Made it out to the strip last night!

I guess the 8th attempt is the charm...and thought work was going to clobber it again last night.
From the last outing last year, made a couple changes to the setup. Biggest change is going from a 16 tooth countershaft sprocket to a 17. Gearing now is 17/43 and should be good for 150 mph at 10,000 RPM if needed. Also have setup the swingarm to act as an air tank by sealing all the leaks and adding a couple fittings. Finally changes to VP 113E fuel since I can't run VP Q16 here (the MTBE used to oxygenate it is illegal in Colorado). VP 113E is lightly oxygenated compared to the Q16 so it will make less power
For the clutch, ground down a set of stock FJ steels to fit better in the Busa clutch basket. Only change to the clutch tune is going from 20# holdback springs (the ones that attach to the arms making a triangle) to 17#. That should bring the lockup in a little sooner. Also went back to 4 heavy static springs and got rid of the slider springs.
Last night was "Race Car Test" -- limited to vehicles with slicks or running 11.99 or quicker. Great evening for tuning - never had more than 6 or 8 cars or bikes in line to run. Also, everyone was pretty well prepared - only a couple cars slow to clear the track and NO oil downs!
Got 6 runs in with plenty of time between runs for tweaking and cool down. Bottom line - no nines this time out, but pretty sure how to get there next time.
Get thru tech with one snag - the new (to me) leathers I picked up off craigslist have nylon zippers - NHRA requires metal zippers. Oops. They clear me to run for the night - which really isn't a big deal since I plan to mainly run the 1/8 mile and focus on the 60' and 330' times.
Finish prepping the bike - and think there's a leak in the air shifter when I put the CO2 cylinder on. Quickly disconnect the CO2. Remove the lines from the swingarm and install a single line straight to the shifter solenoid. Seems to take care of the leak.
Roll up to the staging lanes - only other vehicle is a Harley with bars. He's running on a .400 pro tree. Starter asks me if I want to run the pro tree or wait for the full tree. What the heck - I'll run the pro tree - won't make a difference on my 60'. Burn out, line up, wait for the tree to count down - crap! No count down on a pro tree! I leave very late, but the launch feels good. And I chase the sportster down just past the 1/8th where I roll out. Cruise to the turnoff and go past the sportster who is waiting for his tow back to how pits. Really makes me appreciate being able to cruise back to the pits on my own -- and not need a start cart or crew either. Get back to the pits and look at the time slip. Not bad - happy with the run for right off the trailer.
60' 1.672
330' 4.349
1/8 6.532 at 112.05
Pretty much on par with the good runs from last time out - and with the new gearing and fuel.
The launch is still a bit lazy - so the first change is to add more static pressure. Take off the clutch cover, remove the clutch hat and add 2 medium springs to the 4 heavy springs. Keep everything else the same.
2nd run. Short wait in the staging lanes. Line up with a second gen Camaro with a single centered wheelie bar (which he put to good use!). Burnout, stage, and watch the tree count down this time. Bottom yellow light and go - and spin hard. Back pedal the throttle a little and shift.
Once again chase down the Camaro just passed the 1/8 mile as I roll out.
Time slip isn't good - as expected with spinning on the launch.
60' 1.848
330' 4.827
1/8 7.123 at 107.39
The added static did its job - definitely tried to launch harder - just more than the suspension and tire could hold on to. For the next run I soften the rear suspension link from 15 to 15 1/2 out of 16 marks. Also drop rear tire pressure from 20 psi to 15 psi.
3rd run. Lined up with a Nova with a tall scoop and full slicks. Still spins on the launch - not as bad as last time. Nova gets a great jump but I'm well past him before the 1/8 mile point.
60' 1.673
330' 4.289
1/8 6.475 at 111.78
Not a bad run - actually best 330' and 1/8 yet - despite spinning on the launch.
Changes for next run - take the rear suspension link out to the softest setting (16). Keep tire pressure at 15 psi - don't know how these tires behave at really low pressures and don't want to take a chance of the bead coming off the rim. Only other adjustment to help traction on launch is to take out some compression damping - take out 3 clicks of high and slow speed compression damping. Decide to reduce the 2 step RPM about 500 to soften the hit some.
Run 4. Still spins on the launch - and won't shift. CO2 bottle out already. Forgot about losing a lot of it with the leak before the first run. That run is a scratch.
Have to take out some static from the clutch since I've run out of suspension adjustments. (On the way home think of one other change -- shorten the wheelbase -- but I didn't have my chain tools with me). Replace the medium springs with the (very) light springs with a hardened 5/16" washer as a spacer. These springs are very light compared to the mediums.
5th run. Almost end of the night. Plan to run the full length on this one.
Launch feels very smooth. Too smooth it turns out. Look at the time slip - WTF?!
60' 1.922
330' 4.768
1/8 6.989 at 111.04
1000' 8.921
1/4 10.577 at 135.73
All I can think of is the 2 step is too low. Add back 500 RPM on the 2 step. Quick turn to make a final run before they close the staging lanes. (Turns out it was a 2nd gear launch - again - and the times are very similar to the last time out when I did that).
Line up with a car tire old school Kawasaki with bars. Says he's been chasing his tune all night after installing a new slick - says it falls on its face on the launch now.
Run the full length again. Launch feels good - doesn't misbehave. Run feels good.
60' 1.677
330' 4.342
1/8 6.530 at 112.15
1000' 8.435
1/4 10.071 at 137.09
Not a bad run - but short of where it should be.
For the next outing - plan to increase static pressure - just not as much as adding the 2 medium springs. Ordered some 3/4" shim washers in .005", .010", .015" and .025" from McMaster-Carr this evening. Plan is to remove the light springs and start shimming 2 of the 4 heavy springs to incrementally increase the static pressure. Other change will be to shorten the wheelbase some to increase traction. It's about 65.75" wheelbase now. Removing 4 links should put it about 64.5". This should help increase the traction available. Possible downside could be a greater tendency to wheelie - but there's some margin there since it really hasn't tried try to stand up yet.
Have to get metal zippers added to the leathers to be legal for next time. Might as well get some of the other mods that will be needed to make them legal for Bonneville too