Racing In A Straight Line (hopefully)

Two bikes, 2 lanes, when the lights go green you are off.  Not only are the times over the quarter mile used to determine the winner, but also terminal speed, reaction times, and split times at 60 foot, 1/8th mile and the like.

Most commonly known is "heads up"; the lowest time wins.  There are other forms including bracket racing where you race as fast as you can without going faster than the "index" for the class.  This can be as much about tactics as outright performance.

Santa Pod is the foremost venue in the UK.

Also known as "Flyers" and is classed as an extreme sport.  Modern sports and hyperbikes are built for speed.  Flyers are run under controlled conditions on airfields with only the terminal speed measured.

The mark of success is 200mph, but go as fast as you want or are comfortable with.  The bar is being raised constantly with the current record being 265mph (an unoffical record for a street bike) by Frank the Flying Dutchman.

There are only about a 150 people in the UK that have done the magic number on a street bike based set up.  Pretty much exclusively Kawasaki zx12r, Suzuki Hayabusa and Kawasaki zzr 1400 are used and most have been modified to get up there.  Bog stock bikes (even with speed restriction removed ) generally can't do 200.

Don't believe your speedo.  Speedo error is not linear.  200mph on a stock geared hayabusa will probably be about a true 180mph.  On a zx12r it will be about 185mph.  Some Busa riders have reported 215mph on speedo but ended up with timing tickets for 185mph.

Flyers particularly come in for some stick; "Anyone can hold a throttle wide open - nothing to it".  Mostly of course from people who haven't tried it. It demands concentration, nerve and enough common sense to know when to back off or abort, especially when something doesn't feel right.  You need too little common sense to ride a bike these days anyway.  So if you ride a bike, have a go.

The 200mph club record for a 400 is 138mph, which is by Loopy on her 15 year old, zxr400 with the only "performance" mod being a replacement exhaust.  Even tidlers can have a go.  This lady has also riden a zx12r (mine) to 205.4mph in 2006 to become (we think) the fastest lady (in world) on a road legal bike.  In 2007 she upped her own record with over 208mph on another zx12r.  Ladies give it a go.

There are dangers of 4 sorts:

1. Financial - if you start doing any of the racing forms you can start spending to get that extra few mph or tenths of a second.  You can sprint with an old ratter, but once you start modifying it doesn't stop.
2. Physical - you can crash.  The cause will be either rider error or a mechanical failure (which can be argued is down to the rider).  You could die, but I am unaware of any rider in UK to die doing a flyer.  A number of folks I know have had accidents but they have all been walking wounded.  Luckily the safety requirements and lack of obstacles compared to road riding means you are relatively safe (mile for mile horse riding is more dangerous than bike riding).
3. Mechanical - engines go bang, tyres blow, engines go alight; it can get expensive.  I lost a gearbox on a zx12r at 120mph.  Whilst repairing it I succumbed to Danger No1.
4. Which leads me to Danger No4.  You get hooked.  Enjoy!

Maxing out a bike whether on a drag or flyer run is exciting and satisfying.  The first flyer I ever did amazed me.  The bike was stable, wind less than I thought and after 150mph you start to leave the exhaust note behind.  Tucked in the bubble of still air behind the fairing all is serene, life is good.  Seeing the chequerboards at the finish rise up out of the heat haze was to me wonderful.

On a drag strip or on a flyer, not getting a launch or run right is frustrating, but you go again until the clerk of course or your clutch says enough.

You will get tired, both physically and mentally, whether it is the 10 seconds of a drag run or 300 feet a second of a flyer you need to concentrate.  You need to contort your body to the most aerodynamic shape or postion your weight where it is needed to control the machine.  It is hard work.

Various organisations run events, some have to be pre-entered others have day entries or "Run what you Brung".  The foremost organisations are:

200mph.net

Straightliners

TorqueMotorsports

The National Sprint Association

If you want to compete for championship points or to race regularly you will need a race licence, variously (depending on event and race series) an ACU Licence, and one from the IOPD.

Flyers

RAF Woodbridge, Elvington

Sprint

Elvington, Weston Zoyland, Smeatharpe, RAF Honnington, Wroughton, Keevil

Drag

Elvington, Santa Pod, Shakespeare County Raceway/ Avon Park, RAF Portreath