Hi,

I am racing the SD for the first time this weekend and was wondering what revs the race guys here use for getting off the line? Have only been riding the bike at trackdays for the last couple of years so have had no opportunity to launch in anger. I am running STD gearing with a STM slipper clutch.

Good luck mate!
Hope you have a ball, will you be filming?
I like to sit well forward on the bike and rev at a steady 6-7k
Once you have that sound fixed you can ignore the taco and focus on the red light going out.
Up to you how you stand but I have right leg up and left down.
The key is not to let your down leg behind you, you want to lift it forward for better drive. I like to have my leg slightly in front of me.
I slip the clutch to keep it from skying and you'll get a feel for what's best for you.

When you grid up, eye out one or two possible approaches to the first corner and don't slow down.
You will naturally want to slow but you can go way faster than you think, the SD is very quick off the mark so just push past who ever is in front with no hesitation.

Good luck! What class are you racing? What track?

Linga,

Thanks for that, will be racing Challenge cup at Morgan Park which is basically a classless, race and grid position determined on your qualifying time situation, I will be running a go-pro so will post up the footage post race. Have only ridden the track once a couple of years ago, I have a trackday friday to get my eye in, MP doesn't have long straights and is fairly tight so the SD should go alright round there my lack of fitness will likely be the limiting factor.

I do some things a little bit different to Linga. Maybe down the the difference betwen the R and the base model bikes.

Plan turn 1 and where your going (roughly) otherwise you'll end up off line and lost in a pack of bikes
Weight forward.
Revs up. I do it by sound but it's not high. Maybe only 5k
Hold it on the bite.
Most importat part......hit the lights.
Slip the clutch enough to get it moving and control any wheelie
As soon as it's away get hand off the clutch and short shift to 2nd and pin it

My plan is get off that clutch and into 2nd as quick as possible and end the start phase as thats the risky part.

Best bit of advice i can give you is.......hit the lights.
An average start every time is better than a 50/50 mix of lightning starts and dog shit starts.
If you nail the lights an average start becomes a pretty good start. There's lots out guys out there who can launch a bike like the wind but its' such a tricky balance they put that much into it they miss the lights be 1/2 a second and that risky lighning start becomes a very average one.

Like Viking said, somewhere around 5k. Something healthy and manageable, not revvy causing wheelies and not stall speed either. Relax (no really, you must) and focus. I never knew much about drag racing but had heard of this thing called the 60ft time or something. It has little to do with the power of the machine and everything to do with the rider's ability to react quickly, control the launch, and move forward. After some really good starts I realised the importance of the 60ft mark. 60ft is about where the clutch should be fully engaged and throttle is fed in, just before shifting quickly to second.

Here are some good examples and if you turn up the volume you can hear the whiney RC51. There's a couple other videos where I got the holeshot but forgot to turn the camera on til T3.

Nice smooth starts dude.

Cheers guys will definately focus on the lights rather than concentrate on the perfect getaway. So you talk about planning turn 1 what is the tactic here do you want to go with the ideal fastest line or do you take a more defensive line in order to maintain position, I guess either option would be pretty good if available?

I plan one or two entries as things change when the lights go out, if I'm on the front row, I just pick my line and rush the corner, not leaving it too wide.
This race was on a wet track drying in 30C so was a little ginger.

If I'm back a little and on the Out side I will try and drive around everyone and keep passing around turn 1 on the outside. Ther are a few places to be gained as people bunch up like a traffic jam.

If I'm back on the inside I'll try and almost run it on the grass and slip underneath, get's a little hairy on the front, but you really have a lot of grip with warmers and a fast warm up lap. Sorry about the vid cutting out but ended up 3rd after the first corner.
Hope that helps.

You can't win a race on the start, but you can lose it.

Clubman1000 C+D grade Superbikes
Barbagello raceway, Perth.
Still struggling to get the thing to turn properly in the sweepers, I tend not to change too much though unless I'm completely out of options.

Yeah I just race it, I managed to import it from a guy on this forum through my race license.
Much cheaper, so it is a US version but that hasn't given me any troubles.
Mallala isn't too bad of a track is it? twisty and tight?

So qualified 15th out of 45 odd bikes did 5 races best results a couple of 12ths. Took my GoPro but unfortunately left the SD card at home so no vids.
Some photos here,
http://www.osella.com.au/sd1/Group-1/index.html
Had the bike geared for PI with 38 on the back which was wrong for morgan park will run a 40 tooth next time. Best lap a 127.1 I think with gearing changes and weight loss to myself I should be able to find another couple of seconds for the BEARS meeting in May. Pretty tight track and I suffered pretty bad arm pump after about 5-6 laps in each race so losing some weight should help me greatly.

And don't forget to get your foot onto the pegs fast - before some prick behind you flies through and chops it off.