So I rode my bike lowered and Straped today

[Rales]

Well I just installed it all yesterday and I will be racing for the first time at the strip straped and lowered. I have raced it before stock height. I went this way because its easy to put it back to stock height for normal riding. Well I now know why they say for OFF ROAD USE ONLY! The ride was extreamly harsh and steering was a pain. I would never ride again on city streets with it straped. I just wanted to see what it was like. I only took it about 1.5 miles. The track should be fun, except any time I tried to launch now I smoked the tire.

[Steve Smith]

I would strap my front end down on my turbo Kaw & '03 ZRX1200 for the track.I didn't make it a TOTAL rigid front end though.I found that at least an inch or so of fork travel made it a lot more rideable and still low enough to help prevent wheelies.Make sure ya post the results.Good luck.

[Pete in PA]

I wouldn't leave it strapped for long periods of time, just like you should relax your tiedowns at a motel when towing. Can sack your fork springs.

[Furbird]

It can also blow out your fork seals as well.

What you need to do is ride out with the strap loose. Then, when some dumbass in a riced out Civic rolls up and revs on you, you can grab the strap, lower the bike in like a second, and spank-dat-ass

[blackhawkxx]

any time I tried to launch now I smoked the tire.

When it cools off at the track, second gear will light up on me. It seems strange at first, you shift to second and it red lines!!! Nothing you can do but go for third.

[Furbird]

You guys need new tires, not lowering pressure. My 6.40 pass was full leathers, 38 psi rear, stock length, stock suspension, D&D full system, and 16 front sprocket. Tires? Continental Contiforce. NO BURNOUT either. And no tire spin.

[Amherst XX]

Might have been covered somewhere before but how much $$ and how big of a job is strapping down the front of the bird. I swapped out my front sprocket this spring and the front gets light REALLY fast. I was planning to race in an all-bike weekend at the "local" dragstrip but would feel better about lining up against a ZX-12 or a busa if I knew I could crank it without lofting the front tire.

8)

[Furbird]

Strapping the front of the bird costs about $25 and takes about 30 minutes even if you have problems. The strap is available sometimes at bike dealers but certainly at motorcycle accessory stores that deal with sportbikes. If you can't find it local, they're on ebay, at schnitzracing.com, and at other aftermarket suppliers. Uses factory bolts on the bike, you just have to route the strap under the lines and over the top of the frame behind the trees.

[Amherst XX]

thanks

[Rales]

Well I ran the bike today. I was happy as I broke into the 10s. Thats all I was shooting for. Also never again will I race a bike at the track that isnt lowered and straped. It helped so much. Also slipping the clutch helped a ton.

[blackhawkxx]

You guys need new tires, not lowering pressure. My 6.40 pass was full leathers, 38 psi rear, stock length, stock suspension, D&D full system, and 16 front sprocket. Tires? Continental Contiforce. NO BURNOUT either. And no tire spin.

When you lower the bike, it makes the bike want to spin more. I only had trouble when it cooled off late in the night (50's F) and dew everywhere. It's not a lot of fun with the rear end fishtailing across the track.

[demon]

I run mine strapped on the street when I feel scrappy. Nothing like pulling up beside someone in town doing about 25, revving it up, dropping the clutch, and smoking the hell out of the rear tire. :twisted: Rides like shit with the front strapped, but you got to pay to play. You can get it really low if you hit your brakes while rolling and yanking the strap. The front end looks really evil with the tire up in the fairing.

[LongHaul]

when you strap the front, does that put more weight bias to the front so the front wheel stays on the ground better? is that the reason?

[Furbird]

The reason for the strap is to prevent the front end from "springing" up thanks to the fork pressure. If the forks never move, they can't spring the tire off the ground. The only way to accomplish this is to strap the shit out of it, which means to where the fender almost touches the bottom of the fairing.

Another drag racing trick is putting a strut in place of the rear shock. With that and a strap, your bike is now reduced to no suspension at all. I don't recommend you try this with a radial tire though as the sidewall stiffness doesn't allow the tire to crinkle and act as the suspension since you now have none. You've got to have some kind of suspension on the rear so that the tire can stay planted on the ground. You can lower the pressure to make up for it, but it still won't hook up like a bias ply tire would (like an ET street or a full on slick).