gear ratios
 

can anyone tell me what, if any performance advantage i would get by lowering front sprocket by one tooth? i just bought my superhawk in august 07. i love the bike but i have heard dropping one tooth will really affect performance. thanks for any help or advice

Speedo Will Be Off About 6-8 Mph,but Will Be Alot More Fun To Drive!!!!

there is a bigger difference when you drop to 15/41 than to 15/43, based on ratios. 15/43 can power wheelie in second in my case with raised rear and dropped front end. i imagine stock height would power wheelie in second with 15/41. be careful.

rnb, you bought your bike in the future?!?!?

john titor has made his way to SHF

but in regards to your question...it makes it a helluvalot more fun to ride

This is a good mod, and one I would reccommmend more than 15/43. I find 15/43 to be too short, it makes first gear too low and it revs too high when cruising.

15/41 or 16/43 (my current combo) are good options. This is just my opinion of course, many people love 15/43. But with my engine mods first gear was a bit useless.

thanks for the feedback. sorry i bought my bike august 06. cut me some slack i'm gettin old!!!!!

I went sraight to a 44 rear :shock: its much better

15/44 here...1st gear is useless, Im good at keeping the front down in 2nd but if I ease up my body position at all it'll come right up.....

It's SO much fun....heh

Shayne, my next mod was going to be 16/43 swap, I really wanted 15/43 but most of my riding is high-way straight riding, about what rpm's are you at at say 75 mph, also do you have the 520 pitch or 530?? thanks,Neil

I like the 16/43, it works well. I have a 520 conversion.

As for revs I calculate that in 6th gear at 4000rpm you will be doing 67mph, and at 5000rpm you will be doing 84mph. This is calculated off a spreadsheet based on the VTR gear ratios, and using a sprocket combo of 16/43 with a 180 section tyre, and is accurate (tested with a GPS). Your speedo will not read this of course, but if you use a Speedohealer you can adjust it to be spot on.

Think you could plug my numbers into that thing, or give me a link to it if it's online? I'm 15/44, 180 back tire....I'm mainly interested in what rpms I turn in 6th at 70 mph...I think it's somewhere between 4500 and 5000 but I dont know for sure

While I had my bike apart I was so close and the parts were so cheap that I did the 15T sprocket in the front and left it at that. I did like the extra dig coming out of the corners and for a lighter rider (I'm 165) it could be just right. Didn't seem to affect my top end much as I got popped by the locals for 85 in a 65 my first time out in the country. I knew I was doing 5500 on the tach but I had no clue how fast I was actually going until it was pointed out to me. Being polite does pay off - he checked for warrants and let me go.

I am running a 15/44 combo and love it.
I am a wheelie whore tho.

I will have a look at the spreadsheet, and see if we can get it posted up for everyone.

Ok, I have loaded it into the Knowledge Base.

got my 15t sprocket on saturday, went for a ride. i must say i was impressed with the difference in acceleration. front is hard to keep down in first gear. iwill still need some help learning to wheelie in second gear. any tips would be appreciated.

i went from a 16/41 to a 16/43, its great i have the 520 and it will come right up in second if your not careful 1st gear is a blast to. i got it done last week and i cant stop riding it its so much better than before

practice your wheelie thats all i can say.

What is stock gearing?

41/16