Well, I'll start with a story about my attempt to hit 190 mph on my ZX-14. I've been working on this bike quite a bit since I got it back in May, and it is primarily used for drag racing. I've been racing for fun, along with my girlfriend Racheal, for about 2 years at Maxton...
So, the story goes...Well, it rained almost all day here at Maxton! They stop the runs at 6 pm, and I made one run at near 5:30. Not many people got a run in today; I was one of the lucky ones!
The run went pretty well, if a little tentative. I have to get used to a new tuck with the step seat, and this is my first time using the shifter at the mile. As I said, I am trying for 190 mph this weekend. Here is what I've started off with:
Not bad! My gearing calculation is pretty darn close; I have roughly 200 rpm left in the bike before I hit the rpm limiter in 6th. I'm hoping that a good nights rest and cool morning air will get me to 190 mph tomorrow.
And the following day:We got to the track at 6:10 am this morning. I rode the bikes up to the starting line in the dark to get a good spot in line. The weather conditions were very much improved in the morning. Unfortunately, my first run was another 189 mph pass. I suspected that the bike might be running a little lean in the cool air, but I didn't have my data logger hooked up to check it.
I decided that I needed to try something different. I installed the stock, shorter windscreen. I thought that it might help since I had been told by a couple of sources that the double bubble was not as aero as the stocker. Well, by this time a small headwind was developing. My next run netted a disappointing 185 mph.
So, I switched back to the double bubble and gave it another try. Another 189 mph pass. I was starting to think it just wouldn't go any faster! I went ahead an installed the LM-1 logger so I could at least see if I was running lean like I thought.
Finally, things went right:
My gearing was just about perfect. I hit the limiter right at/after the end of the traps. The logger also confirmed what I suspected. The bike was running about 13.7:1 a/f at the top of 6th gear. No wonder it wasn't pulling hard in the last couple hundred rpm!
I'd say that there are a couple more mph left in the bike with a good tune. I'm still very happy to run near 191 mph at 225 lbs. suited. I'm definitely not jockey-sized:
Here you can see that the concrete of Maxton can be a little abrasive on the tires:
My 190 mph mission accomplished! One final pic from trackside:
I also had a bit of a close call out there. Running very close to a cone through the lights, which put me in a very bad spot in shutdown. Completely due to rider error. The photographer caught it. When I get the picture I will explain more about what happened.
Shane