$100K Sportster Rips Off 7-Second Runs At the Drag Strip

Super Quick, Super Expensive

The world of drag racing is a competitive one, as well as a rather expensive hobby/profession. This is true not only of four-wheeled drag racers but also those of the two-wheel persuasion. Look no further than this wild Harley-Davidson Sportster built and owned by Gregg Dahl of the GMS Race Team, which cost a cool $100k to put together and was recently featured in a video from CycleDrag.

Massive Powerplant

As one might imagine, there isn't much left here that is OEM, as pretty much every bit and piece present on this bike has been replaced with either a custom or aftermarket part. For starters, the meager stock powerplant has been replaced with a 172-inch unit that more than triples the stock displacement of 54 inches.

Power to Ground

Dahl has done a ton of work to the rest of the drivetrain as well, separating the gearbox from the engine case, redoing the belt drive and fuel system, and modifying the chassis so that he can put all of the massive engine's power to the ground effectively.

Blazing Quick

Clearly, Dahl did a good job of that because this Sportster doesn't even have a wheelie bar to keep it from pointing toward the sky when it launches. Regardless, he still managed to run a blazing-quick 7.62-second quarter-mile pre-pandemic.

Slowing Down

We say pre-pandemic because he's struggled to get his hands on parts as a result of supply chain issues, which means the bike hasn't gotten any faster over the past couple of years. In fact, it ran a slower 8.16-second pass Keystone Raceway Park in Pennsylvania recently, though that's still pretty darn quick.

Getting Away With It

At the same time, it certainly doesn't seem like Dahl was holding back, anyway. "We just approached it with the idea that we weren’t afraid of breaking anything," he said. "You know, if I blow it up, it’s fine. So, we did some sketchy stuff - and got away with it."

Wicked Quick

At the end of the day, this wicked hand-built dragster is still ultra-cool in our book, and we can't even imagine the thrill of catapulting it down the strip in seven seconds. After all, that kind of number is impressive in a car, and even more so when you're straddling something with just two wheels.

>>Join in the conversation about this Sportster right here in Harley-Davidson Forums.

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