Race starts and how to improve?

[Kwaka-Kid]

Your problem (if you can call it that) is you know far too much about your bike and how it works thus you cannot stand abusing it..

AMEN TO THAT!

Frosty i think this is possibly your biggest problem, its certainly mine.

To be perfectly honest, the method hoon said is basically the only method there is! lets face it, revvs have to be up, and the engine cant be let to bog, so i dont understand what some of you say when you say "this method"

I flex the revvs between 7-9 up and down untill the flag drops, as soon as it drops i catch the revvs on their way up at around 8 and hold the throttle wide open (identical to everyone else, its the only way, how else would u take off?) and keep the clutch half pulled untill the rear wheel matches the engines speed hopefully at the higher side of 8,000rpm. But the problem is listening to all that clutching damn near makes me throw up, so i end up trying to get off that clutch as soon as i possibly can which last meeting resulted in me bogging it every single time - what i need to improve? Is for my father or someone i trust to tell me before every race (as he has done in the passed) just do it and do it hard! dont worry about the clutch you have a spare one ready to bolt in in the garage, and if i do burn it out it will be a good thing in that we get to rebuild it as a proper race clutch.

So yeah tony, unfortunatly you just have to slip that clutch for longer then your gut tells you to! I reckon Aff-Man would make the best drag racer of us - absolutly no regard for his friction plates at all eh aff-boy

[Cajun]

Hmmm I've raced a lot with Frosty and I definately wouldn't say he goes easy on his machinery - in fact he can be downright brutal sometimes and even has me shaking my head in disbelief!!
From some of his posts a few of you have got the impression he is too nice to his bike but like any of us F3 racers will tell you, what Frostys does and what Frosty says doesn't always match up haha



Yep...I'm putting my race bike back on the road for summer (after a few cosmetic repairs) so I'll be in! Maybe we could organise a KB visit to the Meremere Fri night Dragwars??

Hoon i am looking setting a kb nite at the dragwars to have a but of fun with the boy racers, (c:< more the merrier

What time should we make it hoon?

[Quasievil]

Hoon i am looking setting a kb nite at the dragwars to have a but of fun with the boy racers, (c:< more the merrier

What time should we make it hoon?

when fella

[Hoon]

What time should we make it hoon?

Well from the site the next night is 4th February - suits me!

I'm not sure what the story is for race bikes though?? Also you will need headlights unless you are happy to stop racing when it gets dark.

[Cajun]

Well from the site the next night is 4th February - suits me!

I'm not sure what the story is for race bikes though?? Also you will need headlights unless you are happy to stop racing when it gets dark.

ok 4th it is

[flipper]

Hey, I had a similar situation to the original post in this thread.

Always qualified ok at club level in F3, but so slow off the line that I was dangerous at times. But (for other reasons) blew a motor resulting in a burnt out a hrc cdi tacho sender (but not the primary HRC Cdi ignition function so bike ran). Afterwards never had better starts in my life (with no tacho).

Found was less focused on xxx revs and more on feel/instinct.

[DEATH_INC.]

Woohoo,I haven't been to a nightwars for over a year now......I've got a spare clutch too!!

[Two Smoker]

Woohoo,I haven't been to a nightwars for over a year now......I've got a spare clutch too!!

ooohhhhh Nightwars i might be able to jimmy up a headlight for my 400 MR you keen????

[k14]

I might be keen to drive up from here to do the drag wars. Should be some fun. What time do they run from? Can probably leave work around 3 and then get up there about 6.

[FROSTY:Me]

sounds like a fantastic idea--thanks a million Hoon

[FROSTY:Me]

guys Ive been puttting a lot of thought into this. Drag wars is a definite go.
BUT -I think I need to actually figure out what I am doing not what I think I'm doing.
I've found a bit of road out in the country that I can practice starts on.
I was thinking some hardy person sould actually stand next to me and film a couple of my starts.Thinking about it I'm probably not actually doing what I think Im doing.
Offers accepted willingly here
d

[That Guy]

Hey Frosty just read this. I was pretty good at starts at motocross, but as Hoon knows I am a crap starter at road racing so have been reading this with interest. Having done only 2 road races but about a billion mx races I reckon MX is far madder. 40 riders lined up side by side trying to get to one apex together. I've found in the 2 road races I've done people are a lot more timid into turn 1 compared to mx. MX it's all elbows and handlebars and kicking....perhaps national level road racing is more serious....but anyway despite crap launchs on the RGV each time I've managed to make up a lot of places in turn one....keep that in mind if you do muff your launch.

In MX it was 2nd or 3rd gear starts, rev the shit out of it before the gate drops, slip the clutch for about 20-30 metres and as long as the thing doesn't bog you'd be away. Keep the left foot on the peg to feed in the next gear, and don't throttle off when you do; just jab the clutch a little. And stick your elbows out and get ready for contact....The other thing was in road racing I've found you don't get the opportunity to practice starts - in MX I might practice 3 or 4 starts before a race on that day.....practice is the key, and it's what I need to sort me RGV start technique out!

[magnum]

i think you need to stop over analysing everymistake you make

[TwoSeven]

For those of us that dont live up in that there north island, perhaps people may want to have a race start session at the next ruapuna outing or something.

I know there are also a lot of new riders out there I've seen grid up without anyone showing them what to do, and i'd be interested in having a look see as there is always something to learn.

[speedpro]

Lots of drag racing is good for the starts. Hold the revs you want to launch at, don't blip the throttle. Throttle and clutch together keeping the revs on or above your launch rpm. You need to practice as you can't afford to be looking at the tacho during a start. If the clutch packs it in get a better one to replace it. You also have to position yourself on the bike to compensate for it's tendancy to wheelstand or the tracks lack of traction. At Thunderpark I had to be right over the front of the instruments as the track had real bite but at Meremere I had to sit back a bit to get it to hook up. With practice you could get the front 20mm off the ground right through 1st and 2nd. Thunderpark "was" the best track but my best time was 11.3 @ 121mph on the old (stock) GSX1100 at Meremere. With a good start at Pukekohe I beat Freeth and Farrow into the back straight "once" on my old Z1, them on McIntoshs.

Back in the good old days :cool2: sigh!