Chase-Truck

Speedy Senior Citizen

September 1, 2009

Kenny Dreer continues to enjoy his post-Norton "retirement." When U.S. operations of the restart we put on hold in 2007, Dreer rediscovered his drag-racing roots, first on a dealer-sponsored Harley V-Rod Destroyer, then on his own big-block Kawasaki. Now he's got Suzuki power.

And Kenny's golden years, it seems, are faster than ever: "I just turned 62 and signed up for Social Security (before it's entirely empty), and this weekend I did a 7.955 @ 168.8 mph!"

—David Edwards

Pretty good for a test session working out baseline parameters for the bike's nitrous-injection system.

"This drag racing stuff is seriously addictive, and I do have that 'addictive' gene," Kenny says. "Going with nitrous is a huge rush! This is a different motor than last year's Kawasaki. I upped the program this season with a Larry Cook Racing 1425cc Suzuki GS-based powerplant. Its roots go back to 1980, but it makes 220 hp—before the 'hair spray'!"

"Drag racing is like any other sport. If you want to go really fast, you need concentration and focus. It's a discipline and trust me when I say it's demanding. If you want those braggin' rights, you're going to work for them. We have a terrific organization up here in the Pacific Northwest, North West Drag Bike. I'd encourage Cycle World readers, if they ever had any fantasy of doin' the quarter-mile, to just get out to a track and do it. I will guarantee that you can't do just one run. You can't get remotely close to the same exhilaration—or acceleration—on the street (nor should you try). Did I mention we have killer Saturday night parties after racing; we make it a full day."

Oh, yeah, Dreer's 7.95 run? Made on the smallest nitrous jets. Seems like sponsorship from AARP is in order, Kenny, or maybe Depends...