101307 Cotee River Bike Fest

All Harley Drags in Gainesville, March 1&2, 2008

Ride led by Mike Reiker Photos courtesy of Mike Rieker, Kim Dougherty and Paul Hissa

What a Drag!!!!!!!

By; Mike Rieker

AP- March 1 2008 Clearwater Fl. In Clearwater, Florida this morning, four adventurous souls braved the sun shine and near freezing temps,,, well it was close to 50 degrees but it felt like freezing, and blindly followed Mike Rieker north to witness the opening season of the All Harley Drag Racing Association, (AHDRA.com). Jim Wattam, Roger Reed, Dick Pritchard and Kim Dougherty joined Mike Rieker on this trip to Gainesville Fl. The ride was great and for the most part direct using lots of I-75 to get there. The racing action was hot and heavy as over 300 entrants in 16 classes battled the clock on Saturday to qualify for Sundays Eliminations. Harleys, Harleys and more Harleys is what you see everywhere. And although the big fuel and hot classes may resemble Harleys from a distance, they actually have very little in common with them. In fact, about the only common element is the 45-degree bank of the cylinders. These fire breathers are from 145 to 215 cubic inches. (For you metric fans that is 2400 to 3500 cc’s!) In other words, HUGE and powerful. These weekend rides spit out between 600 and 900 horsepower and reach speeds of over 225 miles per hour in a quarter mile. The 0-60 time is less then 1.05 seconds. If that does not get your blood pumping, you ain’t got none.

            Upon arriving and making our way to the stands Paul, Lois and Caitlin Hissa, who had driven up the night before, joined us.

            With 16 different classes ranging from 225-mph, Top Fuel bikes to the stock appearing but highly competitive ET class, racers have a wide range of competition available to them at AHDRA. “AHDRA began as a club racing organization in the late seventies and continued over the years under many different names. All Harley Drag Racing Association/AHDRA became the official licensed name for the sanction in 1991.”

            There you have it in a nutshell what AHDRA is all about but it is much, much more. It is not just an event, As a Harley owner you know what it is. It is a lifestyle. If not, why would we continue to pay top dollar for motorcycles, parts and clothing that we can get anywhere else for far less. It’s because we LOVE it. And because of that, you will LOVE AHDRA.

            The only mishap this year was a bike got against the retaining wall and shortened his velocity stack by a couple inches as the bike accelerated to the left after leaving the line. It’s a tough job steering a bike that has only the rear wheel on the ground. A rear wheel that is 2 feet wide and flat on the bottom to boot. It is not unusual to see these riders hanging full off the side of the bike to try and get it to come back to the center of the lane. Often it works, sometimes not. The only choice is to let off the throttle and get the front wheel back on the ground. Believe me, they wait until the last possible moment to do that. Backing off the throttle is one thing these guys don’t do well.

            There were a few bikes that blew and disheartening as it is, it’s pretty frightening too. These beasts have a safety strap over the top of the engine to keep the big pieces out of the riders’ chest cavity but when they blow, pieces go in any direction they want. Mostly out the side and you don’t want to be there. .

            Saturday night we stayed at the Gainesville Days Inn and right across the street there is a great Japanese steak house so we decided to have dinner there. Dinner was great and after a day in the hot sun it was high time for refreshments. Manhattan’s, Martini’s, Kirin Beer, Bud Light,,, Bud Light? Who the he,,,, oh well to each his own. Following dinner a few cigars at the pool were in order so we sat and discussed the days events while polluting our lungs with smoke and our livers with alcohol. What a great day it turned out to be.

            Sunday we returned to the track for 2 rounds of eliminations and then headed home about 3:30 PM.

            I for one, had a great time with good racing and fantastic company and I look forward to another trip next year where I hope more people can join us.

            You can go to AHDRA.com for the complete Race Results and upcoming schedule. The next race nearest us is May 24-25^th at Atlanta Raceway in Commerce, GA and you can bet your booty I’ll be there.