2019 / 2020 Wednesday Night Drags Sonoma
- Thread starter 396
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396
Well-known member
Thanks again for another great recap of Wednesday night drags and helping keep my thread alive. I sat this one out due to heat and smoke. They had the Youtube live feed finally working so I watched the Elimination rounds. Can't wait for you to make some runs with no headwind to see what it can do, now with the new updates. Hope to be out there next time and congrats on some great runs. Your getting it dialed in now.
396
Well-known member
Last week we had 20 bikes show up to race. That's a huge number for bikes. Doug Love riding his Triumph got back into the winners circle with a victory over Tyler on his zx10. I faced Doug two rounds earlier and lost. I dialed a 9.32 and ran a 9.322 but my reaction time was off and Doug got the win on a better light. We made 4 practice runs before going into eliminations. Weather was great and no signs of any smoke! Hope to see you guys out there on some Wednesdays.
HadesOmega
Well-known member
Well that was an interesting night. Will type up the report later, I go to sleep now...
youtu.be/84seJaFcQ80
youtu.be/84seJaFcQ80
HadesOmega
Well-known member
Yeah it's a good thing he didn't tumble into the wall.
396
Well-known member
I hope he realizes how lucky he was.
HadesOmega
Well-known member
I thought about it but I've learned from racing if someone goes down don't stop for them it's a race you need to keep racing. Granted that the race ended right after he went down.
Also it would be dangerous to stop and get out on the track. That's what they tell you during a track day get to safety, you need to put your life before someone elses. A car or motorcycle could have came and ran me over who knows what they saw from the other side of the track.
You could see I pulled way over also I was afraid he might drift into my lane and I was just like I couldn't believe this is happening right in front of me. After watching the video it seemed like it was happening much slower irl.
That's the first time I see someone go down at that speed O_O. When I first started riding and on the freeway I would always imagine what it would be like to go down at that speed. Now I don't think about it, it'll just make me unnecrssarily stressed. But this video is a good example promoting ATGATT.
Also it would be dangerous to stop and get out on the track. That's what they tell you during a track day get to safety, you need to put your life before someone elses. A car or motorcycle could have came and ran me over who knows what they saw from the other side of the track.
You could see I pulled way over also I was afraid he might drift into my lane and I was just like I couldn't believe this is happening right in front of me. After watching the video it seemed like it was happening much slower irl.
That's the first time I see someone go down at that speed O_O. When I first started riding and on the freeway I would always imagine what it would be like to go down at that speed. Now I don't think about it, it'll just make me unnecrssarily stressed. But this video is a good example promoting ATGATT.
396
Well-known member
Good thing Merlin didn't stop. The next motorcycle lined up to go did not realize what was going on and took off when the Christmas tree flashed the double red lights to signal a problem. The rider went all they way down the track not realizing there was a rider down in the other lane.
396
Well-known member
He's fine. Just has a sore leg. The bike is not too bad either. Yes, he grabbed the front brake and it washed out from underneath him. Yes, he was trying not to break out. He did when the race!
HadesOmega
Well-known member
Here's my report. It was a very interesting night indeed. There was a pretty good turnout about 15 bikes I think. I brought the Light Bee again. Pretty much every week I have changed something on it to hopefully make it better. The last couple times it has not been so reliable and this time it almost didn't run good as well. Last week I had issues with the bike freaking out over too much power and I thought updating the firmware would fix it. Well it did but it introduced another problem, the motor current setting was set too high. It was set to 479amps and it was just so much power the bike would freak out because the controller is only rated for 430amps.
I download the bike and try a practice launch in the parking lot and the bike cuts out again. I've been riding the bike all week and it wants to act up now!? It's always when I'm at the drag strip it wants to act up haha. So I'm fiddling around with the tuning computer and find out if I mess with the motor current it slows the bike down and that's exactly what I needed. So I go and make my first pass after fiddling around with it and I complete it! I was riding with a supercharged harley that did 11s. But I made it here's what I ran:
RT = .112
ET = 18.901
MPH = 61.03
So no super fast but it's in the 18s. Whatever I did definitely made the bike slower but it completed the 1/4mile without a problem. Reaction time as ok too. The new full electronic throttle I installed on the bike it really fast, it helps with the reaction times!
