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| Article | Back to the Races 8/1/2006
This has been a busy year for us at Precision V Twins, Inc. As many people know we have campaigned my 1973 Shovelhead Dresser in the American Motorcycle Racing Association, AMRA, in the Street Dresser Class. In 2005 #73, my bike number, placed number one in the Southern Region which includes: AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TX, TN, VA, WV, and number three in the nation. Now for 2006 I have held the most wins and top points most of the year. This class is very tough with many strong competitors. Danny Arnold from St. Louis, MO is hot on my heels with his Electronic Fuel Injected 107 CID Zippers prepared Twin Cam # 966, running 11.6 to 12.2 second passes. Charlie Smith from Pontiac, MI #123 with his 113 CID S&S Evo is running 11.8 to 12.1 second passes. Terry Upleger from Washington, MI #220 with his 113 CID S&S Evo is running 11.9 to 12.2 second passes. Kevin Wyman of Moss Bluff, LA #19 with his carbureted Twin Cam is running 11.8 to 12.1 second passes. These are the front runners in the Street Dresser class.
The AMRA has a broad brush stroke of diversity built into its class structure. What you will find is a simplistic structure allowing individuality to shine through allowing free thinkers who look at design and application from totally opposite view points. This free forum of mechanical intellect in some cases is controlled by the simplest things. Tire width limit or compound rating or height of a tire can keep classes on an even footing for entrusting matches of similar competitors. Controlling fuel types and to what mix can keep all things equal. In some classes bike and rider must have minimum and maximum weight limits. Disallowing of wheelie bars and air shifters can make a class fun to watch for many reasons. Some bikes have enough power to pull the front wheel up on two or more shifts. Too high of a wheelie will lose time because of two reasons. One is the loss of forward thrust because of upward movement. The other is after 30 degrees of lift you have to back off the throttle a little to slow the rate of lift trying to regain forward thrust. Without an air shift you have to clutch the bike to make a gear change. Some classes allow electric shifts, while others will allow kill shifts. These shift methods will allow a wide open throttle shift without touching the clutch lever. The use of a wheelie bar can help the launch from the start line in a couple of ways. The obvious reason is to keep the bike from flipping over backwards. The tuners reason is to control wheel pressure by weight transfer for a greater footprint from the tire. This method of traction control will help with 60 foot times giving better reaction times. A racer is measured in thousandths of a second. Races are won and lost by these thousandths of a second.
Drag racing is an extreme sport. You will see extreme machines in many different classes capable of exceptional throttle response causing rocket-like launches from the start line. The top fuel bikes are capable of 200 + MPH in 1320 feet. Some of these bikes leave so hard from the start line the G-force is nearly 3 times your body weight. The pro-gas bikes are highly tuned, race gas burning, lay down drag bikes, capable of 7.90’s. The other class is street driven bikes or bikes that are to resemble street bikes. The point of all this is that the USA is the mechanized leader in the world. If we are to keep this honor we must support the free thinkers who explore the boundaries of physics and science. The question is can we step up to the challenges of the 21st century by clinging to old ways? The answers are rarely found in laboratories, although research and development play a key role in this process. Support the people who push known accepted boundaries. Ultimately, the motor sports world as a whole always benefits on all levels.
The track promoters on the other hand have found that a good band and a big party is a pleasant addition. The fall finals will be held at Bowling Green, KY September 23-24. This is the big one. If you haven’t caught any of the sanctioned races of the ’06 season, this is it. Dallas Jones has a nice facility in Bowling Green at the Beech Bend Raceway. So come join us!
Good Riding and God Bless
Steve Caldwell - steve@precisionvtwins.com
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