I am pretty much hooked on this drag racing, I want to run low 10s. After reading heaps of hints tips etc on here and especially from partsguy & chris it all gets a little confusing i am wanting to short list mods, am on a reasonably limited budget. My aim is to run street series only, so cant do NOS or turbo, (not this year anyway), but want to run close to the 10 sec. Apart from me learning to ride better, which is obvious where most gains will be made, what and where should I start.

Bike is stock 04, with about 45,000km on it, with yoshi cans and now 16 / 44 sprockets. I want to continue to ride it on the road as well so it needs to remain stock looking. My motivation is to compete with similar times as zx14 & busa also running street bike series. Love to hear tips, tricks from those who have done it.

Thanks Grant

I suppose to start with the simple, take as much weight off the bike and you as possible. If you have read all the posts, I guess it comes down to practice. These suggestions are from the "peanut gallery" so take them with a grain of salt.

Well if you're over 200 lbs and on a budget this could be difficult and you have slip-ons and not a full system,which is a good start anyway.
Let's jump ahead in skill level-you're now doing 10.5-10.7 ,woohoo,but now you REALLY want 10.2-10.3 (trust me it never ends).
I also know all about racing on a limited budget as that's all I've ever had,but I always and still would like to take a drag racing school,like what Rickey Gadson offers.I'm going to bet Aus has no such thing.Too bad,I'm still wondering how they go so fast.

You already have know about strapping the frt,now find a lowering link for the rr,preferrably an adjustable one,makes cornering on the street so much more enjoyable when you're not grinding the side of your bike away.
I would strongly suggest a 4-1 and of course having it properly tuned.Also a light sticky rr tire like Michelin PP2 or Shinko 003.
An electric or air shifter will knock 2/10 off your time.This is what took me from 10.11 to 9.92,but my bike had 150hp,I weighed (then,not now,sigh)150 lbs and the following items were removed:
linked brakes
mirrors
grab bar
horn
centre stand (hardly weighs anything really)
rr signals
end weights
counter balancers,ok so not a bolt off operation
pair valve

And this year its getting a lithium battery-another 7 lbs removed,now if I could just lose the 15 I've gained.....


Mostly skill is what gets you there.When the bike first came out it pulled an uncorrected 10.34 and they rightfully complained about the clutch saying if it wasn't so grabby they would have gone faster.

Oh ya,modify the clutch. How do you find it so far? Until you're leaving at higher rpms you won't notice it as much,but eventually you'll see what a nightmare it is.I learned a simple trick and its the best thing I did to the bike.

I thought the Bird did 10.2 stock,

Originally Posted by CanadianBird

I suppose to start with the simple, take as much weight off the bike and you as possible. If you have read all the posts, I guess it comes down to practice. These suggestions are from the "peanut gallery" so take them with a grain of salt.

Seems the go, practice is my number one aim, weight reduction is next as Al mentioned.

Ok Al, not 200, 80kg, I think is about 165lb roughly, so good start, so I can keep my centerstand, indicators, horn & mirrors, need them for the road. 4 into 1, like that idea will check what is available over here, yoshi does a nice stainless system, with can, I think is about $900 over here. So will seek out something there, however is primary gain with 4 into 1 v 4 into 2 wieght loss, would I expect if tuned to gain much in torque or HP.

Next issue is tuning is a PCIII worth the $$$$ along with K&N Air filter.

Lowering link - need to research that. Strap easy to get and cheap,

RR Tyre is Micheln PP2

Clutch mod, will look at that again saw that on here somewhere, sounds fairly easy - would be wise to install new plates at same time i would imagine

Cant use air shifter I believe on street bike think it is on the excluded items list.

Dynojet PCIII over here about $400 AUS, are they about the same over in Canada,

Originally Posted by deadman

I thought the Bird did 10.2 stock,

Going by what I saw in print,they actually had a pic of the timing board showing 10.34.A lot of mags use "corrected" times due to altitude,Cycle World is one.

A 4/1 will give you power and weight loss.Most slip-ons (have seen the dyno sheet from Hindle) give 2-3 but a full system should net 6-10.
Yes Power Commanders are list around $400 here as well and the US,CDN and Oz buck are all about the same these days....well we just gained 3c last week over the US dollar,again.
If you get the PC3 usb you might be able to hook up their quickshifter,haven't looked into that yet but its all electronic and stealthy.

There were lots of Blackbirds sold in Aus,I would think the used market in fairly decent over there?

The clutch mod was something I put up here.Its here somewhere...

hey grant,
i hope this will help you keep your bird streetable and still race. i changed my mirror and went with a set of custom mirrors and i have small l.e.d turn signals. my rear end has a mototeck undertail with built in l.e.d's. you see the mirrors can be taken off for races and put back on for the street. i hope that helps with your racing plans, along with a full set of cans and a power commander and shift kit with your weight you should be there. soon real soon

Tell me were you will be racing next ,
I will turn up with
my bird, a rope,
and give you a tow,

Have not checked on here for a little while, rrrogerrr - no worries, if you are heading up to QLD will be at Willowbank, bring your rope I will shout you a XXXX ,

DABIGBOI220, thanks mate, every bit helps, I think we need to be a little careful here in Aus, police like to book us for mods like the undertail, apparently they are dangerous, will get PCIII not to far away, next month for sure,

not much available at the moment, no test & tune till early next month, they have winter nats and pro series on this month so no track time at all, is one of the big race weeks over here, so might just have to go and spectate

Because your offering barb wire I will decline,
Good luck though mate,would love to be there to see
you run but a little to far away fella,
When IS the meet at Willowbank ?

Novice rider myself but would love to drag. Was wondering what you mean by strapping the front and what it helps? Reaction time, Launch ETC?

"Strapping the front" means a tie-down (drag specific preferably) attached to each side of lower forks (ok,caliper mount bolts) up and over the steering head and down to the other mount bolt.Then compress the forks and pull the strap to tighten into desired height.I compress mine to about 2" of travel,maybe less.This puts more weight forward so you can accelerate harder off the line.
I'm no pro and with a stock wheelbase have done a 1.66 60ft with frt and rr lowered.Knocking a tenth off your 60ft will take 15/100-20/100ths of your time,i.e. a 10.50 can become a 10.30 with the same mph.

Originally Posted by Partsguy

"Strapping the front" means a tie-down (drag specific preferably) attached to each side of lower forks (ok,caliper mount bolts) up and over the steering head and down to the other mount bolt.Then compress the forks and pull the strap to tighten into desired height.I compress mine to about 2" of travel,maybe less.This puts more weight forward so you can accelerate harder off the line.
I'm no pro and with a stock wheelbase have done a 1.66 60ft with frt and rr lowered.Knocking a tenth off your 60ft will take 15/100-20/100ths of your time,i.e. a 10.50 can become a 10.30 with the same mph.

Thanks for the response "Partsguy". I thought thats what u meant after thinking about it. Can't wait to take it to the local strip to see what it can do. Vance & Hines 4-2-1 exhuast helps it off the line along with sprockets. Not sure of actual gearing just know the speedo is off about 20 mph at 100.