Are swingarm extensions safe for mile racing?

[MJ Williams]

I'd like to lengthen the WB on my Gen II to get a harder launch at Mojave next April but don't want to get an extended swingarm. I'm talking going up maybe 4 inches or so.
Has anyone used the bolt-on extensions without any issues? If so is there a brand that you would recommend? Most appear to be for cosmetic purposes and I don't know how well they would take the abuse.
Thank you

[Rocketgeezer]

From what I have seen over the years they seem to work fine, as long as its a good heavy duty design, and not just a decoration to hang the wheel on, if you have a 360 tire of course not, they have custom swingarms anyways, and if your running a 400+ horsepower dragbike with a real sticky slick, and a prepped track that's another thing, don't think I'd trust them that far, but for LSR and most street legal machines, that you may race every now and then they work great, and last but not least if extentions are all you have the money for, and your paranoid about them breaking have them welded on,

[Stainless1]

Used them on the Bonneville bike, More weight on the bike than a couple of fat chicks  , ran 5 miles near or above 200 40 or 50 times with no issues.  Most are made with more meat than your swingarm, work your way up in speed to be sure you have not introduced a handling issue.

[KZScott]

so far so good on these. had the bike on a tire warmer and got a little too much throttle/boost in first and pulled a big wheelie on 1 run...

[MJ Williams]

It looks like they will be okay for my set up, I don't have near that amount of power.
Who makes a good quality product?
Thanks for the input

[turbojonn]

Exotic. There was a set on psychobike.com last week.

[Ozonkiller]

Make sure that you bring your stock set up with you.  I've seen too many guys with long arms struggle with traction on the unprepped pavement.  I know you aren't planning on going real long, but I'm just sayin'

Tom

[MJ Williams]

Thanks Tom, loading up on the ballast weight right now for traction. The barrel aged beers available at this time of year really pack it on me!

[Ozonkiller]

You funny guy

[05calibusa]

Ha...keep drinking those beers.  I think you need at least 30-40 more lbs of ballast 

[Warp12]

It's all about the launch. 

But, on a more serious note...

Good quality extensions (I have used Spencer Cycle with great results) are more than up to the task of 1-mile racing. In fact, there is much less strain on the extensions in the mile, as compared to their intended use, drag racing. That being said, there are some crappy extensions out there. I would suggest sticking with a trusted brand, as opposed to rolling the dice with some Ebay cheapos.

Extending the wheelbase does a couple of things that may or may not enhance your LSR experience. A big plus is that a little wheelbase can really enhance stability. A drawback, however, can be reduced traction. I have seen long bikes spin the tire at very high speed. There really is very little traction on the runways. Typical drag racing tires (such as Shinko) are not really appropriate for LSR.

Shane