No answers still. It's been a few seasons, and we are yet to step on the
podium. And worse, the trap speeds have actually come down, and we are
struggling to touch 145kmph. The top guys and the factory teams are dipping
below 13 seconds easily - even on 150cc 2-strokes - and here we are,
stuck in the 14s with a 350cc 2stroke which should be doing low 12s.
Anyway learned a lot of lessons, and if this will help anyone:
o Some gearboxes shift, no matter what.
o Some gearboxes do not.
And if you are an unfortunate soul sitting on a gearbox of the second variety,
you have two options
o Quit drag racing, and save yourself a lot of money, time, and effort
o Look beyond the gearbox, and into the Clutch.
The second option follows a simple Logic - if you can't improve the shifting
nature of your gearbox (for whatever reasons), then the next best thing you
can do is to lighten the load on the gearbox. And how do you do that? by
getting your Clutch to work with maximum effectiveness, of course. here are
some mods:
o File your clutch basket clean, and remove those grooves. but make
sure you dont hurt the tolerances too much.
o Keep a delicate distance from "Clutch Slip". i mean, you might probably
want to stick with slightly "used" plates. brand new plates tend to stick harder.
o Do not use dry clutches
o Use thinner oil - like 10W30. this might increase clutch slippage
changes, but thats exactly the direction in which you wanna go - you want the
clutch to "release" easier.
o setup your clutch lever for optimum use, leverage etc.
o Be aware of your sprocketing - the shorter you push the gearing, the
higher the speeds in the gearbox.
o Route the clutch cable for least friction
o Experiment with the clutch adjustor screw till you find the best balance
between clutch slippage and gear shifting problems.
o absolutely avoid gimmicks like tapper buttons for engine kill. of course,
unless you have access to really sophisticated electronics.
We tried all the above, and more, but still we have'nt fixed our problems
completely.
The whole idea boils down to a simple thing - if you cant fix your gearbox, or
cant afford a new one, then look at the clutch settings and figure out how
"safe" you are from clutch slippage. And then, simply use up that safety margin,
leaving behind only a bare minimum.
