2 ?'s - Is drag racing bad and chking oil in 350X

[clong]

I have 2 quick questions:
My frined (has 85 250R)and I (86 350X) went camping last weekend and at night, I don't know what got into us, but we drag raced like 15 times. It was in the cool night air but he and I were pushing our 3wheelers as far as they could go becasue I just got this thing and we wanted to see what it could do. How much damage do you think I did to the engine or can these things handle this?

Also, I have a manaual but what is the best way to check oil in a 350X? Before the trip I drained the oil and changed the filter and put what was recomended back in - 1.91 qrts for periodic oil change. I run the trike and checked the oil and it barely registered any oil but I know I put in the right amount of oil. I off course wouldn't screw the dip stic back in. Whats teh deal? Anyone else get low readings on dipstics?

[200xman]

The drag racing shouldn't hurt it. We were all riding our bikes hard at the drags at Trikefest. The same thing happens when I change the oil on my 350X. It ends up being around 2 quarts or a little more.

P.S. Your method for checking the oil is correct. You don't want to screw the dipstick in.

[84250r]

What you don't really want to do is,leave your bike idling at stand still for long periods of time. There is no movement which means no cooling. Drag racing it will not hurt your motor.

[hondaATCman]

No, drag racing won't neccesarily "hurt" the engine, IF you know how to use the clutch and shift properly. Now if you want to talk very long term measures...it might wear a little bit faster because of the higher RPM than normal riding, but then again...I guess each time you run the engine it puts wear on it.

[phatcat600]

sooooo...how did you do against the r?

[clong]

Thanks for the replies.

How did I do against the R? I have to be careful how I answer this casue my buddy with the R comes to 3ww from time to time. First off we both always started in 2ed gear. Better traction that way. In almost every race my 350X was a clear winner to 4th gear then the R not only caught me, it blew past pretty quickly. It was basically a traction issue. If the R got good traction we would be closer to 4th gear, but I could never hold off the R after 4th. THe 350X just doesn't have the top-end rev. At any rate, I love the 350. We were on trails most of the day and I left it in 3rd all day and lugged up and around everything. Got to love the torque.

[phatcat600]

haha, so you didnt lead for long, 4th on a r is about 2 seconds from takeoff

[clong]

I led for a pretty good amount of time. I would launch out of the hole and get as much as 3 bike lengths in front. The R didn't catch me immediately. It took a little time. Yes the R is way faster but I definately give it a good run to the top gears.

[Mr. Sandman]

Drag racing is only bad when you lose. :D

[370banshee]

drag racing is about the only thing i'm building my tri-z for. adn the racing shouldn;t hurty your engien any. unless of course you over rev that 4 stroke. as for the R being faster up top. welcome to 2 strokes!!! thats why i love em.. they are quick enough that you don;t have to hook off the line (if you did you might crack your helmet) but you'll make up the lost area in no time flat. and who ever said that 4th gera is 2 seconds after take off is about right on the money

[clong]

That R I'm racing was actually mine for 3 years before I sold it to my best friend so he could beat me on it. The truth is that R was sitting in my Dad's horse barn coverd in hay with broken plastic, flat tire, leaking carb and all sort of little busted stuff. It always ran good though even in that condition. I gave him a deal on it for $500. I was just way more into my 200X at the time. Why I don't know. Anyways I sold it to him and he restored it to mint condition. Its perfect now. Now were riding all the time and I realized my 200X was just not up to par compared to that R so I bought a 350X. I know the 350 is not as fast as the R, but I gotta tell you it is just as much fun to ride cause of the way the motor delivers the power, especially on trails.