Gulf Top Fuel Drag Bike

If you thought the 198bhp Suzuki Hayabusa was extreme, the bike you see here takes the madness quotient to a whole new level. It produces…hold your breath…1500bhp! But then this is not your ‘average’ superbike. This is a top fuel drag bike.

Purpose-built for speed and quarter-mile glory, the bike is low, long and seriously intimidating. The handlebar is stretched way forward and the rear set footpegs are almost at the other end of the Herculean bike. A wheelie bar that extends behind the rear wheel confirms this bike is the business. The front forks are from a Suzuki GSX-R1000, but there is little else in common with a street bike we are told.

Now an in-line four cylinder 1585cc motor sounds way too ordinary for a bike that can go from 0-100kph in 0.7sec and to 400kph in around six seconds. So what’s the secret of the bike’s space shuttle-like acceleration? Well, it’s boost. As is the norm on drag bikes, the specimen here too features a supercharger, namely the HPS 2.1 RC. However, the supercharger alone is not responsible for the engine’s mind boggling power output. The fuel is important too – a cocktail of 85 percent nitromethane and 15 percent methanol.

Fuelling is via a purpose-built fuel-injection system. If you’re wondering about mileage, top fuel drag bikes can consume as much as 57 litres of fuel each mile!

The cylinder’s feature a three valve head to supply the necessary quantity of air and fuel to the combustion chamber. The two intake valves measure 31mm while the sole exhaust valve is a gaping 41mm. Contrary to what you’d expect, the DOHC engine does not run an aggressive cam profile. And, thanks to the huge mass of air being shoveled into the combustion chamber, compression ratio is a low 6.0:1. Ignition is via a pair of spark plugs in each cylinder that are fired by twin 44A MSD magnetos. The life of each spark plug? One run or 402 metres!

Generating all that power is just one side of the story. Transmitting it to the rear wheel is a science on its own. The clutch, we are told, by rider Ian King himself, is the most important part of the package. The final piece in the drivetrain is a two-speed gearbox.

For a more detailed look of this monster on two wheels and action from its demo runs right here in Mumbai, grab your copy of the February issue of Autocar India today.