One Finger Clutch for Draging

[RacingJake]

This allows me to keep 3 fingers and my thumb tightly on the grip. To release the clutch lever all I do is slide my index finger to the left and pow!! I go screaming down the track.




I also re-welded my butt bar back on at a 45% angle after what happen last Friday. I was wearing leather pants and boy do they like to slide on the seat. One time I almost lost it, I mean butt slide off the seat because I remove my butt bar and only my finger tips on the grips, arms stretched forward to the point I couldn't back off the throttle and away I went down the track in first gear banging the rev-limiter. I couldn't even reach my shift button with my left thumb, thank god for that cause if i could I'd be sitting in the middle of the track watching my bike take the win without me.



I think it looks better too and give me alittle more room to sit. Will see how these mods workout this Friday.

[lecroy]

Re: One Finger Clutch for Draging

This allows me to keep 3 fingers and my thumb tightly on the grip. To release the clutch lever all I do is slide my index finger to the left and pow!! I go screaming down the track.

A common mod., but what I don't understand is how you planned to hook a delay box to it??

[Anonymous]

Re: One Finger Clutch for Draging

couldn't even reach my shift button with my left thumb, thank god for that cause if i could I'd be sitting in the middle of the track watching my bike take the win without me.

Wow, man! That has got to be some serious pull! My 450 and my nicer wind pants are a slippery combo. Especially with fresh waterproofing spray. woooOOOP! Off you go!

You could also try something for your knees to grab. Probably not something too big and grippy, as you want to be able to get off the bike if the *@%^$*@%^$*@%^$*@%^$ goes down, but just something to grip with the knees so it doesn't get away like a wet fish.

Michael

[gsbill]

You re gonna have one strong index finger!! I guess you ve already tried 2 or 3 fingers on the clutch lever already...If it works for you, what the heck...IF you get a lever assembly that comes off at a 90 degree angle to your bars, you can slide it a fuzz towards the tree and retain some leverage in your clutch lever...See how it goes! Good Luck.

I did the same thing to my 79 1100 Yamaha, back in 79!

[RacingJake]

Re: One Finger Clutch for Draging

Wow, man! That has got to be some serious pull! Michael

Yeap, for a moment I thought I was on my 135 HP GSX Limited SeaDoo.

That's what happens when you dump the clutch at 7K, you have a spit second to re-grasp the clutch hand grip and get your feet on the pegs and hold on.

[RacingJake]

Two fingers to pull it in and one to release it. Already practice pull and release 50 times in the garage and after I'd re-lubed the clutch cable it was even easy'er.

I can't wait until Friday and give it another try. Who knows my 44 & 46 sprockets might just show up before that.

I know the bike can get into the 6.50's as is, maybe drop in a 8K chip in the 2-step.

[silverhorse47]

Jake as someone who is thrilled to go over 60MPH...I have to say I enjoy living vicariously through your posts mods and frank descriptions.
Thanks.
S.

[RacingJake]

Thanks, it's all about having some fun and I love to tinker with my bike's

[cbxchris]

Jake when the coins allow still consider that slider. You must have a heck of a grip!!

[scotty]

can a slider be used on a street bike and still be driven normally??

[RacingJake]

Re: One Finger Clutch for Draging

A common mod., but what I don't understand is how you planned to hook a delay box to it??

I was thinking of something like a throttlestop or soleniod that was mounted down by the clutch lever on the top engine case. Also have some type of bearing on the lever and the soleniod rod assy would keep it from engaging until activitated then it would roll easy off the lever engaging the clutch???

Or maybe an air cylinder?

[cbxchris]

No to scotty`s question. Scotty the advantage to a slider is its easy on the tranny and drive train plus you have no clutch lever only a button which activates the slider. Quicker reaction times and safer by having your complete hand around the grip on the left bar. Expensive though and sometimes hard to set up.

[lecroy]

Re: One Finger Clutch for Draging

I was thinking of something like a throttlestop or soleniod that was mounted down by the clutch lever on the top engine case. Also have some type of bearing on the lever and the soleniod rod assy would keep it from engaging until activitated then it would roll easy off the lever engaging the clutch??? Or maybe an air cylinder?

If you would have picked up that lockup, you could have reduced the pull-in force to you could use your pinky. I looked at trying to put an air cylinder on the clutch arm like your talking about but the more I looked at it I ended up like the MPS unit. You want to be able to pull that cover off real easy.

I had to work on a slider last month then we lost one in Ohio. The hat alone was $300 something and the studs were $40. I agree with CBXCHRIS, the setup is a bit difficult, and I would say near impossible without the right tools to set the clearence. The tool cost alone would be more than most people would spend. Depends what your into I guess.

I think you could make a slider that worked on the street. Ah the days of the Honda 50cc mini trails.

[rosco15]

I launch my street bike with 2 fingers. I pull the clutch lever back against my other two fingers. Brings the cluth closer to the friction point and I dont have as far to go. I would be afraid to launch with one finger. I would think fatigue would set in and cause problems. But I say whatever works for you.

Scotty, I dont think a slider comes in really soft. They are either on or off. Most of the guys that use sliders dont ride them back. It becomes a 2 man operation. One racer and someone to tow you back. I always like watching them reach down with their left hand and put the bike into gear. Then they blip the throttle and the bike jumps just a bit as the rpm hits the launch rpm.

[lecroy]

I dont think a slider comes in really soft. They are either on or off. Most of the guys that use sliders dont ride them back. It becomes a 2 man operation. One racer and someone to tow you back. I always like watching them reach down with their left hand and put the bike into gear. Then they blip the throttle and the bike jumps just a bit as the rpm hits the launch rpm.

Think of a slider as a lockup with the springs pushing the plates apart, not compressing them. The slider is a balance act between the weight, the spring tension and the gap. On a Suzuki, there are six springs and six arms. Setting the clutch requires a special depth guage and a bit of testing. Because the unit is sealed for the most part, the plates will dry out after a few runs. The clutch then has to come apart and the plates oiled and rotated. The hat does not need to be adjusted during the lube process so it's not that big of a deal to pull it down.

You could make one launch very soft, and again I dare say you could make one with a stall low enough for street use. Actually, the drag bikes launch very slow. It's all about clutch management. I think to ride on the street you would need to design a one-off unit. The race setup is going to be more than an old GS would cost you and it's not really setup for this. You would also need to make the street unit keep the plates wet. What would be the point? I could see if you were a child and was just learning to ride a bike (like the Honda mini-trail), but most of us are beyond that. For those that are not, the other problem on a street bike that may cause a problem in that the clutch may not disengage as fast as a stock clutch would. So when a car pulls out in front of you, that little bit of time may have been enough to save your life. On a drag bike you know the end is coming and you have some time to slow things down.