has anyone changed up the sprockets on their bike? ive been doing a little reading and it looks like the stock setup is 17T front and 42T rear. i would like to swap them out for new ones, but am unsure if i want to bump up the tooth count or not.

has anyone bumped up the rear a couple teeth or even done one down in the front as well? how does the bike react? i know its a big, heavy bike, but are you constantly fighting to keep the wheel down? i wont mind a drop in MPG or the higher RPM at highway speeds.

 

17/42 is stock like your said

I run 18/44 at the moment ..........smoother almost stock , like it as it's a slightly taller ratio for touring , tiny bit slower off the line.

Having said that sometimes I'll slap my 16 tooth on there which gets her off the line
waay faster ...........but higher rpm when touring and on the highway

Depends what you are looking for ??

BTW 18tooth requires a little grinding with a mini grinder !

 

Better to leave the front at 17, and take the rear up maybe two teeth. I've run my front as low as 15, but she turns into a wheelie machine, even with 42 on the rear.
Don't forget that the more teeth on the rear/less teeth on the front, the more your speedo will over read.And the worse your gas mileage will be.
Remember that if you go really radical, you'll have to lengthen/shorten the chain, too.
Sprocket has gone to an 18 on the front - he likes it...............my mind isn't made up on that.................

 

thanks guys, i just didnt know how it would take to upping the teeth in the back. i figured since it is a heavy bike it wont make a super dramatic increase in the wheel being off the ground, but i suppose it does. for a bike that i run on the street and not at the track would you guys suggest leaving the front stock at 17 and bumping the rear up to 44 or so?

i was thinking a 16 front 44 rear would be fun, but it sounds like im going to be seeing a lot of sky that way from how you guys are talking. how true is that?

 

well adding just a 44 will get you some more acceleration

adding a 16 and a 44 will give you a lot more acceleration but as for the
wheely machine idea ..........it'd be more like 48 or 50 rear and then you'd
have to get into the upgrading the front forks as the bike is way to heavy
begin with ............. these are not bikes that are useful for that.

16/44 you'll accelerate real good but speedo will be way off..

Me, I like the 18 on the front cause it also gives much more clearence
on the swingarm ......barely ever touches the rubber cover in fact
less chain slap

 

This is what I've been running for a while now, and I like it a lot. It takes off a little better than stock, and cruising speeds (say 70mph) only brings the RPMs up a couple hundred.

 

sounds like thats what ill go for then. thanks for the help, fellas.

 

another question, for those of you that have increased rear teeth, do you have a longer chain? the stock is 114 links and im wondering if while im increasing the rear two teeth i should also add a link or two. i had plans on picking up a nice DID gold x-ring chain.

 

You shouldn't have to change the number of links if you don't want to. You will just have to move the rear wheel ahead about 8mm (or .3in).

However, a lot of aftermarket chains come as 120links anyway, so it wouldn't matter if you went that route. I use RK Gold X-Ring chains like THIS. They are 120links so you can just cut it down. It you cut it to 115links, it should be almost perfect.

 

sounds good.

does anyone have any opinions on master links? id almost like to go with a clip style versus a rivet style just for ease of install and removal. i know id have to check it more often to make sure it didnt get loose and what not, but i havent heard many opinions about it to tell you the truth. my old bike ran a clip style a i never had a problem with it.