Can you share your experience with modifying your sprocket sizings.
It's time for a new chain and I figured I might want to try a different sizing on the sprockets.
I'm plagued by the fact that I want it all -
Higher acceleration would be nice as I do a lot of city riding and having some extra 'umph' in 1st would be great.
However, I also do a lot of touring - and having lower revs cruising at highway speeds, and also better gas mileage, also appeals to me.
I'm riding a 99 where the stock is 17 F / 43 R.
Has anyone ever tried going lower in the rear and/or higher in the front to lower those revs?
I went with a 45 tooth rear sprocket, and stayed with the 17 tooth countershaft sprocket. I didn't go smaller in the front as I didn't want to increase angular velocity of the chain. That increased acceleration and I do like it.
My RPM at 75 mph went from 5500 to almost 5900. The odometer was dead on before the change and now is off by about 4%. Speedometer is waaaay off, probably about 15%.
I installed a bicycle computer so I can see my correct speed. All in all, I think it was worth it.
Also I do have an 18 tooth countershaft sprocket that I tried out and really didn't like it. I never really noticed any increase in mileage but there was a lot more stress on the clutch due to the higher gearing. First gear is pretty high anyway and adding another tooth in front exacerbates the slipping to get started. Plus you have to downshift one or two gears to get passed a car in a hurry, if necessary.
I had gone +2 in the rear a few years ago but am now back to stock 17/43 gearing...I don't know why, i guess because you can always downshift (except first) and I do have to slab to decent roads so the buzziness of +2 in the rear was little bit of a pain.
15 front/43 rear 520 conversion with D.I.D. X-ring ... did it for a trackday and will leave it this way until it wears out ... I'm also searching for 7th gear frequently :rolleyes: ...
I had finally decided on going 17/45 - however, finding a 45 rear sprocket in Canada is difficult. Since I needed to change the chain soon, I went with 16/43.
So far I LOVE the torque pulling off from the line. I ride with a passenger quite a bit and having that extra power in first helps a lot.
Highway riding thus far is okay - the higher revs don't bug me as much as I thought they would and gas mileage hasn't really changed.
The one downfall I've found is having to switch gears almost 1/3 more often. I feel like I'm back on my Ninja 250 at times.
I think 17/45 will be perfect. I'm going to take my time and find a 45 tooth rear and revisit this post then.
Id actually prefer first gear taller(its only good to about 60 mph), gearing it down just makes it useless for most purposes, and making the back wheel break loose easier in wet conditions.
Id actually prefer first gear taller(its only good to about 60 mph), gearing it down just makes it useless for most purposes, and making the back wheel break loose easier in wet conditions.
Not me, I use 1st gear mainly for pulling away from a stop. Lower gearing makes that easier on the clutch, especially with two people up an incline. Taller 1st gear makes very slow traffic a real PIA, not to mention a clutch killer.
16/43 for me. I went with a OEM VTEC front sprocket on a 5th gen and LOVE it! Power & pull down low and not a noticeable negative difference on highway or mileage.
Id actually prefer first gear taller(its only good to about 60 mph), gearing it down just makes it useless for most purposes, and making the back wheel break loose easier in wet conditions.
Not me, I use 1st gear mainly for pulling away from a stop. Lower gearing makes that easier on the clutch, especially with two people up an incline. Taller 1st gear makes very slow traffic a real PIA, not to mention a clutch killer.
Yeah, I have no use for two up riding, so I can see in your case.
I just ordered the 17/45 combo. After they have been installed, I'll report back with my impressions...
OK, the 17/45 combo have been installed for about a month now and the verdict is in. I love it! It gave me a noticeable boost of torque in the lower gears. I used to have to ride the clutch up my driveway, and now I can just leave the clutch engaged until the very top when it's time to stop. The front wheel will come up in first on full throttle acceleration, where it didn't with the original set up. Relaxed first gear starts are much easier on the clutch.
Hwy speeds around my location were about 75mph (according to my speedo) before the change, and now my speedometer reads 80mph to keep up with the flow of traffic. So, that is about right for the calculated gearing change. The few radar/speed-check trailers that I have passed indicate that my speedometer now reads about 8mph fast at 50mph (the radar indicates 50 and the speedo says 58). I haven't had anyone pace me at Hwy speeds, but my guesstimation would be that the speedo is reading about 10mph fast at around 75-80 actual speed.
