Drag Bike - Plan B

[Off Road]

Before I put the bike back in the trailer, I decided to clean the RTV off of the intake manifold, reed blocks, and engine.
After I had everything cleaned up, I was looking at the parts and wondered if I could seal the V-force reed blocks to the engine, without a gasket, by just using the RTV silicone.
My next thought was, ‘that’s a really bad idea’.

But, it might work, and it couldn’t hurt anything to put on a bit of RTV and fire it up for a few seconds, just to see what happens.

It didn’t take very long to put everything back together.
- RTV between the V-force reed block and engine.
- Intake manifold on and tightened.
- More RTV on the outside of the joint between the V-force and the engine.
- Carbs installed and synced.

By the time I finished, it was 1:50 pm, and I had just over 1 hour before I had to be in the staging lanes for Round 2 of Qualifying.
So, I waited, and paced, and drank coffee, and paced, and wondered, and worried, and waited some more.
At 2:30, I just couldn’t wait any longer, so I flipped the On switch and fired the RZ up.
After it warmed up and settled into a steady idle, the gauge read:
Right Cylinder – 155*C
Left Cylinder – 186*C

I brought the rpm up to 2000 and held it there until the temps steadied.
Right Cylinder – 177*C
Left Cylinder – 208*C

I brought the rpm up to 2500.
Right Cylinder – 199*C
Left Cylinder – 228*C

I took it up to 3000 rpm.
Right Cylinder – 217*C
Left Cylinder – 245*C

Well, it was better, but not good enough.
The Left cylinder was still lean, and the only way to fix it was with a new gasket.
So, it time to stop beating the dead horse, admit defeat, drink a 6 pack of beer, and lose touch with reality for a while.

[Off Road]

I shut off the bike and just sat there, staring at the EGT gauge.
I was hot, tired, frustrated, and petty much out of stupid ideas.
I had to be in the staging lanes in 20 minutes for Qualifying.
I’d used up all the RTV silicone.
The Left cylinder was still running 30*C hotter than the Right cylinder.
And there was just no way to seal up the air leak.

I’ve made over a hundred passes down the track with the EGT gauge installed, and have recorded the maximum EGT readings from 6 different race tracks.
I normally record the maximum EGT after every 2 or 4 runs, and then reset the gauge.
So, I have a pretty good amount of information on EGT temps, For My Bike Only.
However, it would take a long post to present all the information. I’ll have to make a new thread on that subject, at a later date

For now, I’ll just say that the RZ seems pretty happy when the maximum EGT is between 650*C and 660*C, at the end of the 1/4 mile.
It usually runs in this range at most of the tracks.
However, I haven’t taken this engine apart, so I really don’t know if these temperatures are good, or if they’re too hot.
All I really know is that the bike runs awesome, and hasn’t blown up yet.

I do know that when the EGT gets up to 680*C to 690*C, my engine is too hot.
After running those temperatures, the motor ran fine for the rest of the year, and didn’t seize, but when I took it apart to replace a base gasket, everything looked like it got extremely hot.
There was no sign of detonation, but the piston skirts, wrist pins, and bearings, were changing color, and all the carbon on the underside of the piston, (the small amount that hadn’t burned away), was blistered.

Last year, the maximum EGT that I recorded, in Medicine Hat, was 652*C (L) and 647*C (R).
So, this year, with the air leak, I knew the Left EGT would go higher than 680*C, and that wouldn’t be good.

And then all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, I had another stupid idea.

The left cylinder’s getting bit too much air, so it really just needs more gas, and that could be fixed by installing a bigger main jet. Right?
In Mission, I was running 450 main jets, and my maximum EGT’s were 686*C (L) and 684*C (R).
After I replaced the 450 main jets with 460’s, my maximum EGTs were 652*C (L) and 654*C (R).
Using this vast amount of data, I determined that going up 1 jet size would reduce my Maximum EGT by 30*C.

