An Introduction to Motorcycle Drag Racing
Motorcycle drag racing, also referred to as Sprints or Dragbike, is an automotive sport that pits two motorcycle riders against each other. The riders line up at the signaled starting line of a quarter mile dragstrip, and await the starting signal. When they get it, the cycles burst into action and these machines furiously accelerate down a two lane, straight paved, quarter mile long track. Don’t blink, or you’ll miss it. The first rider to cross the finish line is the victor, and precise computer equipment records elapsed time and terminal speed.
Like many automotive competitions, governing bodies separate the sport into distinct classes or categories in order to maintain a fair level of competition. The most common of these categories is the Pro Stock class where motorcycles with 1,000 horsepower nitromethane engines race against each other. The two primary motorcycle drag racing sanctioning bodies in the world are the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) and the AMA (American Motorcyclist Association). Both of these organizations boast the Pro Stock division as the pinnacle of their motorcycle drag racing efforts.
The NHRA has a diverse focus, while the AMA focuses solely on motorcycles. For that reason, their drag race series, known as Prostar, includes many more classes than the NHRA does. The AMA has also played a vital role in defining specifications, and forming the motorcycle drag racing rules that sanctioning bodies across the globe, wherever drag racing motorcycle events takes place, accept. However, specifics vary from one body to the next, so the AMA-specific specifications presented here may be subtly different from those you experience at your local track.
The AMA refers to the Pro Stock class as the “breeding grounds for the next generation”. For both the NHRA and the AMA, the intent of this category is twofold. One, the class must showcase production-based 21st century engines and motorcycle design. Currently, both the Kawasaki ZX14 and the Suzuki Hayabusa are great examples of this 21st century design. Two, the class must be at the center of innovation for the sport.
Both the AMA and NHRA accomplish this by the restrictions they place on the racing teams. The old adage is that necessity is the mother of invention, and drag racing fans witness that at every event. The heavy restrictions foster an environment that demands innovation, and the racing teams rise to that occasion. It is this constant flow of innovation that AMA speaks of when they refer to the Pro Stock class as a breeding ground for the next generation.
This lofty requirement for the leading edge introduces an interesting dynamic to the sport, a dynamic that we witness in other forms of automotive competition as well. It’s that fine line between innovation and cheating. Violations are so difficult to find, and the line is, in fact, so fine that it’s extremely difficult for the AMA and other sanctioning bodies to enforce them. This is the reason why when to do punish, the AMA and NHRA tend to do so swiftly and heavily. However, since the rules are so difficult to enforce, honor among riders is a critical component the sport. The AMA summarizes that truth with wise words from the philosopher Sophocles: “I would prefer even to fail with honor than to win by cheating.”
Riders race Pro Stock with honor by sticking to motorcycles with a stock appearance and a carbureted or fuel injected, gas-burning engine. Earlier we mentioned the need to foster an environment conducive to innovation. These particular design decisions are conducive to advertising and capital. Since the Pro Stock class is the highest profile motorcycle drag racing category, the sanctioning bodies want it to be most attractive to the motorcycle manufacturers. The restrictions allow Suzuki, for instance, to race their newest street-legal motorcycle, which is an amazing form of advertising that drives a great deal of interest and money into the sport.
All Pro Stock models must be 1999 or newer factory manufactured models, and those models must have rolled off the assembly line with a1000cc to 1400cc twin, triple, or four-cylinder engine. Once the race teams get their hands on this stock bike, it doesn’t stay stock for long, but there are a great many rules in place to ensure that the bikes don’t stray to0 far from the spirit of the event.