Ran My 650/810 At The 1/8 Mile Drags

Hey Gang - Made it up to the 1/8 drags at the temporary track in Elliott Lake, Ontario. This is a tour that uses municipal airports and is part of a NRHA sanctioned series.

Test and tune day was Friday and the event was supposed to start around mid-afternoon but a light rain pushed everything back a few hours. After a riduculous 3.75 hour wait in line to get in through the gate, we unloaded the bike and sat in line it was 7:30 before they called the bikes to the line.

I planned to take it easy the first few runs and gradually work my way into a higher rpm launch and shift points on subsequent passes. I had the back tire pressure at 27 psi and planned on avoiding the burnout box for the first run

My first pass I was paired up with a 1984 750 Interceptor, all original with low miles and in pretty nice shape ridden by a guy that probably weighed about a buck and a half. This Interceptor, when it was new, would easily beat a Kz650 of the same era so I was pretty keen to see how my 650/810 would match up with the V4 honda.

I left the line around revving fairly low at only 2500 rpm feathering the clutch a little bit instead of just dumping it hard. Once rolling, I got a nice jump on the other guy even though he cut a red light. Every shift was nice and smooth using the clutch for the first run. I was shifting probably around 9 grand which is lower than I normally do when letting it hang out. I didn’t want to run the risk of breaking anything on the first run.

The front wheel came off the ground about a foot and a half shifting from first to second and I rolled off the throttle for just a blip to keep the front from climbing any further. The motor ran perfect all the way through to the finish line which I crossed in 4th near redline and it was still pulling really strong.

This turned out to be the only run I got in.

A guy driving a puke yellow Nova put a rod through his block coming out of the burn out box and instead of pulling over before the start line drove through the staging area and left a trail of anti-freeze down the full lenght of his lane which shut down that lane for the rest of the evening. Saturday was a complete washout thanks to torrential rains. I decided to pack it in, head home and wait until the next meet in August.

I was reasonably happy with my times which were half a second quicker than last year when I ran an 8.99 This year with the Gpz750 cams and Mikuni 29 Smoothbores the bike was noticeably stronger.

Based on what I ran with this one easy pass, I can surmise that the cams and carb upgrades are good for nearly half a second in the 1/8.

Here is what I ran:

8.50 E.T.
0.0666 reaction time
60 ft. 1.62
Speed 89.997 mph

The Interceptor ran a 9.25 and even with him getting a jump on me I had him by a few bike lengths at the 60 foot mark which shows how much torque this motor spins. Having the 14 tooth sprocket also really helps me come off the line quick.

With a warmed up tire, a little harder launch and higher shift points I am pretty confident that the bike has another few tenths in it. I'll have to wait unti the weekend of August 20-21st to find out for sure.

BTW, my buddy is an old Kz bike mechanic and racer. He ran his 20 year old Z1 drag bike with a 122 big bore with 13.1 pistons, oversized valves, tweaked head, mild cams, 35 mm flat sides, undercut tranny, air shifter, skinny slick on spoke wheels and wheelie bars and pulled off an impressive 6.21 at around 120 mph. He has been running the drags for many years and at around 140 lbs is like the Canadian version of Pee Wee Gleason. I would liked to have had him run my bike as he probably could have got it into the sevens with his experience which is easily good for a few tenths. His best time in the 1/4 is 9.1 and he says it puts out around 155 ponies. This is impressive for a bike with pretty much 30 year old technology and not a ton of money into the motor.

Here is a pic of me and the Honda at the 60 foot cone.

Cheers-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada







Post edited by: reborn650, at: 2007/07/16 12:32

Here is another pic of me pulling up to the staging area. Pulse rate probably around 120

Total investment in bike over the past few years - $ ??? - I don't even want to think about it.

Cost for a weekend pass - $90

Food, beer, fuel and cash for my friend to bring up my bike in his truck - $150

Getting away with my son for a little road trip - Priceless!

Cheers-Colin

WAY COOL!! bummer that you only got one pass in buy it looks like you are going to make some big numbers.


Are you using racing fuel in the bike?

Good to hear your bike ran good and strong. Are you running pump gas? I cant wait to get started on my build. I have to wait for winter though. It's to nice not to be riding now.

I only run the premium octane pump gas in my bike. Put a little splash of NOS octane boost in the tank for the drags but can't really say if it made any power difference but I don't think it slowed me down any.

BTW there was an old Yamaha XS Eleven also running and I think he just got into the 8's. One guy just ahead of me on a Yamaha RZ350 dumped the clutch and catwalked the bike for a few steps until it fell over. I kinda felt bad for the young RZ kid as he cracked the tailpiece and light and parked it for the night.

Cheers-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada

Congrats Colin.
Nice first attempt and great lookin ride!

Did you tell the guy on the 750 what you've got under the tank? :whistle: :laugh:

Post edited by: rstnick, at: 2007/07/15 23:14

dman that bike looks nice.

rstnick wrote:

Congrats Colin.
Nice first attempt and great lookin ride!

Did you tell the guy on the 750 what you've got under the tank? :whistle: :laugh:<br><br>Post edited by: rstnick, at: 2007/07/15 23:14

Nah...He didn't ask.

But I'm pretty sure that a couple of his other buddies who had their old bikes at the reces took an up close look at my motor when I parked after the run. Glad I ground the 738 c.c. casting number off the 750 cylinder's exterior. That's why I call it the silver sleeper:)

Cheers-Colin Firth -Ontario Canada

Post edited by: reborn650, at: 2007/07/15 23:41

Post edited by: reborn650, at: 2007/07/15 23:42

I would stay away from the octane additive, the stuff is crap, it dosent mix evenly with the gas and can cause a hole in the piston, been there done that:angry:

Great tale Colin. Sounds like a real fun day.
Good the hear the bike is running fast and strong

That bike looks awsome. congrats on the win and on the build:)

Come on down to the bike only Summer Sizzler at Grand Bend Motorplex on August 25th. Going by the pic posted just bring some over the ankle boots & you'll be good to go. You'll get at least 3 time trials and this is one of the best bike events in Ontario held at an IHRA National Event track.

Canada'a Fastest Streetbike Shootout.7 second no bar 1/4 mile, think the best pass last year was a 7:40 at 190+. BONUS PURSE FROM KAWASAKI this year!

5 th.Annual Kevin Blackmore Memorial Quick 16. Fastest 16 entries on full tree, dial in - no sleds,bikes only.

Steetfighter ( no slick/bars), Harley,Trophy, Pit Bike classes.

More info. www.grandbendmotorplex.com . Look me up in the pits- blue 79 MKll car tire dragbike.First beer's on me.

Post edited by: Jack, at: 2007/07/16 14:25