OK, I knew the EGT on the Left was 30*C hotter than the Right, at low RPM (1500-3000).
So, I assumed that the temperature difference between the 2 cylinders would stay at 30*C, throughout the rev range, from idle to redline.
And I assumed that going up 1 jet size in Medicine Hat (elevation 2200’), in September, would lower the EGT by 30*C,
the same as it did in Mission (elevation 50’), last June.

So, in theory, if I go up 1 size on the Main Jet in the Left carb, then both cylinders should have pretty much the same maximum Exhaust Gas Temperature at WOT.

Unfortunately, there was really only one way to test the theory, and that was 5th gear, 9600 rpm, 108 mph (174 kph).

Well, I’d come this far and couldn’t let fear and good judgment hold me back, so I jumped off the bike and grabbed some tools.
I had the left carb off, float bowl off, 430 MJ out, 440 MJ in, everything reassembled, and the bike running; in less than 15 minutes.

I let it idle, and warm up, while I jumped into my gear. When I got back to the bike, the Left EGT was still about 30*C hotter than the Right.
Close Enough. And the bike wasn’t going to be idling very much anyway.
I strapped down my helmet, put on my gloves, and headed to the staging lanes for 2nd Round of Qualifying.

I discovered the intake leak at noon, and I pulled into the staging lanes at 3:00 pm.
I’m not sure of the exact moment that it happened, but sometime during those 3 hours, I had come to accept the fact that, if I run the bike down the track, I could seize the engine.
It might happen. It’s likely to happen. It’s certain to happen. I don’t know.
But, for some reason, that didn’t bother me. I just wanted to go out a play, and have some fun.
Besides, I already had a ‘plan’ on how to prevent the engine from melting down.

Eventually, I get to the front of the staging line, and they wave me onto the track.
I kicked the engine over and it fires to life on the 1st kick. I flipped up the side stand, and pulled in the clutch lever
As I moved my foot toward the shift lever, I clearly heard a voice in my head say;
‘Don’t do this. Turn around and go back to your pit. This is a bad idea’.
I hesitated for a moment and thought about it, and suddenly there was another voice saying;
‘Don’t worry. You got this. Everything will be fine. And just because it’s a bad Idea, doesn’t mean it won’t be fun.

With that final thought, I put the bike in gear and pulled onto the track.

[Off Road]

It’s late in the evening, my illegal smile has faded, my inspiration has waned, my ambition has vanished,
and I’m only half way through the 1st day, of a 2 day story, so the conclusion of this fiasco will have to wait till another time.
Although, I sure that most of you already have an opinion on how this might end.

Before I go, I do have a question. I’m sort of taking a poll. No need to reply. A show of hands will be fine.

Here’s the scenario.
All week long, you’ve been planning on going for a ride on Saturday.
On Saturday morning, you discover that an intake gasket on your RZ is leaking, and 1 cylinder is running too hot because it’s lean.

What do you do?
A – Cancel the ride and park the bike parked until you can replace the intake gasket.
B – Smear RTV on the outside of the motor to try and seal the leak. When that doesn’t work, then park the bike.
C – Remove the leaking gasket and just use RV to seal the reed block to the motor. When that doesn’t work, then park the bike.
D – Install a bigger Main Jet, hope it’s big enough to compensate for the leak, and then ride it like you stole it.

PS. When I cut through all the bullshit, and clearly list the options, even I think the question sounds stupid.

[JonW]

Thank you Jon. But, 3 times, you need to find yourself a hobby, mate.
I admit, I do cram a lot of trivial details into the posts, and if you’re really intent on following what I’m thinking, and what the RZ’s doing,
then it does take some time to absorb all the info.

No, no Steve, this hobby will do me my friend! I love it!

Thanks LC. My commitment? What about Jon’s?

[JonW]

Another great edge of the seat set of posts...

What would I do...? for a weekend ride Id take another bike or give it a miss. But, for a race... after travelling all the way there... I'd probably do C or D. I'd be sure that if that is the leak then i'd have found it... since it wasnt, then its back to the brake clean and find out whats wrong... but i'd already be suspecting its already needing a rebuild at this point... Thats no reason to have it go bang tho, racing is exy enough without a bigger bill. :(

Just need to locate some popcorn for Medicine Hat Ep. 2!