Ok so 2nd practice run. I try another practice launch in the parking lot and it doing it AGAIN! Cutting out no throttle no regen, dead bike. The only thing I can do is shut the bike off and turn it back on and I don't want to do that on the strip. So I do the same thing again try to adjust the motor current but the computer is buggy and doesn't do it properly. I manage to get it to launch with full power 16kw and 40% field weakening. So looks like the bike is good. 2nd pass I run:
RT = .078s
ET = 18.277
MPH = 63.63
Wow much better! Probably best reaction time of the night! Also want to mention we had a headwind all afternoon and night. It didn't let up at all so that we ain't going fast tonight. I'm hoping to get the bike into the 17's it's so close. I just need nature to cooperate with me =P
3rd practice run I think I got it running good. So I turn the bike on and try another practice launch and GAH! It's doing it again!? Luckily I have been able to complete each pass so far. So I figure it has to be something with the motor current and I can't adjust it using the computer. There is an app on my phone I can use to connect to the controller through bluetooth. I hate using it because it's no user friendly but I go to the motor settings and I'm looking for something that says 479A on it and I find it motor current. I type in 430A which is what the controller is rated for. Take it for a launch and BOOM it's not cutting out and still has decent power! So I found the bug in the program and found out what I needed to change! I make my 3rd pass no problem with:
RT = .149
ET = 18.478
MPH = 62.21
Not too bad, I think the wind was blowing pretty hard. But I'm kind of all over the place now the bike is running good. 18.9 , 18.2 and 18.4. So I figure safest bet is to pick the lowest number. So if we do elimination races next round I'm going with 18.2 to hopefully not break out.
So it turns out next run is eliminations, so I don't have much data to go off of after making adjustments soooo we go with 18.2. I raced Joe last week and he got me I didn't want to race Joe again unless it was in the finals haha. So I pull a little switcharoo and Eric the dude in the SV650 doesn't wanna race Joe either haha. I think he really wanted to race me also so he plays all these game with me flip the lighter game. If I won the toss I race him. I'm like do I really want to do that? So I won and I guess I'm going to race Eric. I'm like ah no big deal I've raced Eric buncha times before. I'm gonna take him out haha. So I tell him hey since I won the toss I want the left side, because I like the left side. Then he remember the last time I beat him he was on the right side so he says we'll flip for it again. I'm like but I won last time I should get to pick the side. So now I'm just getting pissed off with Eric's little games and I lost the toss this time so I get the right side.
So here we go we're racing Eric in the SV650 again. I wanted to beat him so bad because of his little games. I'm like fine I'm gonna beat him to shut him up haha. He's ready to go, Eric get's so animated when he's ready to race especially against me and my little bike. So we line up. I'm on the right and I'm worried because the sun is coming down. At a certain time if you are on the right side the sun is behind the tree and it's hard to see the lights. But luckily it was fine! I dial in 18.20 thinking yeah I probably won't break out. Boom light goes down and I'm off. Bike take off fine fast but not fast enough to loft the front wheel and I'm on the pegs right away and riding the Light Bee down the strip. I see we're hiting about 55mph half way down the strip, it seems like we're going FAST! Hopefully not too fast. Then I'm nearing the finish and expecting to see Eric blast by in the SV and he does! We cross pretty close to each other and then suddenly BOOM I see Eric and the bike go sideways Eric tumbling and sliding on the ground and the SV in front sliding making sparks fly. I COULDN"T BELIEVE what I'm watching in front of me. I pull over a bit and slow down since we crossed the finish and be careful just in case something comes into my lane. I see the SV hit the wall and stop and I look back and Eric is up on his feet already he looks fine. I wanted to stop and see if he was ok but was like nah get off the track it's not safe I don't want two riders to have an incident so I exit and head to the booth. I pick up the time slip and I LOST! I'm like NO WAY Eric went down and he still won! Can't believe that. Then I see the ambulance take off to get Eric. I asked if anyone saw what happened and was surprised some people didn't know he went down.
youtu.be/84seJaFcQ80
Anyway here's the race results. Merlin lost in the first round
Eric----------------Merlin
Dial 12.40-------------18.20
RT .119--------------.192
ET 12.431------------18.243
MPH 97.15--------------62.13
MOV .0855
So Eric was off his dial by .031s and I was off by .043! HELLA close! BUT Eric's reaction was slightly better than mine at .119 and mine .192. So after all the math Eric is .15 off and I am .235. Gah so frustrating he beat me by .0855s! I have to say that was a great race. He even went down.
So what happens? I lost and get eliminated and Eric won but he can't race no more. So it's like we both got taken out. What a night!
So I'm out they let me do 1 time only run. It's pretty much a practice run after all the races. I'm like might as well get my money's worth and do another pass if they let us. So I go up against the supercharged Harley again.
