the first( and second) run! It's pretty regular .Sounds like the track was pretty slippery,there can be several factors to consider though.What every track needs is big powerful drag cars to lay down rubber at the line so you have a good base.Our local track recently changed management,scraped off 20 years of old rubber, but is just open for test/tune,primarily street cars/bikes.There's nothing to stick to when I launch there now,gets frustrating real quick.
Try to work on 1 thing to improve on at a time.
Good luck.

Wish I had a read of this before I went out to drags tonight, was my fisrt time and first run was pretty typical by the sound of it managed high 13s, had nine runs in total so was a good night, best time was 12.2, but 60' was slow 2. sec or there abouts every run, and ran pretty consistent 12.2, 12.5 etc, after reading this was launching with revs way low was only at 3k max i think, top speed, 185km, so by the sound of it the bike in stock trim should run in the 11s no trouble, going to head out again soon and up the revs to 4 - 5k , should I strap the front when launching at these revs or just feather the clutch didnt get done by any 600s, but R1 & ZX10 way quicker,

Good info! Keep us posted. Beat that R1 though!

Yes I think i may be hooked on this, would love to beat r1 but similar hp and only 180kg could be a big ask, but will give it a shot, 2 seconds is a long way to make up,

Any tips on gearing, really appreciated

thanks