[Off Road]

To begin with, I need to correct an error that I made in my last post.

For now, I’ll just say that the RZ seems pretty happy when the maximum EGT is between 650*C and 660*C, at the end of the 1/4 mile.
It usually runs in this range at most of the tracks.

And those numbers were wrong.
The previously posted EGT’s were for the 83 RZ that was using 1UA cylinders and stock VM26 carbs, with 420 main jets.

This bike is an 84 RZ, that’s using 31K cylinders and Mikuni TM28 carbs, with 430 main jets.
The maximum EGT’s for this bike are usually between 610*C and 640*C, depending on the track.

In my last post I talked about the Exhaust Gas Temperatures, and the subject is going to come up again.
Here’s a bit more information that might help you understand the thoughts that were running through my mind, as pulled onto the track.

First off, for me, the EGT gauge is only a moderately useful tool. Sure, it gives an accurate temperature.
But, it takes some experience/knowledge/skill/guesswork to interpret what the temperatures mean, and what they say about how the engine is performing.
With every run I make, I get more info, but it takes time.
It was definitely a valuable tool to have on the RZ, at the track, because I instantly saw that there was an intake leak.
Without the gauge, I’d have been WOT, with the Left cylinder approaching melt-down temperatures.

Secondly, the Exhaust Gas Temperatures are all over the place. They’re constantly changing.
They’re affected by the tracks, the elevation, the temperature, the morning air, afternoon air, sun, clouds, wind, humidity, pressure and so on.
I don’t have the time, or the tuning skills, to evaluate the conditions and re-jet the carbs at the track.
So, when the weather changes, then the engine performance changes, and the maximum EGT’s change.

On the 99% of my runs, I don’t even look at the EGT gauge. Just can’t seem to find the time to fit it into my schedule.
The only info I have is the maximum EGT’s that are recorded at the end of the track.

On this engine, the maximum EGT on the Left cylinder is usually 10 or 20*C hotter than the Right cylinder.
However, on some runs, the Left and Right EGT’s are within 2 or 3*C.
And, on the rare occasion, the Left EGT has been lower than the Right EGT.
And all 3 of those conditions can happen in a single day.

Last year in Prince George, I made 10 runs and took EGT readings after every 2 runs.
My first run of the day was before 11:00 am, and my last run would have been around 7:00 pm.
As the day got hotter, the EGT on the Right cylinder decreased, and the EGT on the Left cylinder increased.
When the temperature cooled in the evening, the EGT’s went back up.
Right Cylinder – 630*C and Left Cylinder – 612*C
Right Cylinder – 613*C and Left Cylinder – 622*C
Right Cylinder – 613*C and Left Cylinder – 619*C
Right Cylinder – 605*C and Left Cylinder – 609*C
Right Cylinder – 629*C and Left Cylinder – 619*C

Trying to re-jet the carbs to keep the EGT at a constant temperature would be a monumental task.
And to make it even more difficult, I have absolutely no idea what correct/optimal temperature should be.

[Off Road]

I discovered the intake leak at noon, and I pulled into the staging lanes at 3:00 pm.
... I already had a ‘plan’ on how to prevent the engine from melting down.

I’ve made 40+ runs on the 1/8 mile track in Rimby (elevation 930 meters, 3050 feet), and my maximum EGT is usually between 550*C and 560*C, at the end of the 1/8 mile.

So, the plan was simple.
If the EGT, On the Left cylinder, got higher than 560*C, before I reached the 1/8 mile, then I would shut down the run, and coast to the finish line.
If the EGT at the 1/8 mille was lower than 560*C, I would continue, and keep a really close eye on where things were going.

