XS11 Video

[ZXDavid]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=a66F3Is1mmY

[Bauer]

heh, cool, not sure I dig the handlebars, but what the hey, to each his own.

[malber]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbHDGeOSjdw

This one's pretty good too.

[malber]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-bLuHiG-z8

[malber]

Okay, what happened here?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcONGN9q-fM

[mro]

Okay, what happened here?

XS11>>>14.34???

Looked alot like TC


mro

[Pat Kelly]

It says it's submitted by TC

14 sec is ok for a daily rider. If it was a racebike (even a stock one) then you might push it to where something might break.
The bike is capable of more but (if your bracket racing) consistency is what pays in the end.
If just testing then you still need consistency. Shifting at the same RPM and running at the same throttle opening will show how changes to the bike effect the ET. I'll bet the ET would be lower with the mufflers back on, unless it was tuned for the mufflers removed. Loud exhaust sounds faster but usually isn't.

[John]

It is TC

I have seen pics of him in those leathers and seen many pics of Godzilla.

[Crazcnuk]

At 14.34 I would have beat ytou with my Shadow 1100. It was in the 14.2's the day I had it out.

Oh, and I would have beat the guy in the other lane with the Monte Carlo!

If the bike is designed to do 12s, it will do 12s all day long. Where breakage occurs is when you start modifying to go beyond the design.

That is why stock vehicles can be consistent, youjust put the pedal to the metal and go.

Mymain question is why does he launch off to the side? WhenI drag race I want to be dead center inthe lane. Gives me all the room I can get on either side

[Kurt]

looks like TC

It was TopCat. I asked him about it recently. I think he was trying out the backrest more than running numbers.

[TopCatGr58]

I can not tell a lie!

Darn,

I thought those had slipped into oblivion?!

Yes, it was good ole lethargic me! Let me recap!

Rode it 90+ miles to the dragstrip, removed the saddlebags, mounted the video on the handlebars, went thru safety inspection, all okay!

I had some very bulky gloves, didn't have any thinner race/driving style, so my feel of the clutch was rather poor. I also hadn't practiced much prior to that, it was more for the experience to see what it would be like.

IF you'll notice, I have 4" over front upper fork tubes, which positions the front end much higher than stock. I had the rear shocks set for max preload. I had a new < 1 y/o Dunlop Elite II on the rear, very grippy! And, I WAS running my normal 4-1 exhaust and muffler!

My first run was solo, when I was recording from the handlebars, to get the butterflies out, and you can still see that the front wheel came up a touch when the clutch fully grabbed even though I was trying to feather it....clubfisted with those gloves!

My subsequent runs were with that very experienced guy on a Flying Eagle modified Harley, extended swingarm, he was running in the 12's!

I had a friend there recording from the sidelines, but he didn't realize that I had come up for my second run. I wanted to try to give the harley a decent run, so I revved it up to 5K, and tried to take off, again friggin' clubfisted gloves, I thought I was near the end of the feather and I dumped it, the front end flew up and nearly flipped me backwards...HENCE THE BACKREST!

In my last run you can see the guy at the staging area waving his hands in the air like doing a wheelie making fun of me! Needless to say, I was a bit gun shy by then, still I tried, but just couldn't get a good off the line start worrying about raising the front end too far, and also not jumping the light. Add to that my slow reflexes, Godzilla possibly not as well tuned as it could have been, etc., resulting in my lackluster performance!

BUT, it was fun, not sure if I'll go back to try it again?

T.C.

[HobbyMan]

When you come off the line, do you just rev it to around 4k and let the clutch go? I am not going to do this because I like not having to replace my clutch and tires, but I was just wondering how you do it.

[TopCatGr58]

Andrew,

The idea is to feather out the clutch just like doing a smooth slow start like you normally drive, but like you said, revving it higher to get more torque and have the engine spinning faster so when you finally do let the clutch all the way out and it grabs, it's revving much faster and can then rev up to redline quicker. I had put in the extra Steel plate and new springs and frictions by that time so I wasn't worrying about a few thousands of wear over the course of a minute!
T.C.

There's a thread we did last year where I got lots of advice on off the line starts, a search for dragstrip and such should help you find it!

[Crazcnuk]

It's all trial and error. Every vehicle is the different. Get better gloves, and a little experience and you'll launch like the pros.

With my Shadow, what I would do is about 1/3 throttle, let the clutch out (all the way) and as the bike started to roll, crack it wide open. The Shadow is far less likely to flip over backwards, though, it just liked to break loose at the rear wheel.

Incidentally, the day I had my Shadow out at the strip I was the 2nd slowest bike out there. Ther was a Venture Royale who was slower (slightly) and the rest were all faster. I only took it out for the bike drags as I had been racing the Monte Carlo for a few years, and wanted to see how the bike was.

I feel much safer in the car!

Best run on the Shadow was a 14.22 @98Mph w/ Windshield and Krauser bags. ( If I remember)
Best run in the Monte 12.21 @112.7Mph (>4000lbs w/ me in it)

[MartyA]

I think he did great! Hey he'd kick my butt on my old XS - it never was a dragster. I enjoy watching John's videos of Godzilla.

All the credit to him - amateur with little practice, carbs and engine modded and not supertuned by $$uper-hi-tech equipment, street tires, 4" overs, and TC is not a 5ft 100 lb jockey. Where IS the shift point on an 1196? 9500?

When he gets a little more practice feathering the clutch off the line, upgrades the clutch plates, and powershifts, then we'll see.