I have only observed about a 3 or 4mpg reduction in fuel economy. (This is based on actual distance traveled, not the skewed speedometer/odometer readings.) I can live with that trade-off. The increase in torque and performance is well worth it!
I noticed absolutely no one runs 16/44...As it applies to a 6th gen (16/43 stock), why not? Not enough of a difference?
Is 44 tooth avaliable in steel? actually 15/44 would be about right to hit the bikes top speed, 15/43 is slightly overgeared to do that unless running down hill.
I noticed absolutely no one runs 16/44...As it applies to a 6th gen (16/43 stock), why not? Not enough of a difference?
Is 44 tooth avaliable in steel? actually 15/44 would be about right to hit the bikes top speed, 15/43 is slightly overgeared to do that unless running down hill.
I noticed absolutely no one runs 16/44...As it applies to a 6th gen (16/43 stock), why not? Not enough of a difference?
Is 44 tooth avaliable in steel? actually 15/44 would be about right to hit the bikes top speed, 15/43 is slightly overgeared to do that unless running down hill.
Actually, I'm running 17/44 for that reason. I bought the stock front cog, and would've done the same out back, but the 43T rear in 530 steel was out of stock and I'd just bought the bike, so I got the 44T to get me riding.
I don't notice too much difference, maybe a little extra pull (and front-wheel lightness :cool: ) in 1st. The speedo is now a bit farther off, about 6-7% fast, 100 km/hr indicated vs. 93 actual (in mph, 62 read vs. 57.5 actual) checked against my phone's GPS. (Mathematically, the 17/44 is 2.3% higher than 17/43 so the speedo was probably 3% off to start with.)
I guess I'd do it again if the parts counter were out of stock again? The extra acceleration is about on part with the annoyance of throwing off the speedo - for each, the difference vs stock isn't big.
Thanks Naked. Your probably right. I suppose that I should just ask Sprocket Specialist. I was concerned it might be a reference to the chain it was designed to be used with. It does fit but moves a small amount on the shaft. Not sure if that's ok or not.
Years back i went +2 in the back mainly for stop and go with a passenger. Been happy with it since, no install issues and my speedo seems spot on vs gps. Now and then i hunt for 7th but it has decent pull in 6th.
Just swapped in -1+2 steel sprockets on my 2002, with the an RK XW 520 chain conversion. More pickup, no noticeable vibration, highway cruising is fine... should have done it sooner. I have a SpeedoDRD on order though to correct the readout.
I have a 6th Gen, stock being 16/43. I just did a new 1+ on the front, new stock rear and 110 link chain. However chain seems to be 1 link short. My question do I need to go with a longer chain or can I use chain drive adjuster to correct?
-1+3 originally. I learned the hard way however that aluminum sprockets should be outlawed. I'm installing a new 45T rear right now. I started hearing a clicking noise last week, and stopped to check out what it was. I was missing ~6 teeth. In the time that it took to get the new sprocket in today, I lost over half the teeth on that sprocket. When they go, they go out catastrophically.
If the impression is anodizing an aluminum sprocket provides a hard wear coating, that would not really be accurate, anodizing on the actual teeth lasts about 5 rotations.
I think the biggest factor is the type and style of riding you do! :unsure:
If your all hwy then go with a bigger front, personally I only really ride twisties and LOVE the feel of a stronger pull out of turns. For the first 80,000 miles or so I've always cheeped out and just drop the front 1 tooth and loved it. A smaller front does create more heat in the chain IMO, but I didn't care. After 100,000 miles on it I changed to a 520 set-up and went 2 up in the rear just to see what happens.
