Been doing some research online, and I read something from an ebay store (sum of all parts) that 1 down 2 up is the "perfect" gear ratio for a bike over stock gearing.
Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm looking to buy a Vortex 520 RK chain and sprocket kit, and thinking about going 1 down 2 up. Not really too concerned about the odo descrepancy that will develop, since I'm not planning on selling. . .ever.

 

i am not a big fan or vortex, i have read way too many posts on here, 600rr and 1000rr.net about the vortex sprockets throwing teeth. just be careful to check the teeth often. RK though is a good chain. 1 down 2 up is pretty common and will shift the powerband down lower so it takes off faster. You may not care about the odo reading but the speedo is a big deal. that combo will make your bike read way faster than you are really going. look into a speedohealer to compensate.

 

ehh, people say -1/+2 is the perfect gearing for every bike, whatever the stock gearing is. Its just popular because people here and read the "-1/+2" so often that it sticks in everybody's head. F4i and 600RR riders commonly use the -1/+2 even though the F4i has a 3 tooth larger rear sprocket than the RR already so a -1/+2 islike a -1/+5 on a 600RR... just a thought

I've heard avbout people thathave brokenteeth on vortex sprockets but I've been using them for several years on several different bikes and have never had that happen a single time and thats trackday/racingand street riding so I'veput plenty of milage anda crap load of tracktime which is a good bitharder on sprockets than street riding. I've seen a couple peoples' bikes in person that say they've broken teeth off their vortex sprockets and there seems to be a pattern of neglect of gigantic proportions in those riders bikes so imo it may not be all the sprockets fault.
I doubt most of these guys know how to adjust their chain, let alone check its alignment, lubed it properly, etc.
They are aluminum and will wear a little bit faster than steel sprockets as well but its not a significant difference. The guy I bought my RR from put a 520 rear sprocket on with the stock 525 chain (NOT a good idea) it stayed on there for several thousand miles before I realized it was a 520. The sprocket was worn pretty badly but no teeth ever broke and it still lasted quite a while.

The bottom line anyway is that Vortex sprockets are made for racing/track use(notice their website is vortexracing.com) so they are made of aluminum to save rotating mass and for cost (which is good cause most racers need quite a stockpile of sprockets) and for that purpose they are awesome products. I wouldn't use anything else on my bikes. That said, they're not designed for high mileage street riding but imo they can still be used on the street and will still last nearly as long as steel sprockets, especially if the chain/sprockets are properly taken care of.

 

or you can go with an aluminum AFAM 520 sprocket which according to posts i have read from brad at superbikesupply.com are just as strong as the steel counterpart due to the hardening process they go through

 

-1 +2 is your best bet. i would go with d.i.d. chain instead. of vortex but that ratio is relly good.

 

o dont get aluiminum, unless the teeth are some other metal other than Al. they will wear down soo quick or break..

 

I just installed the RK chain and sprockets (it's a gold chain though). It's a 520 conversion (whatever the hell that means). The shop I ordered it through said that it's less rotating mass, but still maintains stock gearing. Anyone else know that the hell a 520 stock-gearing conversion kit is?

 

BS
5k on the AFAM aluminum sprocket on mine and the coating isnt even worn off yet. other people on 1000rr.net have well over 15K on theirs.
you need to do more research before you spout off opinion like this. all over the internet there are posts on various forums about vortex breaking but i have yet to find one saying AFAM broke. doesnt mean that they arent out there but its not for lack of trying to find one. so far all AFAM posts i have ever read have been raving about the quality and longevity.