Sprockets for city drivnig

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xs650newb

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Hey everyone,


I am a little confused about chains and front and rear sprockets.

My bike is 100% a city bike and I would like to gear it as such. I am looking for a lot of bottom end acceleration. My understanding is to get a large rear sprocket and a small front sprocket (the thing under the lhs cover). Is this correct?

This means I would get a 17 tooth front sprocket and a 38 tooth rear? What type of increase in bottom end acceleration would I see? Anyone have a guess about my top speed? From MikesXs.com I know this 17/38 is a gear ratio of 2.24 but I am not really sure what that means.

Best,
Adam
 
xs650newb said:
Hey everyone,


I am a little confused about chains and front and rear sprockets.

My bike is 100% a city bike and I would like to gear it as such. I am looking for a lot of bottom end acceleration. My understanding is to get a large rear sprocket and a small front sprocket (the thing under the lhs cover). Is this correct?

This means I would get a 17 tooth front sprocket and a 38 tooth rear? What type of increase in bottom end acceleration would I see? Anyone have a guess about my top speed? From MikesXs.com I know this 17/38 is a gear ratio of 2.24 but I am not really sure what that means.

Best,
Adam
Click to expand...

Stock gearing in USA was 17/34 I believe. In Canada it was 17/36. My bike came with the 17/36, and that is just the thing to race from one red light to the next red light in the city. It gives very snappy acceleration. It's not so good for the expressway. The expressway guys go for the 17/30 or even 18/30!

I now use 17/33 because its a good compromise. 17/38 would be geared very low for sure. The only way to know for sure is the "seat of the pants test"..................buy a sprocket and try it out. I think a 17/36 is what you want.
 
Thank you for the detailed response.

That is good news because the 17T is stock so one less thing to buy. Mikes sells the 36 (and 38) rear sprocket in 530 as well. My chain needs to be replaced so I need to get a new 530 chain. I have never replaced a chain before. Do you have any suggestions of brand? I am on a budget, but I don't want a POS. Must I buy any special tools? With a non-stock rear sprocket do I need to get a custom length chain?

Adam
 
xs650newb said:
Thank you for the detailed response.

That is good news because the 17T is stock so one less thing to buy. Mikes sells the 36 (and 38) rear sprocket in 530 as well. My chain needs to be replaced so I need to get a new 530 chain. I have never replaced a chain before. Do you have any suggestions of brand? I am on a budget, but I don't want a POS. Must I buy any special tools? With a non-stock rear sprocket do I need to get a custom length chain?

Adam
Click to expand...

If your chain is worn then the sprockets are likely well worn as well. A worn sprocket will look like the teeth are "hooked". Most manuals will show pics of "hooked" sprockets. A 38 will no doubt give real snappy acceleration, with the accompaning higher rpm (also good for stump pulling as a part time job).

Every rider will have their own recommended brand. The price will tell you what to expect in quality. Just don't buy the cheapest one you find. A standard chain will fit 33/34/36 rear sprockets..................now a 38 might need an extra link or so.
 
Hey, I live in NYC and I ride almost exclusively in the city with a few expressway trips to the beach. I'm running a 17/36 and chose this config for the same reason you are looking to. Great acceleration and I can keep up with highway traffic but I know I'm at a higher RPM than I ought to be. People say these machines really "sing" at high RPMs.
 
xs650newb said:
My chain needs to be replaced so I need to get a new 530 chain. I have never replaced a chain before. Do you have any suggestions of brand? I am on a budget, but I don't want a POS.
Click to expand...

I have bought this one a couple of times from Mike's. The first one didn't last long, maybe 5000 mi., but the problem was I was using a spray on lube and probably a bad one at that. The one I have now isn't wearing ("stretching") but for lube I slather it with motor oil. I think the first one was $20 less than the price now.

http://www.mikesxs.net/product/56-0046.html

5twins mentioned a good inexpensive chain that he said lasts a long time due to good tolerances. I may dig up the name and try it next time, but I'm happy for now.
 
You should replace both sprockets and the chain all at the same time. leaving one worn (not necessarily worn out) sprocket in place with a new cahin and rear sprocket will accelerate the wear on the worn sprocket, and on the new parts. Refresh it all. I use the Parts Unlimited X-ring and O-ring chains on my bikes. They are made by E-K, and are very good chains. After watching a chain go flying off a superbike at 170 MPH at Road America about a month ago, I'm reminded to always make sure it's healthy. A broken/derailed chain can do nothing, wreck you, trash your motor cases, or both of the previous. The stock chain is 106 links. You will need 108 links if you go to the 38 tooth rear sprocket.

I've never heard of an Izumi chain anywhere but Mikes in over 20 years of riding (Just FYI)
 
Just speaking from my own experience with commuting on a motorcycle in combined highway and city conditions for the past dozen years, Your mileage may vary.

On the chain, nobody I buy parts from carries it, and I've never seen it on a racing motorcycle in the past 12 years. Racing breeds reliability.

My Parts Unlimited (E-K) chain with Sunstar sprockets on my SV have over 20K miles on the combo. That's my experience on that. I broke a tooth off a worn countershaft sprocket on my EX500 300 miles after I changed the chain, and it trashed the chain as well.
$0.02
 
I am running a 17/37 combo, it's fine around town and there is plenty of beans left for running on the freeway. I actually find myself downshifting to fourth quite a bit on the freeway. If you want "a lot of bottom end acceleration" and only ride in town then why not go for a 17/40?
 
Here is an Excel spreadsheet that shows RPM vs MPH for all combinations of sprockets, wheels and gears including MikesXS 5th gear and primary gear. Click on the cells to reveal a pulldown to select the numbers you want.

For more accurate answers, determine your rolling distance by rolling the bike for one full turn of the rear wheel.

Revs vs MPH

Higher revs in city driving also helps to keep the battery charged
 
I went 17/32 with the overdrive 5th gear. I can definitely feel the 'taller' gearing from a stop. If you've been running the stock 17/34 and want more, try the 17/36 combo first. I might be a bit more cautious than you, however. And Pete's chart is the bomb. :D
 

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