Loganville racer in fast lane

Published June 22, 2008

LOGANVILLE — Paul Cavanaugh of Loganville decided nearly three years ago, after the purchase of a Suzuki GSXR 1300 Hayabusa, to test the bike’s reputation of being the fastest production motorcycle in the world by taking it to “Georgia’s House of Speed,” the Atlanta Dragway track in Commerce.



After finishing in third place in his first race as an amateur motorcycle drag racer, Cavanaugh was completely hooked.



“The adrenaline of racing someone down a quarter-mile track in a straight line on this machine was incredible,” he said. “It was and remains a feeling of anxiety and great anticipation. The fact that I had just turned 41 years old did not hinder my desire to race. If anything, I was more inspired to take on the challenge.”



Cavanaugh decided that if he went to the track as much as possible to practice his racing skills, really got to know this bike and participated in all of the home races, he could possibly win the Atlanta point series.



All this would somehow have to take place in between his full-time profession as an apprentice development manager for the world’s largest printing press manufacturer.



Fortunately, Cavanaugh’s dedication and consistency led to an Atlanta Dragway Motorcycle Track Championship in 2006.



Last year was an interesting time. Cavanaugh started off pretty well. However, less than half way through the season he decided to give his bike a little more horsepower by adding a Turbo.



“Shortly thereafter, each time I would climb onto my bike I would get an interesting surprise,” he remembered. “There were tuning issues and the motorcycle’s fuel map was way off. It even started shutting off mid-way down the track.



“As frustrating as this was, I learned years ago when I owned a motorcycle for transportation and tooling around on the weekends that you have to know and respect your motorcycle for whatever purpose that you ride it.”



The mechanical issues started to become a distraction. Cavanaugh found himself unable to completely focus on the things he should have concentrated on.



Important aspects of racing such as the starting tree, how much throttle he was giving the bike, if he was dumping the clutch in time and the shift light were being pushed to the back of his mind.



“I spent sleepless nights trying to figure out what was going on and had a great deal of input from a lot of my fellow racers,” said Cavanaugh. “Thanks to the expertise of Brian Livengood at Livengood Motorsports in Loganville, I got the bike on the dyno and we quickly figured out the problems and got them resolved in time for me to climb back on motorcycle and somewhat redeem myself before the race season ended.”



So far, 2008 has been a much better year, even though Cavanaugh took on the personal challenge of rebuilding his motorcycle engine before the race season begin. He had tinkered on muscle cars most of his life and had developed a good mechanical aptitude. On the other hand, he had never built a motorcycle engine and found the experience humbling.



The bike is running faster this year than the previous few years. At an AMA race back in Memphis at the beginning of May, the bike ran 9.41 seconds in the quarter mile with a little turbo (boost) at the top end and Cavanaugh getting out of it before hitting the quarter-mile mark.



“The bike is capable of running in the 8.90s, but it is just a matter of me getting comfortable with sitting on that much power,” he said. “Memphis did prove to be an overall good race with me finishing second in the Street Fighter class. I look forward to the upcoming races.”



Motorcycle drag racing instantly became a passion for Cavanaugh, who found it to be a fun and enjoyable hobby that requires practice and some talent.



“Some of the greatest aspects of motorcycle drag racing is that it is very family oriented and it does not discriminate,” Cavanaugh said. “I have had the good fortune of being able to race with and meet people from all across the country and abroad— both men and women of all ages and all backgrounds. It is a great feeling to see the racers along with their family and friends functioning as their ‘pit crew’ by assisting with the motorcycle, cheering them on and offering moral support. Stephanie Fisher is my pit crew chief, my videographer, my cheerleader and my constructive critic.”



For detailed information on the bike class requirements, upcoming events, records and miscellaneous motorcycle information, visit www.amadragbike.com (American Motorcycle Association — the world’s largest all motorcycle drag racing sanctioned body).



If you are interested in joining the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association), visit www.nhra.com.