Ran our Chariots of Fire Customs, LLC drag bike for the first time at the AHDRA May event. We went all the way up to Pennsylvania. This is a long way  from Missouri. I think I watched 10 movies there and back in the truck. When we arrived on Friday it was raining, but Saturday and Sunday it was overcast, so that worked out. First thing Saturday morning we had the bike in tech inspection. It didn’t pass due to the oil tank being too close to the front wheel. So Vreeland’s Harley-Davidson helped us out with a different tire, and we dropped the tubes in the front end as much as possible. We got tech approval.
Everyone has asked me since we built the bike how nervous I was having never raced before. I wasn’t nervous until I was up next in the staging lanes. With no burnout and leaving 2 sec’s late from the nerves, I got a 12.7sec pass at 116mph. It wasn’t anywhere near the bikes capability, and it was over pretty quick. Also this track had real long shut down lanes, and the only way to down shift that bike is from a dead stop since you have to do it with your hand. So I tried coasting a little before slowing down. Bad Idea, I ended up having to get on the brake harder than I wanted. The front tire rubbed the oil tank, and I stopped the bike about 5ft from the sand pits. Oops, lesson learned, you cover distance real quick at 100+ mph. We were having some problems with the valve’s for the air shifter, so we only got two more passes in that day. The fasted being 11.3sec at 124mph and nothing even close to a straight line.
Sunday, first thing I learned burnouts on the bike from Rich Vreeland. Burnouts are a lot different with a 7 inch slick. First run of the day I was up against a very seasoned rider. Did my burnout, launched the bike off the two step, stood it up on the wheelie bar’s and beat him at the light by a bike length. This was going to be my best run, and the first to see what the bike could really do. I was ready. The bike on the other hand wasn’t ready. The kill tether got jarred by the launch and killed all of the electronics on the bike. I got towed back to the staging lanes. After trying to start the bike so many times diagnosing the problem. The battery was low, and our next class came up quick. We missed out, but I guarantee you we’ll be ready for next time. Tether issue is fixed. I got the nerves down, and I’m ready to see what this bike can really do.

Big thanks to our sponsors Thunder Roads, Thompson Choppers, Cherry St. Bar & Grill, Baker, Jaybrake, Inkmasters tattoo’s, Steel Point Guns, David Kessler of State Farm, Terry’s Machine Shop, and SauerMMA.com.