Buell's get slapped with 5 lbs increase to 625 lbs
Suzuki's get to take off 5 lbs to 605 lbs
Harley's unchanged
Kawasaki drops to 600 lbs

Steve Johnson:

:: DRAGBIKE.COM :: DRAGBIKE MAGAZINE :: NHRA Changes Minimum Weights for Most Pro Stock Motorcycles ::

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Buell's and Hardley's suck!

The whole deal is that in Gainesville qualifying, the Guidera Buell was more than 5/100 quicker than other brands which prompts NHRA to start rolling the weight-dice around.

Summary for at least the next race:
- G2 Buells get 5 lbs addition, now min. 625 lbs.
- Suzukis get to take 5 lbs off, now min. 605 lbs.
- V-Rods stay put 620 lbs.
- The Kawasaki gets to take 15 lbs off, now min. 600 lbs.

This whole thing feels a tad off and not too fresh IMO. The current PSM-record is still held by a Suzuki but NHRA now starts to spin the weight roulette whenever there's a 5/100 discrepancy between brands in qualifying at any given race.

Most assuredly, NHRA has a tough job to keep brand parity in PSM but I think they reacted too fast and too harsh. Keep in mind that the 2008 Gators was not a full qualifier race, the bikes only got 2 rounds due to rain. This being the first PSM race for the season with 4 qualifying runs sorely needed for the teams to realize anything close to their full potential.

Compare this with last years Gators, a Suzuki qualified #1 with a 6.91 which also would have been the #1 qualifier this year, and numbers 2 and 3 at last years Gators qualifying were both Suzukis with good enough ETs to have those Suzukis in the 1-3-4 spots this year.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I can remember the Suzukis were 5 lbs heavier going into last years Gators than this year.

Worth noting is that during eliminations this year, the fastest run by a Buell was only 13 thou's faster than the fastest V-Rod and only 32 thou's off Chip Ellis' fastest run with a Suzuki.

It must feel like crap for all the Buell teams to get shafted just because one team gets the job done while the Suzukis do not keep up the performance from last year. Not the best motivation to keep pouring in the mega-bucks it takes to run a full NHRA season in PSM.

Regards
PiPPi
http://HarleyDrags.com

I wonder how close Guidera is to being at the minimum weight. He's no small fry.

Strange, but I do find some humor in this.

The quickest bike in pre season testing doesn't get hit.
The Kaw, which is in development gets a big weight break.
The 'zukis, which 'lost' their top two bikes, gets a weight break.
The Buells, with the most bikes out there, has a team that can run quicker by .05 than all the rest of the bikes out there and as a brand, they get hit with extra weight.

I thought the class was PRO stock bike. All the bikes should weight the same with the same CID. If ya can't keep up, got back to the drawing board.
OR: Make it a dial in/handicap class.

Using the same theory, P/S Fords should get a 200 pound weight break. Oh, and while you're at it, P/S cars should go back to full size bodies, stock wheelbase, and motors that can be purchased off the showroom floor.

Which really begs the question, is there anything 'Stock' in either Pro Stock class. What option box do I check at the dealership to order a 500 CID rear wheel drive Cobalt, or a new Poncho? People B**ch they can't tell funny cars apart, I feel the same way about P/S... and Matt, love you, your lady, your sis, and your dad, but geez, how the heck do you tell a Buell from a H/D?

Just my buck ninety five worth
d'kid
N ot
H aving
R acing
A nymore

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here we go again, the nhra favoring the suzukis. lord this is stupid. i thought the idea of drag racing was to work as hard as you can, find a good combo and go as fast as you can. not in the eyes of the nhra. if you go fast you get penalized. makes no sense. in track and field do they set the fastest runner back 2 feet? do they make tiger woods stand on 1 foot? does baseball make josh beckett pitch with his non pitching hand? i know people will argue that it "levels the playing field" but put yourselves in matt guideras posistion, hes got a killer set up now hes penalized. drag racing is the fastest wins period.

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Is a 5 lb. increase suppose to make a .05 difference?

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Give NHRA some credit here.

When some of you post “Suzuki” or “Buell”, you don’t seem to acknowledge that it doesn’t mean the same thing because of the riders.

Last year “Suzuki” included Schumacher / Angelle / Antron – “Suzuki does not mean that in ’08. Posting “Suzuki” numbers is a muddy way of making a point.

