Opinions and Experiences wanted on Chain and Sprocket replacement
 

Hello all,

I'll be replacing my stock Chain and sprockets for the upcoming riding season. I'm currently looking into one of two ways to go....

1. Drop a tooth (to 15) on the front sprocket, add 2 in the rear (to 48). Replace the chain

2. Replace both front and rear sprocket with stock values (16 up front, 46 in the rear) and replace the chain.

For option 1, I'm a little worried about the change in fuel economy, handling characteristics, and exactly how high the engine will rev as I find sustained periods of time (Highway driving) with a whining engine can get a little annoying). Can anybody who has made this change tell me how much of a difference you have noted in fuel economy and RPM increase?

In addition to this, can anybody recommend a specific chain and sprocket manufacturer, explaining why you feel it's best to go with your recommendation.

I've been doing quite a bit of research but everything on the manufacturers sites are so subjective. I'd like to hear some real world experience.

I'd love to get more power out of my F4i, and don't necessarily care about the drop in top end, as speeds of 250+ do not interest me. I'm also a little concerned about how the artificial increase in torque impacts ridability, as opposed to buying a more powerful bike.

Thanks in advance for any insight you guys can provide :)

P.

What kind of riding do you do mostly and what gear are you usually in? A lot of highway cruising/commuting where youre in 6th gear? Mainly local where youll be in 4th or 5th at the most?

It's really a mixed bag. Everything from commuting to and from work to joy rides with buddies and on my own. Most of those are in the country where I can find some winding roads.

Hi Peligro,

Give Chad (or staff) a call at SprocketCenter (www.sprocketcenter.com) - 888.265.2141. Excellent products & service. They have knowledgeable staff that can answer your questions. I'm not affiliated w/ them in any way other than being a customer. However, my experiences (& others that I know that use them) have always been very positive.

Good luck.

When i purchased my bike, the seller had already purchased a new chain and sprocket kit, and just gave it to me with the bike. I'm currently installing it right now, it's a -1/+2 (15 front 48 back).

http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=1061

I'll let you know how it runs and everything after i get to take it out for a spin. I misplaced the masterlink, so i had to reorder it, waiting for it to come in.

Gotcbr - Thanks, I'll give them a shout and see what kind of advice they can give me.

Dragondima - That would be great!! That's precisely the setup I was looking at so your feedback will be fantastic for my application. I still have a bit of time as the snow is still on the ground here in Canada. Another couple of weeks and after the dirt and salt has been washed off the roads I'll have my bike out and ready to put the finishing touches on for this year. Looking forward to hearing your results.

Cheers,

P.

i have a -1/+2 kit on mine, vortex sprockets, RK chain, i found them in a kit online for a reasonable price and the place cut the chain to the correct length for me. thats all ive ever had as far as sprocket size goes so i dont have much to compare it with but i did ride my buddies who was stock and i much prefer the -1/+2 setup. i did some highway cruising on it, not regularly, but i never remember cruising at excessively high RPMs while on the highway. and handling or anything has never really been an issue for me with this setup.

if you decide to go with the setup i have, i believe it was called the QA (quick acceleration) kit

you could maybe go -1/+0 if you didnt feel comfortable going with the +2 but i know i prefer the +2.

Your fuel economy will obviously drop a little bit. Nothing you can do about that.

The RPMs will not be raised by a whole hell of a lot. Maybe 1-1.5k max depending on speed and gear. Unless you have an obnoxious exhaust, I doubt it will bother you.

I went -1/+1 personally, and am happy with it. I don't do wheelies or anything, but I enjoy the twisties and hit the drag and road race tracks now and then.