RT = .112
ET = 18.325
mph = 62.66
So I've pretty much run every number in the 18s almost haha! 18.9, 18.4, 18.2, 18.2, and 18.3. I has to be the wind haha I'm blaming the elements! The wind was pretty unpredicatable that night. It would be strong then calm down but it was a head wind most of the time. Sometimes it would be a crosswind. Yeah not great conditions for racing.
So that's it next race I think is CJ vs Bill and Doug vs Joe. Bill takes CJ out and Doug takes Joe out. Then it's Doug vs Bill. I so wanted Bill to win because I remember him talking about last week he has a lot of 2nd place trophies but doesn't have a 1st place. I don't remember the numbers but from what I remember Bill had a great run he was very close to his dial but his reaction time wasn't so good. Doug was off his dial by a bit but his reaction time was better. In the end it came down to reaction time and Doug takes home the 1st place trophy. Hopefully Bill takes the 1st place trophy in the future not tonight unfortunately.
If you are wondering what happened to Eric he was up and about looked fine His leg was bruised pretty bad so he was limping. The bike lost the footpeg, shifter, and some of the barend and clutch lever. Bill took him, his daughter, and his cat home that night. He lost some stuff that flew out of his boot at the end of the drag strip so I let him ride the Light Bee down to the other end. I told him to take it easy on the bike and then i see him zooming down the strip after all the racing ended. Hey my bike looks pretty fast! He was able to recover his stuff and he commented how fast and sketchy my bike is haha.
Battle scars!
Supercharged HD powah! This bike is FAST, saw it leave me in the dust twice! 11s!
Quarter mile warriors
Semi finals my bike is just there not racing
Finals Doug vs Bill
I download the bike and try a practice launch in the parking lot and the bike cuts out again. I've been riding the bike all week and it wants to act up now!? It's always when I'm at the drag strip it wants to act up haha. So I'm fiddling around with the tuning computer and find out if I mess with the motor current it slows the bike down and that's exactly what I needed. So I go and make my first pass after fiddling around with it and I complete it! I was riding with a supercharged harley that did 11s. But I made it here's what I ran:
RT = .112
ET = 18.901
MPH = 61.03
So no super fast but it's in the 18s. Whatever I did definitely made the bike slower but it completed the 1/4mile without a problem. Reaction time as ok too. The new full electronic throttle I installed on the bike it really fast, it helps with the reaction times!
Ok so 2nd practice run. I try another practice launch in the parking lot and it doing it AGAIN! Cutting out no throttle no regen, dead bike. The only thing I can do is shut the bike off and turn it back on and I don't want to do that on the strip. So I do the same thing again try to adjust the motor current but the computer is buggy and doesn't do it properly. I manage to get it to launch with full power 16kw and 40% field weakening. So looks like the bike is good. 2nd pass I run:
RT = .078s
ET = 18.277
MPH = 63.63
Wow much better! Probably best reaction time of the night! Also want to mention we had a headwind all afternoon and night. It didn't let up at all so that we ain't going fast tonight. I'm hoping to get the bike into the 17's it's so close. I just need nature to cooperate with me =P
3rd practice run I think I got it running good. So I turn the bike on and try another practice launch and GAH! It's doing it again!? Luckily I have been able to complete each pass so far. So I figure it has to be something with the motor current and I can't adjust it using the computer. There is an app on my phone I can use to connect to the controller through bluetooth. I hate using it because it's no user friendly but I go to the motor settings and I'm looking for something that says 479A on it and I find it motor current. I type in 430A which is what the controller is rated for. Take it for a launch and BOOM it's not cutting out and still has decent power! So I found the bug in the program and found out what I needed to change! I make my 3rd pass no problem with:
RT = .149
ET = 18.478
MPH = 62.21
Not too bad, I think the wind was blowing pretty hard. But I'm kind of all over the place now the bike is running good. 18.9 , 18.2 and 18.4. So I figure safest bet is to pick the lowest number. So if we do elimination races next round I'm going with 18.2 to hopefully not break out.
So it turns out next run is eliminations, so I don't have much data to go off of after making adjustments soooo we go with 18.2. I raced Joe last week and he got me I didn't want to race Joe again unless it was in the finals haha. So I pull a little switcharoo and Eric the dude in the SV650 doesn't wanna race Joe either haha. I think he really wanted to race me also so he plays all these game with me flip the lighter game. If I won the toss I race him. I'm like do I really want to do that? So I won and I guess I'm going to race Eric. I'm like ah no big deal I've raced Eric buncha times before. I'm gonna take him out haha. So I tell him hey since I won the toss I want the left side, because I like the left side. Then he remember the last time I beat him he was on the right side so he says we'll flip for it again. I'm like but I won last time I should get to pick the side. So now I'm just getting pissed off with Eric's little games and I lost the toss this time so I get the right side.