Changing front sprockets is easy and cheap! I would buy or borrow a 1 dn (stock 6th gen)and a 1 up front just to test the feel and results, then if you like the 1 dn set-up just buy a stock front/2-3 up rear and your golden. :wink:
I went to a 1 down in front from 30,000-55,000 miles and it was great. Highway still okay(indicated 80 is only 70), but pulled hard everywhere. Then I pulled some more power out of the bike and switched between -1/+3 and -1/+0 on and off for the last 10,000 miles or so. -1/+3 is ridiculous. It wheelies with the slightest thought anywhere in first, and with a tad of effort in 2nd and will carry the front tire through fourth no problem. Every gear pulls stupid hard and there really isn't any need for down shifting for passes. 6th gear pulls all the way to redline (an indicated but not real 184). First gear is optional and it pulls second from a stop with zero effort. Only down side is constantly searching for sixth gear as you're in VTEC on the highway to keep ahead of traffic, but man rolling into the gas from an indicated 100 shows big numbers really fast (again I'm am aware that the ratio is off by an indicated 65 only resulting in a real life 55... Or 55/65).
Well recently I've been doing a lot of high speed highway riding and was feeling bad for the bike so I did a +1 in front with standard rear. It will pull from a stop in first fine but just requires a little more love from the clutch, especially if leaving in second. Rolling on hard doesn't produce stupid dramatic wheelies anymore, instead you are given a nice slow graceful rise at 7000 that is easily modulated. Second will never clutch up again, but if you are already up a foot or so off the ground in first and quick shift into second it will continue lifting through second and even third with enough determination. Fourth, I'm not going to try as that would require a ridiculously high angle and mph to maintain.
Anyways, with the +1 front/standard rear, I do constantly find myself searching for first when coming to a stop, just as I did looking for sixth when I had the one down three up, but now sixth gear is completely an overdrive gear. Sixth doesn't really pull with any urgency like it used to, but passing traffic on the turnpike at only 5000 RPMs sure is nice. Funny thing now is sometimes I find myself on the highway for five or ten minutes in fifth or sometimes even fourth before I realize I'm not in top gear lol.
I noticed absolutely no one runs 16/44...As it applies to a 6th gen (16/43 stock), why not? Not enough of a difference?
I 'm wondering the same thing. I 'm happy with the stock gearing, but I plan to change to 16/44 at some point in the future. I don't want to see my bike's MPG drop in the straights and I only want it to accelerate with slightly less effort and to be a bit easier to ride in the city. As it is right now, I can tell that my VFR doesn't like too low speed.
I've also heard that MPG might even improve with 16/44, probably because stock gearing is somewhat tall and the engine doesn't have to work so hard to accelerate the bike.
I noticed absolutely no one runs 16/44...As it applies to a 6th gen (16/43 stock), why not? Not enough of a difference?
I 'm wondering the same thing. I 'm happy with the stock gearing, but I plan to change to 16/44 at some point in the future. I don't want to see my bike's MPG drop in the straights and I only want it to accelerate with slightly less effort and to be a bit easier to ride in the city. As it is right now, I can tell that my VFR doesn't like too low speed.
I've also heard that MPG might even improve with 16/44, probably because stock gearing is somewhat tall and the engine doesn't have to work so hard to accelerate the bike.
Firebladestan runs 16/44... perhaps they could provide insight to mpg and acceleration
Y'all that need more acceleration must not have a smaller bike to ride around on sometimes. :)
After riding around on a Ninja 250R for a while, getting on the VFR is like mounting up on a jet-powered rocket sled!
That said, stock 16/43 for me.
I have a CB500X and think the same thing. I can loft the front wheel with a passenger on the back in first gear, which is only good to about 30mph. I was going to make the gearing a bit taller to make first more useable, but there were issues with potential chain wear since the same link would hit the same tooth on the sprocket each time around (on the 500 that is). The site below is an invaluable resource to theoretically decide what sizes may work for you. I haven't looked at the VFR since I am more than happy with stock gearing on the VTEC. I tend to ride in a lower gear after jumping off the 500 since the VFR seems silly fast in comparison. Then again, ask some of the guys at PRB's Fall Ride what a 500 will do 2 up in the mountains. Throttle is on the right...
Can you share your experience with modifying your sprocket sizings.
It's time for a new chain and I figured I might want to try a different sizing on the sprockets.
I'm plagued by the fact that I want it all -
Higher acceleration would be nice as I do a lot of city riding and having some extra 'umph' in 1st would be great.
However, I also do a lot of touring - and having lower revs cruising at highway speeds, and also better gas mileage, also appeals to me.
I'm riding a 99 where the stock is 17 F / 43 R.
