Altering the sprockets for relaxed riding

[bcware]

True; I was teaching myself with no previous experience on difficult terrain. Seriously, the streets in my neighborhood are akin to a half pipe with moguls sprinkled with sand I guess I am fairly aggressive about wanting to get out on the road. If I had some flat and even terrain to start on I don't think I would have had a problem. On a positive note mastering this kind of road will prepare me for just about anything. I signed up for the motorcycle safety course and start the second week in May as well.

 

[OliverB]

Good move on the safety course! Do you already have your certification/learner's permit or is this course going to help you get it? The reason I ask is that the advanced course is offered in our area. If you at least have your learner's, you can take the advanced course and get certified. The advanced course proved to be more comprehensive, even for beginners, than the primary course. They even encouraged beginners who had at least a little (untrained) riding time to take this level course - at least in our area they did.

 

[bcware]

The one in NH gives you a license if you pass the course. There is a classroom part and a road course; the whole thing takes 3 days and about 20 hours. We have intermediate and advanced course as well, but the beginner one is much longer and they even provide the bike.

 

[OliverB]

Yeah, our beginner's course also provides 250 cc bikes but at the other level you can ride your own. At the end of either level you get your license (certification) but must have taken the written (computer) exam and have your temp to take the advanced course. The nice thing about our advanced course was that it is only one day and only a few hours - forgot how many, but not all day. The advanced course ran you through several skill and confidence building exercises which are not done as part of the beginner's level. At any rate, enjoy and good luck!

 

[lhaolpa]

Adding 1 tooth in front makes a pretty good bit of difference.You will still get good torque,but it will cruise a bit easier. lha

 

[Sandrew]

Sorry for digin up the long forgotten thread, but..

Am I getting it right, 16/39 is basically same as 17/42?
If so, which would be better 16/40 (as Hornix recommended for cafes) or 17/43?

 

[drewpy]

I prefer the 17's as it gives the chain a better life not having to go round as tight a corner. It just fits with a HD chain although I've been told that O ring chain will foul the casing

 

[lhaolpa]

Drewpy is right about the chain wearing less with a 17t front sprocket[as usual]. The 16/39 is a ratio of 2.43/1,17/42 is 2.47/1,16/40 is 2.5/1,and 17/43 is 2.52/1.There is not enough of a difference to notice between the 4 ratios,except that the 17t front gives more clearance for the swingarm area. lha

 

[pfo186]

hello all,
i put a 17 tooth front on with the stock rear and i like it much better. i can now cruise at 65 without straining the motor much. if i'm cruising down back roads or highway, i don't like the motor to feel like it is being strained. and i also like how the motor feels betweetn 4500 and 5000 rpm so this works good for me. acceleration is just a tad more mellow, but i don't see this bike as being anything fast anyways so i could care less about that. if i wanted something fast i would just buy a differentbike.

 

[lhaolpa]

One reason for changing the primary,or front sprocket is that it's cheaper and necessitates less adjusting of the chain.The length of the chain is changed less with the front sprocket,thereby making it easier to make up the difference.On my '75 Dt400 Yamaha dirt bike I have a 14,15,and 16 tooth for the front and a 40 and 44 for the rear,so I can get a big difference in ratios.with 14/44,it's hard to keep the front tire on the pavement,so I got the other front sprockets,which make a big difference.I have a spring loaded tensioner on the chain at front and a slide type guide at the rear with slider made from plastic cutting board material. lha

 

[jray]

Hi guys, my bike is currently running a 15 front and a 43 rear. Gear changes are bloody fast and furious!

In an effort to calm it down I bought an 18 tooth front along with a DID 530 X-ring chain. But there is next to no room between the chain and the engine casing.

Has anyone had success with a 17 front sprocket and an X-ring chain? drewpy you made mention that this combination may also foul the engine casing.

 

[lhaolpa]

In such a case,you'll be stuck with getting a sprocket that fits comfortably in front,and changing sprockets at the rear. More expense and bother,but safer. lha

 

[drewpy]

Hi guys, my bike is currently running a 15 front and a 43 rear. Gear changes are bloody fast and furious!