Later on, I realized that there was a bit of a flaw with the plan, and I had to re-evaluate.
When I took the EGT readings in Rimby, the RZ had a 15T front sprocket, and the engine was revving at 9400 rpm, in 4th gear, when I crossed the finish line.
In Medicine Hat, I changed to a 16T sprocket so, at the 1/8 mile, the engine would be revving at ‘less than’ 9400 rpm.

Still, if the rpm, at the 1/8 mile, was lower, then the EGT should also be lower.
How much lower? I didn’t have a clue, so I took a wild guess and picked 20*C.
If all my assumptions, hunches, theories, and calculations were correct, and that’s a really big ‘if’, then at the 1/8 mile, I should see an EGT somewhere between 530*C and 540*C, on the Left cylinder.

I decided to stick with the original plan and shut down the run if the EGT was higher than 560*C at the 1/8 mile.
That sounded safe.

OK, assuming the engine was still running at half track, and the EGT was lower than 560*C, then what?
I had to decide on a maximum EGT that would be safe, at the end of the 1/4 mile.

Fortunately, I keep pretty good records, and have 1/4 mile, EGT reading for this bike, at the Medicine Hat track, for the last 2 years.
I’m not sure why I only have 1 reading for last year, and I have no idea why it’s 15-20*C hotter than the readings I took in 2021.
2021 – Right Cylinder – 638*C and Left Cylinder – 628*C
2021 – Right Cylinder – 639*C and Left Cylinder – 627*C
2021 – Right Cylinder – 637*C and Left Cylinder – 616*C
2021 – Right Cylinder – 635*C and Left Cylinder – 602*C
2022 – Right Cylinder – 653*C and Left Cylinder – 647*C

From looking at previous history, I appears that I might see an EGT, on the Left cylinder, somewhere between 635 and 640*C.
Or, depending upon the weather and atmospheric conditions, it could be somewhere between 650 and 655*C.
And once again, the EGT gauge was not being a very helpful tool.

After careful consideration, I picked 659*C as my absolute maximum EGT.
I was going to chop the throttle and shut it down, the instant I saw the gauge read 660*C.
After all, there was no point in taking any unnecessary chances.

It was a fool proof plan, unless, of course, it was assigned it to a fool.
Time would tell.

[Off Road]

Saturday, Sept. 16/23 – CMDRA Race #6 – Medicine Hat, AB (cont.)

As I recall, when I last posted, and left everyone hanging, I was hell bent on trying to seize an RZ engine, at 100 mph.

...I get to the front of the staging line, and they wave me onto the track.
...Don’t do this ... This is a bad idea.
...Don’t worry ... Everything will be fine.

I backed into the water-box and, when I got the signal, I did a short burnout.
Then I pulled forward and waited for the Starter’s instruction to Stage the bike.
While I waited, I had one last team meeting.

Pilot – Put me in coach. I’m ready to go. Let’s do this.
Mechanic – I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like this before. It could go either way.
Crew Chief – Trust me. I read most of the chapter on Carb Tuning. This will be fine.

The Starter motioned me forward, and the vote was 2 to 1 in favor, so I staged the bike and brought the engine up on the launch rev limiter (6700 rpm).
The light turned green and I had a lousy launch. Maybe I had other things on my mind, but whatever it was; I just had an issue getting the bike moving.
When I finally got rolling, the engine instantly hit redline (9600 rpm), and I shifted into 2nd.
It quickly hit redline in 2nd and I shifted to 3rd.

I was back to WOT in 3rd gear before I looked at the EGT gauge. It read 490*C when I first saw it, but immediately went to 500*C.
And then, in a blur of numbers, the EGT shot past 510, 520, 530*C, and I had a moment.
I panicked at how fast the temp was climbing and I shifted into 4th gear, before the shift light came on.
Back to wide open throttle in 4th gear. One eye on the track. The other eye on the EGT gauge.

When I hit the 1/8 mile, the EGT gauge read 5-5-something *C.
It could have been 550 or 559*C. I have no idea. But it wasn’t 560, so I held the throttle open.
It had climbed to just over 560*C when the shift light came on, and I grabbed 5th gear.
I looked at the track.
I looked down at the EGT gauge. It read 580*C.
I looked at the track.
I looked down at the EGT. It read 600*C.
I looked at the track and had a WTF moment, as Marie went flying past me in the other lane, on her FZ6.

