Retiring from Drag Racing

I came to the realization that my drag racing days are over. The projects were gathering too much dust and the space those bikes are occupying is now needed more for street bike projects.

I just sold my 7" tire bike as a rolling chassis to the guys Son who had the most success on it. That kid had been on the hunt for it ever since I bought it back in 2012. Its now going back to a family that can enjoy it for what it is.

I am pulling the engine from it tomorrow or Saturday depending on how dirty it is. I stopping working on it in late 2021 so there is going to be a bit of cleanup required. Its being collected on Sunday.

I may sell or keep the 1327 engine, not sure just yet. I was talking to my engine guy and he said a local vintage sidecar guy might want it. It does have some 40 Lectrons on it that could be parted out. If I keep the engine for street use those are too big with no idle circuit.

I am also parting out my alcohol injected bike. The key items to sell off are the custom 43mm injector bodies, fuel pump, fuel tank, hoses/fittings, tuning bits, and the Mallory Sprintmag magneto and wires. That frame has the number ground off so it will be scrapped, but I can use the swing arm, forks, wheels, brakes, and engine. It also has a top notch paint job on it so that will see the streets again
I was so excited about the prospect of reusing the 831cc engine in it that I bought some big Mikuni round slide carbs for it to mate up to the non stock spigot spacing.

Its been a long time coming but I think its for the best.
 

Retiring from "Just Drag Racing", not motorcycles in general right?

For all of us, there comes a time when we have to stop doing something, so don't worry about it and keep doing things you enjoy with bikes! -

(I'm also currently closing down my workshop. It was already painful to sell my good lathe and have to part with so many large machines and tools, and the process isn't over yet: You can't close down a workshop that's grown over decades in just a few weeks or months. It requires a lot of logistics, and unfortunately, a lot of things are going to the scrap heap or the trash ;-(  )

Yeah not retiring from motorcycles, just getting rid of the drag racing stuff while its still worth some $$

Trying to reuse some of the components for street use if suitable.

Its all worth money but the hard part is you can't recoup the hours spent. I paid $2K for that drag bike chassis and sold it for $3K. No money poured into it just small pieces of aluminum and my machining/fabrication time. 

On the engine I did spend some money so that will be harder to try to break even. There is a bit of wiggle room because I did fabricate some parts for it as well instead of pouring more $$ into it. There is also another plan were I keep the 1327 and build a street bike around it but that is only if I can't recoup the $$ 

The 650 injected bike is a different story as there were lots of custom pieces that had to be made and at that time I was not doing any fabrication. The good thing about that bike is most of the chassis and engine can be put back to street use.
 

What we get out of a hobby does not show up on a spreadsheet or account book. 

When we buy tickets to a concert, or the theater, or pay for an expensive dinner with a beautiful lady, we are not looking for financial gain. The same is true of our hobbies. What we do get back is far more precious than money.

Our hobbies bring us joy. The joy of solving a problem. The joy of seeing that new paint sparkling in the sun. The joy of hearing that engine roar to life again. The joy of that time slip showing a lower number than expected. The joy of making new friends that outlast the hobby. The joy of helping other folks new to the hobby find similar joys. 

That is why it is so difficult to let a hobby go. It is not really so much about the money we will not recoup, it is about letting go of something that brought so much joy. For me, letting go has been easier when I focus on the future that will have space for something new, and maybe even better than what I leave behind.

Hey TexasKZ,
You’ve really put that beautifully into words—it gets right to the heart of the matter!
 

I am sorry to hear. And I agree with what TexasKZ said.  

There are lots of Drag bikes and parts showing up on the KZMarlet. They are sent away unless they are compatible with the stock bikes. There are other places to post them But they aren't fetching a lot of money like they use to.   

I am grateful to break even, most times I am loosing money. Not too many times do I even keep track of expenses, but I did on this one because I knew one day it would be time to sell.

When you have $4K into a engine your not so apt to just give it away. The good thing about a engine is it does not take up too much space. It could sit there for years and I would not care too much.
 

I also have have come to the same conclusion about my drag racing days. But there's kind of an old saying about all that. " Some men go fishing all their lives , only to realize that it's not fish they're after". 
Henry David Thoreau.

This is the first "band aid" to be ripped off with more to come. The chassis is getting picked up tomorrow morning and the buyer could not be happier.

He also purchased the Lectron carbs and he is now thinking about the engine. I also found a whole box of decent air shift parts, shift counters, engine kills, complete mechanical MRE air shift setup, and a bunch of other drag related parts he may be interest in. Hopefully he gets what he needs and leaves a happy camper

At this point I am more than happy to help a fellow enthusiast down the road.

Pick-up at your spread is Always Nice! No bothersome courier shipping. Is that Your objective for selling, just keep it local or thru networks of fellow racers? The reason i bring it up is because a Friend in Alberta just sent me some photos of the paperwork customs demands for shipping to the US. Holy cow, sure has gotten complicated!!