Who wants to drag race a scooter?

I got into scooter drag racing last year, and have gotten hooked. This past week, I picked up a 70cc 2-stroke scooter as a spare bike, and thought I'd see if anyone would like to give it a try.

Here's the deal - there are three remaining events in the race series this year, July 20th and Sept 21st in Beanblossom, IN, at the Brown County Dragway, and August 17 in Union Grove, WI, at the Great Lakes Dragway. If any GRMer is interested in giving it a shot, I'd be happy to loan out the bike. You'll still need to cover your membership and entry fees, and have all the correct safety gear. For this Sunday, it may help if you have access to a truck or van, and are in the Cincy area, as I am not yet set up to haul two bikes in the van. However, I probably could remedy that on Saturday, if need be. For the events in August and September, there is a chance I will have two spare scooters.

For a little detail on the costs/safety gear required/dates/locations, check this page: NASRA 2014 Drag Race Series

A little info for you:

What's bracket racing? - Bracket racing is a form of drag racing where the key is to have a good reaction time, and a consistent elapsed time. You can ride something slow, and still beat the fast bikes, if you can be consistent.

How hard is a scooter to ride? - Fairly easy. If you can ride a bicycle, a scooter should be alright to handle. If you've ridden a minibike, it'll be a cinch. If you ride motorcycles, its a bit harder, since you need to remember the lever on the left is the rear brake, not the clutch...

Is the scooter really fast? - No, its pretty slow. Top speed at the end of an 1/8 mile course should be in the low 40s. It is very slow at the launch (at least for now), then has a bit more kick once it gets into its powerband.

Is it better than rallycross/autocross? - Maybe, maybe not, but during your down time, you can hang out under an easy up with some "interesting" people, go get snacks, watch the races, or meander around checking out the drag cars. No standing out in the middle of a hot parking lot chasing cones.

Aren't motor scooters really dorky? - Yeah, so?

If you've got any questions, or are interested, let me know!

For a little additional info, here's my thread on last year's races: Scooter drag racing

Son of a bitch! I'd be totally down for helping out at the Grove, but I have prior commitments on Aug 17th.

(Not to mention I'm a fat sumbich, that would make a slow scooter even slower! )

In reply to RealMiniDriver:

Bummer about the timing, if things change, let me know. Nice thing about bracket racing is you don't need to be fast, so weight's not a big deal

In reply to eastsidemav:

Too far away for me but that's a great idea to get other people interested in the sport.

If we didn't have an autocross Sunday that I'm helping/maybedriving I'd be all over this. WI might be a bit much of a drive, but September's event in IN is going on my calendar tonight after work.

<<<<<Should totally section the rear frame on the Spree to fit my 250cc suzuki thumper on it.......

In reply to yamaha:

Go for it :)

During the regular season, sub-500cc motorcycles are usually okay for the bracket races, but you might want to email the organizer just to be sure...

In reply to Jerry:

Next time you're down this way, you should take one for a quick spin.

eastsidemav wrote: In reply to Jerry: Next time you're down this way, you should take one for a quick spin.

Considering my only other experience on 2 wheels (besides a bicycle) was in my parent's parking lot in highschool on my friend's Honda Rebel around 1984-5. I stalled it out about 1.45E^17 times before I realized the clutch wasn't binary (on/off). But still never hit the road.

In reply to eastsidemav:

Its a 28hp 250cc.......I doubt it'd go over well.

September event has been changed to Sept 20th at Bunker Hil Raceway.

Quick bump - next event is this Sunday in Wisconsin. I've still got time to throw an extra scoot into the van. At this point, I may anyway, as a backup...

If I didn't have to be home on Monday, I'd take you up on that.

The owner of this Ruckus might want to race. I spotted it last night, after the Back to the Bricks festivities, at a Flint watering hole.

Fun!

One of the best bracket racers I ever saw was a stock unmolested Hummer H2.

Curb weight of something like 6500 lbs, 1/4 mile of about 18 seconds, ridiculous rollout time.

He would stage deep, floor it at the 2nd yellow, and have nearly perfect reaction time every time. The thing was dead nuts repeatable, every time.

Bracket racing is not about how fast you go, it's about how consistent you are.

Judging from the exhaust, that ruckus is probably pretty loud...

As for bracket racing, its a good thing its about consistency. My race bike is having trouble idling, and there appears to be a bit of oil on the plug. The Buddy 125 is being pressed into service and has been loaded up. Probably a good thing no one can take me up on this weekend's race, not sure I can fit an extra bike on this trip. The truck I'm borrowing still has some of the toolboxes and shelving in it, instead of being completely empty. I think three scooters is going to be its limit.