I was so focused on the RZ that I forgot there were other people on the track. And why was she only passing me at the far end of the track?
Her bikes pretty quick. She should have caught me long before now.
I looked back down at the gauge and it read 630*C.
I looked back at the track and I was only 15 or 20 feet away from the finish line, so I held it WFO.
I crossed the line, eased off the throttle, and watched the EGT temps start to come down.
Cool. I survived the run. The RZ didn’t crash, burn, or blow up. Life was good.

I picked up my time slip and went back to the staging lanes to make a Qualifying run in the Hot Twin Class.
Before shutting off the bike, I checked the maximum EGT’s.
Right Cylinder – 608*C and Left Cylinder – 636*C

Great and WTF?
The temperature on the Left cylinder was right where it should be.
But it was still reading 30*C hotter than the Right.
And the Right cylinder was running colder than it had in the past.
So, what the hell does that tell me about how the engine’s running?

The good news was that the Left cylinder wasn’t too lean, and shouldn’t seize, so it was probably safe to run it down the track again.

Then I took a look at my time slip, and, as I suspected, it was not very impressive.
The only bright spot was the high mph at the finish line.
Round 2 of Qualifying in Street Class.
60 Foot . – 2.26 sec
1/8 mile – 8.44 sec @ 88.57 mph
1/4 mile – 12.94 sec @ 107.64 mph

My Hot Twin run was much better. I had a decent launch which improved all my times down track.
And the RZ was still making big mph at both the 1/8 and 1/4 mile.
Round 2 of Qualifying in Hot Twin Class.
60 Foot . – 2.04 sec
1/8 mile – 8.13 sec @ 89.06 mph
1/4 mile – 12.62 sec @ 107.66 mph

After I got back to my pit, I checked my EGT gauge again, and the maximum EGT’s had not changed.
(Note: When I make back to back runs, I have no way of recording the EGT from the 1st run, so I don’t reset the EGT gauge.
Therefore, when I get back to the pits, the maximum EGT’s recorded, could be from either run.
However, most times, the EGT’s on the 2nd run are lower than the EGT’s from the 1st run.)

I pulled the plugs and they both looked fine.
They were a bit dark from being used for the last 4 races, but no sign of being hot, and no flecks of aluminum on the insulators.
So, I put them back in and waited for the last rounds of Qualifying.

The final rounds of Qualifying were between 5:15 and 5:30 pm. The air had changed and the RZ was down on HP.
It was running 2 mph slower at the finish line, and this increased my ET’s by a few hundreds of a second.

Round 3 of Qualifying in Street Class.
60 Foot . – 2.01 sec
1/8 mile – 8.12 sec @ 88.1 mph
1/4 mile – 12.68 sec @ 106.1 mph

Round 3 of Qualifying in Hot Twin Class.
60 Foot . – 2.02 sec
1/8 mile – 8.15 sec @ 87.3 mph
1/4 mile – 12.73 sec @ 105.7 mph

[Off Road]

After Qualifying was over, and the timing lights were shut down, I actually did grab a beer and sit down in the shade.
It had been a long, hot, eventful, 10 hour day. I needed some time to unwind and let it all sink in.

I did check the EGT’s after my second Street run and they were lower than the EGT’s from my previous runs, so I was OK to make my run in the Hot Twin class.
The maximum EGT’s after the two runs in Round 3 of Qualifying.
Right Cylinder – 600*C and Left Cylinder – 612*C

Interesting, in the 2 hour time span between qualifying rounds, the EGT’s, on both cylinders, decreased.
My Crew Chief read part of the chapter on engine tuning, and here’s his ‘opinion’. FWIW
The air temperature had gone up 2 – 3*C (4 – 5*F), the air was less dense, there was less oxygen getting sucked into the motor, the A/F mixture was richer,
the EGT’s went down, and the engine’s HP decreased.
(I can live with most of that, but that last one kinda hurts)

So, I asked the Crew Chief why the EGT on the Right cylinder only decreased 8*C, while the EGT on the Left cylinder went down a whopping 24*C.
He promptly replied that he didn’t have a clue.
However, he seemed to recall that he might have read something in a book, or on the internet, that said the EGT’s start to decrease when the engine begins detonating.
He said it wasn’t anything to worry about, but he’d check into it, and get back to me.