Angelle and Antron with Schumacher were positioned well ’07. Now with George, she will again be near the top and she will now be included in the “Buell” numbers, making runs that other Buell riders never could come close too.

I think Angelle will be near the top no matter what she's on.

Take the top single Suzuki / Buell / V-Rod rider out of the mix and the Suzuki’s are a hurtin bunch.

Finally, ya’ll talk weight but since the engine sized are drastically different between the bikes, they are no way near even anyway.

How many years has it been since the V-twins were allowed in the class? In all that time I have yet to see a Buel roll off the production line with big air scoops like on the Buell PSM bikes. I also haven't seen a single Harley with an engine that is even remotely similar to what the Harley PSM bikes are running. I thought they were supposed to be based on production style bikes? I can still drive down to the Suzuki dealer and order a set of GS engine cases that are legal in PSM though.

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Buell's and Hardley's suck!

Which is why I said everyone uses the same CID and weight. if 'zuki get 145 cid at 605 pounds, everyone gets 145 cid at 605 pounds or whatever the bloody number is going to be.

I thought this was a heads up class. If you don't have a hot rod that cuts the mustard, don't play. If not, then it's not a heads up PRO class.

d'kid

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Brett,
You ever try to buy a 500 CID Cobalt? or a 500 CID anything off the showroom floor?

Nether P/S class has anything to do with stock. What we have is G/FC and G/FB. Time we called a Spade a Shovel.

d'kid

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The rules clearly said they must be based on production type engines, stock size upper fairing, no large scoops, etc. That would make the Buell's and Harley's illegal for the class since the Buell's never came with scoops anything like what they're running and the Harley engine is as far removed as a production engine as you can find. The Suzuki's are still running production style GS engines which you can buy cases for at nearly any Suzuki dealer and the upper fairings are the same size as the production bikes were.

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Buell's and Hardley's suck!

When the McClaren Suzuki engine is released, the Suzukis will have more weight added.

Jay

English is not my first language so apologies for any misunderstandings here but I take it you're saying that NHRA is not working for parity of the hardware of the four PSM brands but rather for parity of a combination of a brand and quality of a particular team?

If so, that is the point made many times about the problems of PSM teams getting penalized solely for doing an excellent job and having an excellent rider.

Stock or not? We're talking about the "G2 Buell", not a "Buell". Think about it: Isn't the "G2 Buell" the most standard stock production bike ever run in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle competition? You buy one off the G2 showroom floor and can race it and place it right out of the box the way it comes from the G2 works with "nothing else" but chassis and EFI tuning. The "G2 Buell" never existed in any other form or shape than just a "G2 Buell", it is massproduced by a motorcycle company and sold to the general public with no need for hardware modification to go racing which is a huge difference compared to the so called Harley V-Rods or Suzuki GSXRs that race in todays NHRA PSM.

A visual: Put a bone stock production "G2 Buell" next to a race ready NHRA PSM "G2 Buell" and do the same for a bone stock Harley V-Rod and a NHRA PSM Harley V-Rod and include a bone stock Suzuki GSXR and its NHRA PSM namesake. The two "G2 Buells" in that line up of six bikes will be identical which cannot be said for the V-Rod or the GSXR.

Basically, according to the rules that were cited up above none of the other Pro Stock Motorcycles can match the points of being a stock production bike like the "G2 Buell".

That could be settled by NHRA putting some very clear-cut and hardcore homologation rules into effect. Though I'm sure that would open up a whole 'nother huge can o'worms and simply push the parity-work to an even more complex level. I.e. a homologation rule that doesn't make for the V-Rods and DSR McLaren Suzukis having to be put up for sale to the general public

Regards
PiPPi
http://HarleyDrags.com

Brent,

Just re read the whole PSM section in the rulebook. Talk about contradicting themselves. Are those Big A scoops part of the flaring or part of the gas tank cover? OEM heads or approved aftermarket. That whole section left me scratching my head. I'm all for a 200cid 45* HD at 600 pounds.

Still leaves me thinking two things, min weight, max cid for the class. or run the class with a handicapped tree, and you break out of your dial in, you loose.

personally, I like the min/max. works for the other three pro classes. The real question is, do the OEM's care enough about drag racing to do an engine that fits.

d'kid

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