Dangermouse, thanks for posting this one. I went, I saw, I ran the needle past (way past) the 200mph mark. It's a lying robot though! The man clocked me at only 184mph through the finish post. I only took one run, which was fantastic, but I'm going to have to wait till September to give it another serious go. The weather was bloody awful, though it stayed dry long enough for me to take my turn, so I was wearing water gear rather then leathers for the run up (3 Hours from North London) which did two jobs.... Kept me dry and blew out like a sail at speed, which slowed me down plenty. Next time I'll Know.
To you guys who drag, I take my hat off to you. I've never thought there was much skill involved in throwing your leg over a powerful machine and letting rip. How wrong am I? My pickup was OK, but I was being very careful of the clutch, as I didn't want to look a complete twat on my first visit. I'm sure you guys in the know can pull off much faster. My first gear to second was good, but I realised I hadn't got a proper grip, so I wasn't at full throttle. Adjusted grip and then changed and nailed it. Then ran into the limiter (DOH!) and changed, nailing it again. I think I did one more change (not sure 'cos everything had gone red and tunnel shaped by this time). Richard was on the sidelines and said that I sat up a fraction before I went through the lights too. I'm sure I can hear you old-timers groaning by now, and given the number of mistakes that I knew I made, let alone the ones I didn't know about, I'm actually quite pleased that I got to the other end of the strip. To all you guys like me who think that dragging is easy, think again. The strip was purportedly 2 miles long and in that time there are one hell of a lot of things to do and to get right!
At the point where I left, Bugabusa had just done a genuine 205mph through the lights. Congratulations, Richard. Can the man tune the beast, or can the man tune the beast! Damn sexy livery too. White and blue! I’ve got a picture and will post it on hayabusa.org.uk when I get my sh1t together.
Dangermouse, Numbnuts, the rest of ya! You gotta try this man. September is the next date, so get your best rubber scrubbed in and hot to trot.
[This message has been edited by Tangram (edited 02 July 2000).]