My 1st run of the day wasn’t very helpful, because, well, because I was kind of, a wee bit scared.
I’ve accidentally seized RZ engines before, but I’ve never run an engine at WOT, knowing it had an intake leak.
It was a new experience for me, so I was a bit preoccupied with the thought of not dying, and, as a result, the run was too slow to be useful.

My next 3 runs weren’t great, but they were pretty consistent.
60 Foot . – 2.04, 2.01, 2.02 sec.
1/8 mile – 8.13, 8.12, 8.15 sec.
1/4 mile – 12.62, 12.68, 12.73 sec.

Before putting the bike in the trailer, I checked plugs again and there were still no signs of overheating. Everything looked great.
Since I didn’t see any problems, and thought the bike was ready to race on Sunday, I headed out to find a pit party, and be a bad example.
As it turned out, it didn’t really matter what I thought. Reality was completely different.

It’s late in the evening, I’m past the point of coherent thought, and the remainder of the things that happened Saturday night, fall under the category of,
what happens at the track, stays at the track.

So, Sunday’s fun and excitement, and new personal records, will have to wait for another day.

[JonW]

Edge of the seat stuff as always Steve!

Cant wait for the next installment.

[kenny]

With the EGT it sounds like you have crank winding which can be compensated for in some programmable ignitions like the Ignitech

[Off Road]

With the EGT it sounds like you have crank winding which can be compensated for in some programmable ignitions like the Ignitech

Kenny. Thanks for the input.
It may be because I live on the opposite side of the pond, but I haven’t heard the term crank winding, and I’m not sure I understand what you mean.

[Off Road]

Hey folks, I apologize for the delay in getting to the conclusion of this saga.
But, life has a way of interfering with my plans and I’ve had places to go, people to see, and thing to do.
When I got home from work today, my social director informed me that I had no plans for tonight, so I sat down to wrap up what happened in Medicine Hat on Sunday.
I’ve been sitting here for a few hours now, because, as usual, I never write a sentence when a paragraph will do.
It’s funny, (funny – peculiar, not funny – haha), but I made fewer runs in Medicine Hat than I have at any other track, in the last 6 seasons, and this post is taking the longest to write.

So, how many of you were surprised that the RZ didn’t seize?
How many were surprised that I was foolish enough to ride it with an intake leak?
And, how many are wondering if my luck will continue?


Sunday, Sept. 17/23 – CMDRA Race #6 – Medicine Hat, AB

Stop me if you’ve heard this before.
Sunday was great day to be at the track. Hot, sunny and nothing but blue sky.
I haven’t said anything before, because I didn’t want to jinx the weather.
But, I’ve been to 7 races this year, 14 days at the track, a time span of 2 weeks, and I didn’t see a single raindrop.
You can’t ask for better than that.

There was a half hour Test and Tune session for the bikes on Sunday morning, and I made my test run at 11:10 am.
It was incredibly average, somewhat exciting, and a bit confusing.
Test and Tune Run 1
60 Foot . – 2.17 sec
1/8 mile – 8.15 sec @ 90.03 mph
1/4 mile – 12.62 sec @ 108.17 mph

The Bad part of the run was the 60’ time. It was over 0.15 seconds slower than Saturdays’ 60’ times.
And Saturdays’ 60’ times were already too slow.
The Average part of the run was the 1/4 mile time. It was the same as time as Saturdays’ fastest run, but the bike really should be quicker.
The Good part of the run was the 1/8 mile time. The bike must have pulled hard from the 60’ to the 1/8 mile.
I had same 1/8 mile time as Saturday, even though my 60’ time was 0.15 sec slower.
The Great part of the run was the speed at the finish line. It was only 0.28 mph slower than my record mph at this track.
The Fantastic part of this run was the speed at the 1/8 mile. This was a new record for the RZ.
It was the first time that the bike had been faster than 90 mph in the 1/8 mile.
My previous best 1/8 mile, mph, in Medicine Hat, was 89.20 mph.
And my previous record mph in the 1/8 mile was 89.80 mph, in Mission (elevation 50’), last Spring.

