Launching a Ninjette

[Dsheumaker]

So i did a quick search and didnt really come across what i was looking for. I would like to hear from some people that have been racing these little bikes for while. What are some of your tips and tricks from getting good launches at the start of a race. I understand some of this is trade secrets so i guess just the general stuff. I have only done 4 races on my 250 and my starts were not that great. I will be on a 300 this year. Some questions like:

What RPM?

Feather or dump the clutch?

Body position for the launch?

And so on. Thanks guys!

[csmith12]

The way I do it...

2 board - raise rpms to 8200 (wet track on dots) or 9200 (dry or wet with rains) and hold steady, hover over rear brake (in case of wheelie)
1 board - get body forward and low
1 sideways - eyes wide and hands get twitchy
Green flag - quickly release (NOT DUMP) the clutch enough to where I feel the front get really, really light (this happens really fast), then slowly release the rest of the way while feeding it throttle. It should never drop below 8200 during launch.

When I get it right , the shift from 1st to 2nd will cause a little wheelie.

[AwDang]

test and tune night at the drag strip.....

practice, practice, practice

[Dsheumaker]

Originally Posted by csmith12

The way I do it...

2 board - raise rpms to 8200 (wet track on dots) or 9200 (dry or wet with rains) and hold steady, hover over rear brake (in case of wheelie)
1 board - get body forward and low
1 sideways - eyes wide and hands get twitchy
Green flag - quickly release (NOT DUMP) the clutch enough to where I feel the front get really, really light, then slowly release the rest of the way while feeding it throttle. It should never drop below 8200 during launch.

When I get it right , the shift from 1st to 2nd will cause a little wheelie.

As always, thank you CSmith!
I think i know a spot that i can practice this, hopefully today or this weekend! Im getting so pumped.

I guess i should practice it a bit with lifting the front so i know how to recover it quickly in case i get a little jumpy from excitement in the race setting.

[bruce71198]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KCgo0lTl7o

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Dsheumaker]

Originally Posted by bruce71198

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KCgo0lTl7o

Haha thats what i feel like i look like when i race... but i know better haha

[alex.s]

@csmith12 i always felt like getting the little initial inch'er wheelie at the start was faster than keeping it on the ground?

[Triple Jim]

The fastest possible start will happen if you can get zero weight on the front tire so that all the weight is on the rear tire, but not have it actually come off the pavement. Any rise of the front tire off the pavement means your center of gravity is higher than it needs to be, so you can't accelerate as hard without going even higher. Getting the front tire a tiny bit off the pavement may be as close as we can get to this, since if it doesn't come up slightly, you can't tell if there's still a little weight on it.

It's like sailing as fast as possible in a catamaran... you keep the windward hull just tapping the wave tops.

[CC Cowboy]

I always thought start in second gear!

[Dsheumaker]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

The fastest possible start will happen if you can get zero weight on the front tire so that all the weight is on the rear tire, but not have it actually come off the pavement. Any rise of the front tire off the pavement means your center of gravity is higher than it needs to be, so you can't accelerate as hard without going even higher. Getting the front tire a tiny bit off the pavement may be as close as we can get to this, since if it doesn't come up slightly, you can't tell if there's still a little weight on it.

It's like sailing as fast as possible in a catamaran... you keep the windward hull just tapping the wave tops.

Good reading.

Now to convince someone to be my flagger to practice this haha

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by alex.s

@csmith12 i always felt like getting the little initial inch'er wheelie at the start was faster than keeping it on the ground?

Never could tell because it all happens so fast. I always assumed it didn't come up.

[JohnnyBravo]

Where is the video of peanut almost looping his bike on the starting line???

[Dsheumaker]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

Where is the video of peanut almost looping his bike on the starting line???

You talking about at NCBike? or maybe a different peanut haha

[JohnnyBravo]

Originally Posted by Dsheumaker

You talking about at NCBike? or maybe a different peanut haha

PeanutEOD... different one I think, he is western or Midwestern... Ya never know though, folks get around

[Dsheumaker]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

PeanutEOD... different one I think, he is western or Midwestern... Ya never know though, folks get around

Who knows haha. I know that i have pics of one of my buddy's pulling a nice wheelie launching his 300 haha. not sure why its yellow though.
IMG_4468.jpg

[JohnnyBravo]

Originally Posted by Dsheumaker

Who knows haha. I know that i have pics of one of my buddy's pulling a nice wheelie launching his 300 haha. not sure why its yellow though.
Attachment 42497

That's cool... I popped wheelies two or three times, don't think I did that good though

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by Dsheumaker

Who knows haha. I know that i have pics of one of my buddy's pulling a nice wheelie launching his 300 haha. not sure why its yellow though.
Attachment 42497

This is how you start a race dead last hahaha


as for your question. I'm not the best at launching but I'm always consistent. I set myself at 9,000 and feather the clutch to where I start to feel the bike pull so I have to hold it back with my feet. Body forward and feet up asap after the flag drops to get more weight over the front end. Once the flag drops I feather the clutch out with the throttle remaining the same til about the end of the clutch travel which works out to being right before I click into 2nd. I typically get a mini wheelie when I click into 2nd as well

[Dsheumaker]

Originally Posted by Sirref

This is how you start a race dead last hahaha


as for your question. I'm not the best at launching but I'm always consistent. I set myself at 9,000 and feather the clutch to where I start to feel the bike pull so I have to hold it back with my feet. Body forward and feet up asap after the flag drops to get more weight over the front end. Once the flag drops I feather the clutch out with the throttle remaining the same til about the end of the clutch travel which works out to being right before I click into 2nd. I typically get a mini wheelie when I click into 2nd as well

yes thats when they all started at the back of the pack

[Sirref]

Yup, that's why it took him til my body gave out to get through me. Unlike dickie who just walked right by in T6

[Dsheumaker]

Originally Posted by Sirref

Yup, that's why it took him til my body gave out to get through me. Unlike dickie who just walked right by in T6

Yea cause that's what it was...

[Sirref]

No, my pace fell off by about 3s/lap after lap 3

He's faster than me, particularly there, but the gap in times would've put it closer to the line before I slowed

[Dsheumaker]

Originally Posted by Sirref

No, my pace fell off by about 3s/lap after lap 3

He's faster than me, particularly there, but the gap in times would've put it closer to the line before I slowed

You coming to the first race?

Will love to see how my pace will stand with the ProCup guys starting from the Cup grid

[tgold]

My personal method is similar to CSmith. I'd just point out that I do not wait to physically see the green flag. When I see the starter's arm move I'm off.

I typically do fairly well at launches and I think that one key to this is that I will occasionally (while sitting on the bike with the engine off) take the time to rehearse everything in slow motion and analyze what I'm doing.

I've had an extra bit of fun with starts this past year since we do LeMans style starts for our endurance races. I've been able to pull off a couple of top five into the 1st turn starts against 600's and 1000's by rehearsing my starts in detail.

[Dsheumaker]

Originally Posted by tgold

My personal method is similar to CSmith. I'd just point out that I do not wait to physically see the green flag. When I see the starter's arm move I'm off.

I typically do fairly well at launches and I think that one key to this is that I will occasionally (while sitting on the bike with the engine off) take the time to rehearse everything in slow motion and analyze what I'm doing.

I've had an extra bit of fun with starts this past year since we do LeMans style starts for our endurance races. I've been able to pull off a couple of top five into the 1st turn starts against 600's and 1000's by rehearsing my starts in detail.

The slow mo practice is a great idea! sounds a lot like what Ken Hill talks about in his podcasts about practicing applying and releasing brake pressure.