Adding teeth, taking teeth away...Whats the deal?

Big Moe

Big Moe

Registered
Whats up Fam, the ole girl has about 13,000 on her and was looking at swapping out the chain and both sprockets. My question is whats the difference or should I say reasoning for dropping or adding teeth on the sprockets versus the stock application? Found some info during searches, but nothing that explains the differences. What are you all running? Thanks in advance, be safe!!

Chris
 
Droping teeth in the front sprocket or adding teeth on the rear sprocket will give you more acceleration but also takes away from your top speed.
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Big Moe said:
Whats up Fam, the ole girl has about 13,000 on her and was looking at swapping out the chain and both sprockets. My question is whats the difference or should I say reasoning for dropping or adding teeth on the sprockets versus the stock application? Found some info during searches, but nothing that explains the differences. What are you all running? Thanks in advance, be safe!!

Chris
Click to expand...


Going down teeth in the front and up teeth in the back will give you more low end power, and limit your top speed capabilities.

On a gen1 going down 2 in front and up 1 in the rear is fairly popular, and what I run. I think it brings the top end down to about 180.

Going down 1 tooth in the front is equiv I believe to going up 3 or 4 in the rear... don't remember the exact ratio.

I think some of the super high HP turbo guys actually do the opposite for top speed runs.
 
moloko said:
Going down teeth in the front and up teeth in the back will give you more low end power, and limit your top speed capabilities.

On a gen1 going down 2 in front and up 1 in the rear is fairly popular, and what I run. I think it brings the top end down to about 180.

Going down 1 tooth in the front is equiv I believe to going up 3 or 4 in the rear... don't remember the exact ratio.

I think some of the super high HP turbo guys actually do the opposite for top speed runs.
Click to expand...

Oh ok, im gettin it! Well im quite sure that right now my needle will never see 180, lol! Although I would love to break into the track scene! And by the way I have a GEN I. Thanks for the info!
 
moloko said:
Going down teeth in the front and up teeth in the back will give you more low end power, and limit your top speed capabilities.

On a gen1 going down 2 in front and up 1 in the rear is fairly popular, and what I run. I think it brings the top end down to about 180.

Going down 1 tooth in the front is equiv I believe to going up 3 or 4 in the rear... don't remember the exact ratio.

I think some of the super high HP turbo guys actually do the opposite for top speed runs.
Click to expand...

i think most people go down 1 front, up two rear. the smaller the front the tighter radius the chain has to make.
 
Moloko has it the wrong way around. The popular conversion is to go -1 at front and +2 at the rear. On a Gen 1 it means losing about 30km/h off the top end but the acceleration is vastly improved. I did it with my 06 and love it.
 
Rainbow7 said:
. The popular conversion is to go -1 at front and +2 at the rear. On a Gen 1 it means losing about 30km/h off the top end but the acceleration is vastly improved. I did it with my 06 and love it.
Click to expand...

ditto here, and sicnce i dont ever plan to go 180 mph, i love the extra burst of speed when i want it :laugh:
 
I actually did the opposite of what everyone is talking about. Since I commute 120 miles a day with my bike, I was looking for better high end power and MPG at interstate speeds. I left the front stock (18) and went down to a 39 (stock was 43). I do have to be sure to be in 1st gear when coming to a rolling stop/yield, but other than that it works great for my application.
 
If you go -1 or more in the front the bike will "feel" faster revving and as if it has lost some torque, but accelerate quicker. Going +2 or 3 in the rear will make it "feel" as if you have alot more torque, and you will still accelerate quicker. Your top speed goes down with either in every gear, as all the gears will now wind out faster.
I'de go +2 or 3 in the rear first, then try adding the -1 front if you want(fronts are cheap)either or both will fit the stock length chain. A properly maintained and adjusted chain will not suffer from trying different gearing combinations either.
-1 front being equal to +3 rear is also a myth, as explained above. The overall gearing may be close on a chart, but the real world feel is much different.
 
Big Moe said:
Define suck, lol!
Click to expand...

Well, I get something like 70km out of half a tank...but that also has a lot to do with the way I ride. (I'm always in either second or third gear, at 7-9000rpm.)

And I define "suck" as being "anything done by the Obama Administration".
 
gearingcommander.com

Not all that good to go down in front, chain works better stock, up on the rear will produce more wheel spin, more wheelie action, and a peppier ride, but will shorten top end speed. Going down on the rear will make the bike a little sluggish, and theoretically increase top end speed, but unless you have added some serious ponie from the crate it's not gonna happen.

Stock :whistle:
 
I went down 2 in the front, and up 3 in the back. Pulls like a champ, but dies top end!!
 
Sous said:
I actually did the opposite of what everyone is talking about. Since I commute 120 miles a day with my bike, I was looking for better high end power and MPG at interstate speeds. I left the front stock (18) and went down to a 39 (stock was 43). I do have to be sure to be in 1st gear when coming to a rolling stop/yield, but other than that it works great for my application.
Click to expand...

So what were the specific beneficial results from this? Was their a noticeable increase in fuel efficiency?
 
Oops, my bad. Got my fronts and backs turned around. It's been a long day.
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