When I got back to my pit area, I checked the maximum EGT’s for the run, and they were unhelpful.
When compared to the EGT’s from Round 3 of Qualifying, the Right cylinder was 6*C colder, and the Left cylinder was 8*C hotter.
Right Cylinder – 594*C and Left Cylinder – 620*C

I was a bit surprised by the EGT on the Right cylinder. It was the lowest temperature I had ever seen.
In the past, it had always been over 600*C at the end of the 1/4 mile.
So, after evaluating all the incredibly valuable information from the EGT readings, I figured they were low enough to be safe.

I checked the plugs, and the Right plug looked the same as before. Dark brown.
But, the Left plug was black, and wet. Hmmm.
I suppose it could be because I just idled the bike down the return road, and through the pits, with the pilot air screw turned all the way in.
So, to hell with the budget, I splurged, and installed 1 brand new spark plug, in the Left cylinder.
The accountant was going to lose her mind, but I’d have to deal with that later, because, at the moment, I had other things to do.

[Off Road]

Test and Tune was over, it was time to pick a Dial-in Time for the Elimination rounds, and it appears that this thread is heading off on a short tangent.
I’ll start this digression by giving you my opinion and, please remember, it’s worth exactly what you paid for it.

The main objective in Bracket Racing is finding the bike’s absolute upper limit of acceleration, and then riding the bike to its maximum potential on every run down the track.
You’re not really racing against a competitor. The only person you’re competing with is yourself.
The guy in the other lane has no control over what happens on your side of the track.
There’s nothing he can do that will cause you to lose the race. If you lose, it’s because you made a mistake.
If you know how fast your bike will go, and you ride it that fast, then you’ve got a really good chance of winning.
It’s simple.

The reason I find bracket racing to be a huge challenge, is the incredibly small amount of time that separates winning from losing.
In order consistently win races in Western Canada, you need 2 things:

1 – A Reaction Time of less than 0.05 seconds.
If your Reaction Time is greater than 0.10 seconds, then you’ll probably lose the majority of your races.
At the Medicine Hat race, the top 5 Qualifiers, in Street class, all had Reaction Times of less than 0.050 sec.
The top 11 Qualifiers had Reaction Times of less than 0.070 sec.
The top 15 Qualifiers had Reaction Times of less than 0.095 sec.
I Qualified 22nd, (out of 27), with a Reaction Time of 0.189 seconds.

2 – An Elapsed Time that’s less than 0.05 seconds off your Dial-in Time.
If your Elapsed Time is more than 0.10 seconds slower than your Dial-in Time, you’ll probably lose the majority of your races.
In Medicine Hat, the 4 guys who made it to the semi-finals, in the Street class, were running 0.01 to 0.04 seconds off their Dial-in, all day long.
There was 3 Busa’s and a ZX14 in the semi-finals, and they all had Dial-in times between 9.97 and 9.99 seconds.
It was really close racing, and a lot of fun to watch.

Simply put, a time of less than 0.05 seconds is good, and anything over 0.10 seconds is bad, so there are only 50 milliseconds separating success from failure.

As a rule, I don’t consciously do a lot of things that take milliseconds to accomplish, and it’s somewhat difficult for me to visualize that amount of time.
My main reference is that it takes about 0.20 seconds, 2/10 of a second, 200 milliseconds, to blink your eyes.