So here we go we're racing Eric in the SV650 again. I wanted to beat him so bad because of his little games. I'm like fine I'm gonna beat him to shut him up haha. He's ready to go, Eric get's so animated when he's ready to race especially against me and my little bike. So we line up. I'm on the right and I'm worried because the sun is coming down. At a certain time if you are on the right side the sun is behind the tree and it's hard to see the lights. But luckily it was fine! I dial in 18.20 thinking yeah I probably won't break out. Boom light goes down and I'm off. Bike take off fine fast but not fast enough to loft the front wheel and I'm on the pegs right away and riding the Light Bee down the strip. I see we're hiting about 55mph half way down the strip, it seems like we're going FAST! Hopefully not too fast. Then I'm nearing the finish and expecting to see Eric blast by in the SV and he does! We cross pretty close to each other and then suddenly BOOM I see Eric and the bike go sideways Eric tumbling and sliding on the ground and the SV in front sliding making sparks fly. I COULDN"T BELIEVE what I'm watching in front of me. I pull over a bit and slow down since we crossed the finish and be careful just in case something comes into my lane. I see the SV hit the wall and stop and I look back and Eric is up on his feet already he looks fine. I wanted to stop and see if he was ok but was like nah get off the track it's not safe I don't want two riders to have an incident so I exit and head to the booth. I pick up the time slip and I LOST! I'm like NO WAY Eric went down and he still won! Can't believe that. Then I see the ambulance take off to get Eric. I asked if anyone saw what happened and was surprised some people didn't know he went down.
youtu.be/84seJaFcQ80
Anyway here's the race results. Merlin lost in the first round
Eric----------------Merlin
Dial 12.40-------------18.20
RT .119--------------.192
ET 12.431------------18.243
MPH 97.15--------------62.13
MOV .0855
So Eric was off his dial by .031s and I was off by .043! HELLA close! BUT Eric's reaction was slightly better than mine at .119 and mine .192. So after all the math Eric is .15 off and I am .235. Gah so frustrating he beat me by .0855s! I have to say that was a great race. He even went down.
So what happens? I lost and get eliminated and Eric won but he can't race no more. So it's like we both got taken out. What a night!
So I'm out they let me do 1 time only run. It's pretty much a practice run after all the races. I'm like might as well get my money's worth and do another pass if they let us. So I go up against the supercharged Harley again.
RT = .112
ET = 18.325
mph = 62.66
So I've pretty much run every number in the 18s almost haha! 18.9, 18.4, 18.2, 18.2, and 18.3. I has to be the wind haha I'm blaming the elements! The wind was pretty unpredicatable that night. It would be strong then calm down but it was a head wind most of the time. Sometimes it would be a crosswind. Yeah not great conditions for racing.
So that's it next race I think is CJ vs Bill and Doug vs Joe. Bill takes CJ out and Doug takes Joe out. Then it's Doug vs Bill. I so wanted Bill to win because I remember him talking about last week he has a lot of 2nd place trophies but doesn't have a 1st place. I don't remember the numbers but from what I remember Bill had a great run he was very close to his dial but his reaction time wasn't so good. Doug was off his dial by a bit but his reaction time was better. In the end it came down to reaction time and Doug takes home the 1st place trophy. Hopefully Bill takes the 1st place trophy in the future not tonight unfortunately.
If you are wondering what happened to Eric he was up and about looked fine His leg was bruised pretty bad so he was limping. The bike lost the footpeg, shifter, and some of the barend and clutch lever. Bill took him, his daughter, and his cat home that night. He lost some stuff that flew out of his boot at the end of the drag strip so I let him ride the Light Bee down to the other end. I told him to take it easy on the bike and then i see him zooming down the strip after all the racing ended. Hey my bike looks pretty fast! He was able to recover his stuff and he commented how fast and sketchy my bike is haha.
Battle scars!
Supercharged HD powah! This bike is FAST, saw it leave me in the dust twice! 11s!
Quarter mile warriors
Semi finals my bike is just there not racing
Finals Doug vs Bill
Last edited:
HadesOmega
Well-known member
#ilivemylifeaquartermileatatime
396
Well-known member
:ride
#ilivemylifeaquartermileatatime
HadesOmega
Well-known member
Oh man wasn't feeling too well today but loaded up and got to palo alto and wasn't feeling any better the smog/smoke was so bad. I check my facebook and saw they cancelled WND ans promptly turned around next exit. Was hoping it would clear up but it looks like the apocalypse right now. I guess i'll stop by Ikea on the way back.