Has anyone ever tried going lower in the rear and/or higher in the front to lower those revs?
Yes on my 01 VFR I went up 1 on the rear I do 1 or 2 on just about every bike I have owner the last few years. I just bought an 2000 VFR and will do the same on it. Faster rollons and easier obtained top speeds. It made a lot of difference to me. I was told most bikes are geared to high to reduce noise. EPA stuff.
I noticed absolutely no one runs 16/44...As it applies to a 6th gen (16/43 stock), why not? Not enough of a difference?
I 'm wondering the same thing. I 'm happy with the stock gearing, but I plan to change to 16/44 at some point in the future. I don't want to see my bike's MPG drop in the straights and I only want it to accelerate with slightly less effort and to be a bit easier to ride in the city. As it is right now, I can tell that my VFR doesn't like too low speed.
I've also heard that MPG might even improve with 16/44, probably because stock gearing is somewhat tall and the engine doesn't have to work so hard to accelerate the bike.
I've got a stock 2008 and a 2007 that I bought with 2 teeth up on the rear. I can't say anything about the mileage because the sprocket throws off the odometer and I haven't done any riding with GPS yet. However, I doubt I'll get better fuel economy because it bumps up the rpms into v-tec territory a lot more often and makes me want to twist the crap out of the throttle even more!
Slightly off-topic but I learned something with my last chain and sprocket installation. My Honda dealer had a new-to-the-VFR mechanic do my changeout. First issue: he trapped the sidestand wire between the front sprocket cover and the engine case (?) which kept the speedo drive from working. I discovered it on the way home, went back to the dealer and the mechanic pulled the ss switch wire out of the way and reinstalled the cover. 600 mi later, on the way to SumSum3, my speedo/odo stopped working again. Then while picking up Miguel in Co. Springs, Miguel fixed it.
What had happened: the sprocket that was removed was thicker that stock, as noted to me buy the shop manager at the time, but did not realize the complication it would cause. With the thinner sprocket, the speedo drive white plastic male nut cover (Dutchy insert comment here) did not engage the countershaft (?) nut. Miguel slid the white plastic thingie on its axle toward the nut, engagement was achieved, and I was back in business. Thank you HS!
I hope this spares someone some head scratching in the future.
I'm going to try +1 front on my 4th Gen 1997. The new 17T sprocket is 15mm thick and the original 16T sprocket is 17mm thick. Do I need to back space the new 17T sprocket with a 1mm spacer/washer to make the new front teeth run in the same line as the original sprocket?
I'm going to try +1 front on my 4th Gen 1997. The new 17T sprocket is 15mm thick and the original 16T sprocket is 17mm thick. Do I need to back space the new 17T sprocket with a 1mm spacer/washer to make the new front teeth run in the same line as the original sprocket?
..blackdot/Tom
No need to add a spacer; the white-colored plastic male nut cover (wish I knew what it is called - I cannot find it in the parts fiche) can slide on it's axle. If you move it too close to the engine it will back itself off. It moves easily on it's axle.
I'm going to try +1 front on my 4th Gen 1997. The new 17T sprocket is 15mm thick and the original 16T sprocket is 17mm thick. Do I need to back space the new 17T sprocket with a 1mm spacer/washer to make the new front teeth run in the same line as the original sprocket?
..blackdot/Tom
No need to add a spacer; the white-colored plastic male nut cover (wish I knew what it is called - I cannot find it in the parts fiche) can slide on it's axle. If you move it too close to the engine it will back itself off. It moves easily on it's axle.
Keep in mind I'm talking about a fifth gen.
I understand that bit, what I was refering to was the path of the chain would be 1mm closer to the engine as it makes its way around the front sprocket.
BTW, Partszilla calls that part a Speedometer Joint.
Okay, I've got an '06, and I'm ready to go -1 on the front, do I also need a new chain, or will stock do? And If I do, any reccomendations on brand/type of chain?
My understanding is an '06 is a sealed o-ring type? What's a good place to pick up a 16t front?
Okay, I've got an '06, and I'm ready to go -1 on the front, do I also need a new chain, or will stock do? And If I do, any reccomendations on brand/type of chain?
My understanding is an '06 is a sealed o-ring type? What's a good place to pick up a 16t front?