Gearing Down A Vfr

Id like a little more low end on my VFR, I have been looking at new front sprockets, I can get either a 14 or a 15. Anybody have any experience? Id like to be able to do 80 under the Vtec range.

You need to go the other way with the gearing if you are trying to lower your RPM @ 80

[image: View Post]Karl Malone, on Sep 18 2008, 01:53 AM, said:

Id like a little more low end on my VFR, I have been looking at new front sprockets, I can get either a 14 or a 15. Anybody have any experience? Id like to be able to do 80 under the Vtec range.



If I'm not mistaken, 80 mph is 6000 rpm in 6th gear...under the VTEC range.....I'd have to double check on my ride home from work though. I usually ride at 75 mph and I believe that is approx. 5500 rpm

[image: View Post]slowf2337, on Sep 17 2008, 10:12 PM, said:

You need to go the other way with the gearing if you are trying to lower your RPM @ 80

no, i want more low end but not to the point where im revving to the moon just cruising on the freeway

ive got a 15 on my 07 and it runs Great!
14 gets a bit small and accelerates chain wear.
if 15 is not enuf for you then go with a 44 or 45 in the rear.

15 tooth works well. I think VTEC is still above 80mph actual, remember your speedometer will now be off the 8% or so from the factory, plus your gearing change. You can get a speedohealer to correct it.

75mph = 5000rpm with stock gearing, btw.

Last fall I decided I wanted lower RPM's for my freeway riding as well, so I just got an OEM front sprocket for a '96 I believe. It did just what I wanted it to, and was identical to the OEM on the 6th gen, except for the number of teeth obviously. Follow torque specs for tightening.

If i remember right, it lowerd RPMs about 600-700 or so, which was good enough for me. A little lower yet would be nice, but of course acceleration has suffered with the sprocket change (it was noticable), and I dont really care to make the bike any slower at this point....more than i already have.

But Im glad I did it. The gearing change actually made the speedometer accurate now too, which has been another plus. It now reads exactly 1mph over actual, comparing it to my GPS.

Id recommend doing this for anyone who finds themselves on the freeway alot, and who wants to correct their speedo at the same time...

i have 15T and speedohealer....80mph actual is 6k almost exactly.

[image: View Post]SEBSPEED, on Sep 18 2008, 07:15 AM, said:

75mph = 5000rpm with stock gearing, btw.

..... :+1:

I have 15T/45T on my 02. I love it because the acceleration is much better, gives it a feeling of more torque too. Front end will come up when shifting 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

I also have a speedohealer and on highway I hit 86 mph just under VTEC range (I keep it around 6600). I believe my speedohealer correction was around -12%.

[image: View Post]Adam30, on Sep 18 2008, 08:11 AM, said:

Last fall I decided I wanted lower RPM's for my freeway riding as well, so I just got an OEM front sprocket for a '96 I believe. It did just what I wanted it to, and was identical to the OEM on the 6th gen, except for the number of teeth obviously. Follow torque specs for tightening.

If i remember right, it lowerd RPMs about 600-700 or so, which was good enough for me. A little lower yet would be nice, but of course acceleration has suffered with the sprocket change (it was noticable), and I dont really care to make the bike any slower at this point....more than i already have.

But Im glad I did it. The gearing change actually made the speedometer accurate now too, which has been another plus. It now reads exactly 1mph over actual, comparing it to my GPS.

Id recommend doing this for anyone who finds themselves on the freeway alot, and who wants to correct their speedo at the same time...


Actually the 4th and 6th gen both use a 16T front sprocket. The 5th gen however uses a 17T. And he's looking to make the bike faster, not lower RPM's on the highway.

I used a 6th gen (16T) front sprocket on my 5th gen and went up 2 teeth in back(almost equivalent to one less tooth in front). Lots of low end but still a reasonable RPM on the highway, and I still do a lot of touring.

I would recommend going from you're stock 16T to a 15T in front and if that's not enough go 2 or 3 teeth up in back. A 14T front sprocket is a bit small and could accelerate chain wear. I wouldn't do that.

Splitting the difference between the front and rear sprockets will also keep you're wheelbase closer to stock.

I was worried about to many RPMs at cruising speed (and slightly about hurting gas mileage), but i also wanted a little more acceleration without doing wheelies all the time. When i had to change my sprockets and chain, i went with a +2 in the rear - got the stealth kit from sprocketcenter.com. It was around $226. I couldn't be happier with the results. My speedo reads 90 mph at 6000 RPMs, which is about 11% high according to my GPS. You'll prolly need a speedo healer, as i do (Group buy anyone?). The stealth kit looks awesome also. There was a group buy on this site a few months ago, and when i called sprocketcenter, they honored the group discount even though i was past the group buy window.

[image: View Post]PIrat, on Sep 18 2008, 11:28 AM, said:

I would recommend going from you're stock 16T to a 15T in front and if that's not enough go 2 or 3 teeth up in back. A 14T front sprocket is a bit small and could accelerate chain wear. I wouldn't do that.

http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/%201.gif

I have a 1-dn(15t) on my 02 and love how it woke up the feel of acceleration, pulls better out of turns. :fing02:

I never installed a Speedo healer to correct the 16% the speedo is off either, but as long as I'm going slower than what it shows I'm cool! :rolleyes:

Hey codemonkey, I know there are probably some more riders looking for a speedohealer too. I got mine (the new V4.0 system) at Pahnit.com for $109 and free shipping.

