Alright, so it's probably not to much power, but ever since I did the 520 conversion, with -1 up front, any time I go to race I can't keep the front wheel down at anywhere near WOT. Every now and then (rarely, since I'm a twisties kinda guy) I hit the local philly street race seen. Up until recently, it was a toss up between my bike and most 600s. More or less came down to driver error. However, once I did the conversion, the bike just doesn't want to sit down on any gear 1st through 3rd. I've only done a couple of real runs since I did it, but if I go soft enough to keep the front down, I just lose, and if I go as WOT as I can without flipping it, I still can't come out on top if I'm up against a modified 600, or a lightly modified 636. Occasionally, when the twisties are few and far between, and the roads are completely empty, I"ll practice launching it through the first 3 gears (typically we only run the first 3 gears in any race), but in the end, my best run is just to slow. Anybody have any suggestions?

Here's a few useful pieces of info that might help determining my problem.
-been riding for 3 years, 6 months on this 600rr
-weight 140-145 lbs (and I pretty much am leaning over top of the handlebars the whole time)
-i haven't been strapping the front suspension (definately will at my first time'd run, but doesn't seem practical for the street?)
-i've been making runs with only about a galloon of gas (i'm thinking a full tank should definately help)

My bike has enough power, and while I'm not very experience with the drag strip, I am however a pretty good rider in general, atleast on the tracks that involved turns : ).

So, here's my long post, thanks for any suggestions.

 

How about getting a longer chain and moving the rear tire out a little bit? Also, try turning the nut on the rear shock spring down a couple turns to increase pre-load. Make a mark on the shock so you can return it to the correct position when you're done racing. This will take the power that was previously taken to squat the suspension and turn it into forward power. However, I wouldn't recommend riding in the twisties until returning the spring to its rightful spot. Lean forward as much as possible.

 

well i do a lot of drag racing and i just ordered a lowering strap. now its not recommended at all to drive on street with it. basically its a strap that bolts to the caliper and has a strap that goes over the black bar thing( dont know what its called). and then u crank the lever and it lowers the front suspension. but it seems there is only one company out there who makes them. www.schnitzracing.com. if you wanted to wait a week or so and i can let u kno if there were major differences with it.. cause it was 75 bucks shipped.


steve

 

A longer chain will not do a thing you can't move your wheel back. You have very little adjustment back there. Ok the trick, its all in the launch. You have to ride that clutch. Let the clutch out fast to a point. Then when the front wheel starts coming up don't back off the throttle. Pull the clutch in just a little to bring it down. Its all in balancing it with the clutch. This is first gear only. Then in 2 and 3rd just run it like normal. If the front end comes up just back off the throttle a little. Get a extended swingarm and lower the bike. I have a 10 inch over swingarm. Front and rear lowered 3 inches. Front end stays down untill I spray then it wants to bring the front end up. Hope that helps. Remember, practice, practice, practice. Anytime you are really racing it hard that front wheel will be just skimming the ground.

 

A) You can move your rear wheel back about an inch to 1 1/2 in. and yes that will help a little bit
B) Riding a bike with a 10 inch extended swingarm in the "twisties" is not fun at all
C) Only 1 link would need to be added to get your back tire back a little bit - alot more cost effective than shelling out for a new swingarm.

 

you may also want to try to soften up the rear suspension. if it can't squat at accel the front will want to come up instead.

 

Adding one link to your chain to move the rear wheel to the back of the stock adjuster would not be a good idea. You will have no way to adjust your chain. Plus a inch to a inch and a half is not going to make a difference.

A adjustable lowering link would be a good bang for the buck. Then you could raise or lower it to what ever kind of riding your going to be doing. I would not ride around on the street with the front end strapped. Very dangerous to do.

I don't trust bolt on swingarm extentions. I have seen to many problems. It is hard to set up a bike that will drag race good and still do good in the twisties. There just set up to different. I just bought a swingarm off of ebay then sent it to Adams Racing. They extended it adjustable for 6-10 inch over stock. Then I had it powder coated black. If you got a swingarm that was adjustable stock to 6 inches over that could work. Buy a second chain. then when you wanna drag move it all the way back and put on the other chain. Then when you want to go to the twisties just move it up to stock and put the shorter chain on.

 

you can't add just 1 link to a chain, only multiples of 2...

 

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Basically, I would like to keep the bike pretty much set up as it is now, since I ride the twisties 95% of the time. It just seems weird that prior to changing the gears, the bike dragged much better then after dropping a tooth. It probably has alot to do with throttle control, it just seems really funny that while many people want to wheelies, I'm trying my hardest to stop the bike from lifting. I'm gonna try to soften the rear preload next time I go, since that takes all of 2 mins to do, and can be done at the race. Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

they make a wheelie limiter mainly for drag racing but it comes with a toggle swithch to turn it on and off. not too expensive or bulky. not allowed in any sanctioned races but used allot on the street and small tracks. you have a steal rod that you clamp on the inside of your forks. and this rod has a trip switch on the end of it. when your forks extend ( wheelie ) it will cut power to one or two of your coils allowing you to stay in the throttle and the front wheel to stay at a pre-determaned hight. i have raced a guy who had on on his 600 worked great. smoked me off the line