If you’re reading this, then you’ve obviously got time to waste, so play along. I want you to blink. Go ahead, nobody’s watching, do it a couple of times.
You see how long that took. Now imagine 1/2 of that amount of time.
The time it takes for your eyes to go from open, to closed. 0.10 seconds, 1/10 of a second, 100 milliseconds
If you’re Reaction Time is 0.10 seconds, you’re a loser.
If you’re Elapsed Time is 0.10 seconds off your Dial-In Time, you’re a loser.

The time difference between my fastest and slowest runs, in Medicine Hat, was a mere 0.11 seconds.
And that sucks, because, if I run 0.11 sec off my Dial-in Time, in a race, then I’ll be a loser.

On the other hand, I’m stunned, and amazed, that I could actually dump the clutch at 6700 rpm, launch the bike, and shift through all the gears, 4 times in a row, and the time difference between my fastest and slowest runs, was half the time it takes to blink.

I still find it hard to believe that I can do it, but in reality, it may not be all that difficult.
I mean, everybody else at the track can also do it, and the vast majority can do it better than me.

I really need to make my runs more consistent, and cut the time difference, between my fastest and slowest runs, in half.
Either that or get used to being a loser.
It’s a challenge, and I’m working on it, but, at the rate I’m going, I probably won’t live long enough to get good at it.
It can be frustrating when things go wrong and really confusing when the numbers don’t make sense.
But, it’s an awesome feeling when you correctly evaluate the track conditions, and how fast the bike will run, and then run that exact time, to within a few hundred’s, or better yet, thousand’s of a second.

[Off Road]

So, getting back to where I was, evaluating my runs and picking a Dial-in Time.
I made 4 decent/average runs, and had times of 12.62, 12.68, 12.73, and 12.62 seconds.
My 2 quickest times were in the morning, and early afternoon.
My 2 slowest times were in the late afternoon, when the air was hotter.

My quickest time of the weekend was actually 12.625 seconds, so, at first glance; 12.62 seconds would seem like a good choice for a Dial-in Time.
But that might be cutting it a little close. The sun could go behind a cloud, or a cow could fart in a nearby field, and the bike might run 6 milliseconds faster, and then I’d break out.
So, maybe go with a Dial-in of 12.61, or even 12.60 seconds, just to be safe.
But, there was a problem with that time. It was way too SLOW.

The RZ was hitting 108 mph at the finish line, and with that kind of speed, I should have had a time of 12.41, or 12.42 seconds.
Here are the times for my fast runs from Medicine Hat, last year.
12.412 sec @ 108.35 mph
12.416 sec @ 107.89 mph
12.425 sec @ 108.26 mph

So, why was the RZ running 0.2 seconds slower this year, than it was last year?
I looked at my time slips and compared this year’s 3 best runs, with last year’s 3 fastest runs.

2022 – 60’ times – 1.91, 1.86, and 1.91 seconds
2023 – 60’ times – 2.01, 2.02, and 2.04 seconds

2022 – 1/8 mile – 7.93, 7.91, and 7.92 seconds
2023 – 1/8 mile – 8.12, 8.15, and 8.13 seconds

2022 – 1/4 mile – 12.41, 12.41, and 12.42 seconds
2023 – 1/4 mile – 12.68, 12.62, and 12.62 seconds

It was pretty obvious why the bike was slower this year.
My 1/4 mile times were 0.20 sec slower, because my 1/8 mile times were 0.20 sec slower.
My 1/8 mile times were 0.20 sec slower, because my 60’ times were 0.10 sec slower.
And my 60’ times were 0.10 sec slower, because I still can’t launch the bike.
When I let out the clutch, I’m making some kind of horrible mistake, that takes 0.10 seconds, and it’s fucking up my whole run.

While it was reassuring to know why the bike was so slow, it didn’t solve my immediate problem; I still had to pick a Dial-in Time.
Do I go with 12.60 seconds, because that’s the best the rider can do.
It really doesn’t matter how quick the bike will go, if the rider’s not up to the task.
Or go with 12.40 seconds, because I was pretty sure the bike will run low 12.4’s, if the rider could get his shit together.