I noticed that they often do group buys, so you might want to try getting one started from Pashnit (I am in no way affiliated with Pashnit, I just thought they did good business - answered my questions quickly, provided a pictoral installation guide, free shipping, and quick delivery. Who knows what kind of deal you and the others might get? Worth a try.

:+1: @ speedhealer

Cool guys thanks just the info I was looking for.

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Sep 18 2008, 10:17 AM, said:

I never installed a Speedo healer to correct the 16% the speedo is off either, but as long as I'm going slower than what it shows I'm cool!


Don't forget about the additional miles you're accumulating on the odometer that you're not actually driving.

[image: View Post]codeMonkey, on Sep 18 2008, 01:26 PM, said:

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Sep 18 2008, 10:17 AM, said:

I never installed a Speedo healer to correct the 16% the speedo is off either, but as long as I'm going slower than what it shows I'm cool!


Don't forget about the additional miles you're accumulating on the odometer that you're not actually driving.

True, but I don't think the difference between 65k & 60k miles would make a big difference at resale time! :rolleyes:

Don't plan to ever sell it anyway! :fing02:

BTW a speedo healer will only fix one or the other(speedo vs Odo) not both, so if you correct the 8% for a 1 dn gear change(15-16% total) you'll be reading 8% low on the odometer as it's 8% off the in relation to the speedo stock. :unsure:

Gearing mine "down" to lower rpms by doing the front sprocket actually make my speedo accurate for the first time. I thought most of these bikes read too high to begin with?

Mine is within 1mph right now, which ended up being another plus to doing the sprocket

[image: View Post]Adam30, on Sep 18 2008, 03:10 PM, said:

Gearing mine "down" to lower rpms by doing the front sprocket actually make my speedo accurate for the first time. I thought most of these bikes read too high to begin with?

Mine is within 1mph right now, which ended up being another plus to doing the sprocket

What gearing change did you make? I'm guessing a 17t front. :unsure: Stock speedo is off about 8% so a 17t should get that close, but Now you Odo is off by that same 8%! :rolleyes:

[image: View Post]Baileyrock, on Sep 18 2008, 03:45 PM, said:

[image: View Post]Adam30, on Sep 18 2008, 03:10 PM, said:

Gearing mine "down" to lower rpms by doing the front sprocket actually make my speedo accurate for the first time. I thought most of these bikes read too high to begin with?

Mine is within 1mph right now, which ended up being another plus to doing the sprocket

What gearing change did you make? I'm guessing a 17t front. :unsure: Stock speedo is off about 8% so a 17t should get that close, but Now you Odo is off by that same 8%! :rolleyes:


I thought both Speedo and Odo were off 8% now, but the Speedo Healer could only fix one of them (no idea why)

Exactly....i went to a 1996VFR front sprocket. The speedo is correct now, but yes, the odometer should be registering a bit slower now. Thats why I havent been able to calculate actual real fuel economy numbers. But, I didnt know the actual error was 8%, even though i suspected it was in that range, so that'll help....

The stock speedo reads about 8-10 percent faster than you're actually going, so by lowering the gearing ratio (increasing acceleration) I made my stock error worse.

[image: View Post]Tightwad, on Sep 18 2008, 01:55 PM, said:

I thought both Speedo and Odo were off 8% now, but the Speedo Healer could only fix one of them (no idea why)


The reason it is not possible is because the Speedo / odometer is one unit controlled by a pulse coming off a sensor from the drive sprocket. At the stock gearing, the odometer is accurate, but the speedo is not. The speedohealer works by intercepting the signal from the sprocket and relaying more or fewer pulses depending on programming. But since its one signal for both units, its not possible to fix both at once.

yep, just proved it in the trip to ozarks. u20overboy was stock. mine was 15T up front and speedohealed back to about 1mph high....he and i checked mileage and i tended to be 10% less then he was consistently.

the good news is, i am actually getting 35mpg, not the paultry 32mpg i was calculating...

I have an almost brand new 15 tooth front sprocket in the classified section. I know it fits a '94 - '97. Anybody know if it fits on the newer generation shafts? If so, I'll help you out Karl Malone.........One mailman to another. :rolleyes:

[image: View Post]wooly72, on Sep 18 2008, 01:33 PM, said:

Hey codemonkey, I know there are probably some more riders looking for a speedohealer too. I got mine (the new V4.0 system) at Pahnit.com for $109 and free shipping.

I noticed that they often do group buys, so you might want to try getting one started from Pashnit (I am in no way affiliated with Pashnit, I just thought they did good business - answered my questions quickly, provided a pictoral installation guide, free shipping, and quick delivery. Who knows what kind of deal you and the others might get? Worth a try.


I've ordered several things from the Pashnit site. Tim is good people.