Drag racing is no-nonsense and straight to the point. Racing in its purest form. It produces instantly recognizable winners and losers--it's black and white, without gray areas in between.

A raw test of rider and machine, these ego-fueled matches take place at all times of day on purpose-built racetracks from coast-to-coast. Drag strips are unique, paved, 440-yard gauges that scientifically determine who really is the baddest on the block—the ultimate judgment of riding and tuning prowess.

Transforming your everyday commuter or sportbike into a sometime drag racer is less expensive than you’d think, but an easier way to test your drag-racing chops is to go to school with Kawasaki’s quarter-mile guru, Rickey Gadson.

He has instructed top roadracers, celebrities and countless motojournalists how to dance the drag-strip boogie. Now, Gadson is teaching mere mortals a ¼-mile curriculum custom-tailored to riders of all skill levels at his Sportbike DragRacing School.

Headquartered on his home tarmac, Atco Raceway, in south-central New Jersey, the school offers one- and two-day courses of study, aboard long, low, drag-prepped Kawasaki Ninja^® ZX™-14 motorcycles, or you have the option of bringing your own bike.

The sport’s first full-time factory-sponsored drag racer, Gadson, 44, has scored 147 wins and nine championships, making him the most successful professional motorcycle drag racer in history. He’s competed on everything in the Kawasaki sportbike stable: from Supersport-prepped 600s, Superbike-spec ZX™-7 and ZX™-10R motorcycles to turbocharged ZRX1200s and 600-horsepower ZX™-14 motorcycles.

Blending his hard-earned Philly street savvy with the corporate realities of being a factory-sponsored racer and businessman, Gadson’s teaching style is low-key, precise and authoritative.

Like any course of higher learning, day one of Gadson’s program begins with an intensive classroom session. The professor starts his slick PowerPoint presentation with a simple definition: “A drag race is an acceleration test between two vehicles from a standstill over a measured distance,” he says matter-of-factly.

Next, Gadson launches into the meat of his coursework, with insightful, entertaining personal stories and juicy technical tidbits from his life on the street and strip.

Starting with riding gear, he espouses the importance of up-to-date helmets, high-end gloves with secure wrist closures and boots that incorporate serious ankle protection. Moving on to drag strip procedures, Gadson de-mystifies everything from the preliminary, tire-warming burnout—“it’s not just for show. Get up off the seat, hold the brake lever with two fingers, rev the motor up around 8 grand and throw the clutch away—to tucking in for a sprint to the finish line and how to read the all-telling time slips that detail each run. On the technical side, he explains bike setup, offers tire-pressure settings (40-45 lb. in front; 17-18 lb. out back) and discusses the science of optimum tire temperature, saying that, optimally, tires need to be 20 degrees warmer than the strip.

When the classroom session ends, Gadson takes students down to the sticky starting line. He shows where the tree’s timing beams are hidden, how to “read the track” and where to line up. Then, with noise, smoke and burning rubber, the master illustrates many of his classroom concepts on one of the school’s menacing, black ZX-14 sportbikes. When the smoke clears, it’s time for his new disciples to take their newfound skills to the strip.

Putting all of this information to good use was much harder than taking notes and watching Gadson eloquently launch his big Ninja^® motorcycle. Before allowing students to throw a leg over the bikes, Gadson shows how to pressurize their air-shift systems using the onboard compressors. Then, pupils are let loose to get a feel for the bikes, their shifters and the track.

Students learn that consistency is the key to drag racing. “Lesson One,” Gadson shouts, “Think before you run! The five minutes before the light turns green are just as important as the seconds spent riding between the beams.” To ensure pinpoint communication, record the lessons and provide accurate feedback, the school now utilizes Chatterbox in-helmet communication and onboard video capture.

Once familiarized with the bikes, students work up to speed in a high-horsepower round robin. Throughout the day, they take turns performing burnouts, short hops and eventually, full-power launches—Gadson within spitting distance. Over the noise of side-mounted exhaust pipes, the professor’s advice is piped into helmets via Chatterbox. Gadson also physically adjusts poor take-off form and hands out post-run critiques.

Those who work up to a full-throttle pass get a “certificate of completion,” which is the ticket to a first-level NHRA ET bracket-racing license. 

Gadson has honed his techniques over two decades of street and strip treachery and triumph. The information provided in one or two days of intensive training barely scratches the surface of his expertise and gives drag strip newbies the ride of their lives.

Making the Transformation from Street Bike to Drag Bike

Transforming a sportbike from a canyon carver into a long, low stripper can be narrowed down to a simple, five-step process. Here’s how Gadson prepped the author’s 2005 ZX-10R:

Strap ‘Em Down: Modifications to the front end are simple. In this case, the road-race-spec, Race Tech-valved fork tubes were pulled up through the top triple clamp 32mm and compressed with a pair of tie-down-like Brock’s Performance lowering straps. This resulted in a 3-inch drop and an ultra-harsh ride, but kept the front end working as one unit and loaded under acceleration.

Kill It: For safety’s sake, every bike that runs down the strip uses a very graphically named dead-man’s switch such as this tether-actuated unit from PMR.

Strip Struttin’: These adjustable rear struts from Orient Express were set up to drop the rear end 5 inches. This helped the motor (stock with the exception of an Akrapovic slip-on) effectively lay down its 160 ponies and immediately drive the bike forward at the drop of the clutch.

Make it long: A stretched bike may look cool, but this setup came straight from the strip. These swingarm extensions from Exoticycle allow a 4- to 7-inch stretch. Gadson dialed in the ZX-10’s wheelbase to 61 inches, making it less wheelie prone and contributing to the modified bike’s superior launch ability.

Geared Up: Front and rear sprockets from Vortex, a 15-tooth up front and a 42 at the rear, enabled the Kawasaki motorcycle to attain near-150 mph speeds in just 1320 feet.

For those wanting to take it to the drag strip, Rickey Gadson divulges all of his secrets.

2011 Schedule: TBA

Pricing: One-day school, $695; two-day school, $995

Bike rental: One-day school, $200; two-day school, $350; three days: $500

For additional information, visit rickeygadsondragracingschool.com. 

By Eric Putter

Eric Putter is a 25-year powersports-industry veteran, who produces monthly editorial content for various U.S.-based magazines and is the president of PutterPowerMedia, a full-service media-relations, advertising and photography agency.