In an effort to calm it down I bought an 18 tooth front along with a DID 530 X-ring chain. But there is next to no room between the chain and the engine casing.

Has anyone had success with a 17 front sprocket and an X-ring chain? drewpy you made mention that this combination may also foul the engine casing.

yep x/o ring is too beefy to fit and not worth the extra expense.

before you change the front sprocket, show us a wheelie

 

[Lou Ranger]

... Has anyone had success with a 17 front sprocket and an X-ring chain? drewpy you made mention that this combination may also foul the engine casing.

I don't know what an X-ring chain is, however, a number of us have replaced the 16T front with a 17T front on Maxims with regular chains with no difficulties. It takes nearly 400 rpm off the top gear cruising speed at 60 mph. I would imagine that an increase from 15T to 17T would reduce it by 800 rpm.
I have read on here that 18Ts result in too tight a fit inside the casing.

 

[dO-bOy]

I have a '79 which runs pretty decently, it will hit 155kph on a cool day. I do a good amount of rides that last an hour or so on the highway. My question is, does 500rpm feel that much different at 120kph?

I'm very tempted to go 17-37 (stock is 16-39) but also scared to ruin my acceleration since I also commute in the city for work and friends has anyone altered the gearing that much?

 

[Lou Ranger]

I have a '79 which runs pretty decently, it will hit 155kph on a cool day. I do a good amount of rides that last an hour or so on the highway. My question is, does 500rpm feel that much different at 120kph?
I'm very tempted to go 17-37 (stock is 16-39) but also scared to ruin my acceleration since I also commute in the city for work and friends has anyone altered the gearing that much?

I have never been to 120kph, but at 100kph the differential is about 400 rpms and it really makes a difference to my ear. Didn't mind the pitch of the engine note for short spurts but I couldn't stand cruising above 80kph until I went from 16 to 17T on the front - was always looking for another gear to lower the pitch. Now I am comfortable cruising anywhere from 80 - 95 kph. I noticed almost no difference in the low end since in first gear it gets over 4krpm in no time.
I am also very pleased with how it cruises through town - say in traffic at the limit around 50 kph. I used to feel the need to shift into high gear so people wouldn't think I was a sport bike hotdog making noise. Now I don't.

Why not try the change on the front first and see how you like it going half-way? It's easy and requires a very minor chain adjustment. If the difference is not enough, then you can do step 2 with the rear.

 

[dO-bOy]

Because I'm about to order new chain and sprockets and thought I'd get it all done in one shot. I'll probably stick to just doing the 17t for now then if no one has experience

 

[drewpy]

Because I'm about to order new chain and sprockets and thought I'd get it all done in one shot. I'll probably stick to just doing the 17t for now then if no one has experience

yep that's what we said just go 17t on front

 

[frwinks]

dboy, do it... 17-37 is soooo much fun. You have a 18" wheel right? so do I, the 37 is just silly. It's nice to have three more gears to go through after 100km/h, still plenty torquey around the city and you can really push through the lower gears much better. When in cruze mode, 6th and 80-90km/h, it's quiet, stable, no weird vibes and still has enough pull to get up some steep, long hills
I have an EK xring chain and had to put a spacer behind the sprocket to get it to clear the case

 

[Lou Ranger]

Because I'm about to order new chain and sprockets and thought I'd get it all done in one shot. I'll probably stick to just doing the 17t for now then if no one has experience

Makes sense. And just in the nick of time, frwinks returns to civilization from his rocky, side-of-cliff trail with first hand experience.

A word of caution before you spend $$ - since frwinks has an '82 and you have a '79, is it possible there could be a significant HP differential, or different final drive ratio coming out of the tranny? Hopefully not, thus allowing for a direct comparison. But if your '79 has less hp than an '82 or different gears, then the 17/37 wouldn't give you the same performance as frwinks gets.