Sprockets / Gearing.....

[B120CR]

Could anyone please recommend what gearing, front & rear sprocket teeth, to alter from standard to give me improved mpg. Currentley use genuine Honda kits and sitting @ 90mph = approx 5,000rpm.
I'm not too worried about losing some bottom-end, simply want to lose some revs and save sum money on my daily commute. Anyone recommend an aftermarket kit which lasts and can stand up to a bit of daily abuse at similiar cost to Honda?
Thanks

[stormingjoe]

probably wouldnt gain much in mpg, i get bout 135 too a tank commuting. which not to bad, tank size is limiting factor.

[B120CR]

thanks joe. i pressume thats std?
is 16 front / 41 rear correct? (short of going in the shed and counting!

[stormingjoe]

yeah think so, renthal do a 17 front and a 39 rear, but by lowering the gearing you could get more vibration for a given speed as well.

[bikerpiker]

probably wouldnt gain much in mpg, i get bout 135 too a tank commuting. which not to bad, tank size is limiting factor.

I have managed that before ,well 130 or something

I think the most important thing for mpg is being easy on the throttle , on our ride-out last weekend i managed 55mpg (usually i get 47/48 mpg) simply cos i was not riding like a fud

[sirch345]

thanks joe. i pressume thats std?
is 16 front / 41 rear correct? (short of going in the shed and counting!

That is right for standard gearing as SJ thought

I don't think making your gearing higher IE. bigger front sprocket or smaller rear will help very much, unless the roads you ride on are mostly flat.

Your best bet to get more mpg would be a pair of free flowing cans, a carb jet kit and a free flowing air fliter, then get it set up properly on a dyno

That might sound expensive to you, but if you're covering a fair amount of miles per year it won't take long to recuperate your outlay.

Chris.

[Stratman]

on our ride-out last weekend i managed 55mpg

Why didn't you take the Storm?

I have never heard of anyone else getting those sort of mpg figures - mine has averaged 42 over the last 9 years. The larger rear sprocket puts the speedo out, so this would give a distorted mpg, but can't see how you get 55 mpg?

In my experience, fuel consumption is better if you don't change up too soon and in fact using some revs burns the fuel more efficiently. Lowering the gearing, even allowing for the speedo distortion, actually improved my mpg as the engine was running in its "sweet spot" more of the time, plus you need less gear changing.

[stormingjoe]

estimate mine tobe about 44 mpg, thats with riding fairly quickly, as been said in sweet spot when the vibs are low and sounds like the shuttle launching, my journey consists of 12 miles of a/b roads and 24 on motorway, keeping revs above 4,000 rpm

[bikerpiker]

on our ride-out last weekend i managed 55mpg

Why didn't you take the Storm?

I have never heard of anyone else getting those sort of mpg figures - mine has averaged 42 over the last 9 years. The larger rear sprocket puts the speedo out, so this would give a distorted mpg, but can't see how you get 55 mpg?

In my experience, fuel consumption is better if you don't change up too soon and in fact using some revs burns the fuel more efficiently. Lowering the gearing, even allowing for the speedo distortion, actually improved my mpg as the engine was running in its "sweet spot" more of the time, plus you need less gear changing.

that was the storm

Standard filter ,de-baffled standard cans ,and from what i remember a 15T front sprocket ,and as i said i dont always get mpg like this

Anyway ,unless ive made a mistake working it out ......

This was a mixture of roads, from motorway , to single track with passing places


I zero'd my clock in Dumbarton when i filled it up , we then headed up the side of Loch Lomond , over to Arrochar ,.. at the Rest and be Thankfull we then turned off and went to Lochgoilhead, before travelling on to Inveraray .

On the return journey i filled it up again(in Strachur) ...it took £6.60 and had done 83 miles.

At a guess price of 95p/litre (Never noticed the price but prob is expensive there) thats 6.94 litres.

6.94 litres converted into gallons (6.94litres divided by 4.55 = 1.52 gallons

83miles divided by 1.52 = ..............................54.6 MPG.....Not sure how far out that will be cos of the small sprocket

[Stratman]

Well, I'm amazed

Must work mine out again next time I go out - will try an economy run over a similar distance.

[B120CR]

Thanks for the feedback all....
I run aftermarket cans, jetting unknown, standard sprockets, 65+ miles daily on flat, straight, boring A roads and Im getting not much more than 100 miles to the tank and/or approx £8+ a day. Does that calculate?!?!?
Average speed around 80+ (sorry officer!) not pushing much harder than 5000rpm through the box.
I pressumed that less revs meant less fuel spent.
Hey, who cares, I'll keep popping it in the tank and burning it.....needs must.
(Train fare 35% more expensive, buses dont run early or late enough & if I cycled I'd be dead within a week, either from heart failure or by some friendly driver decorating me across the road because they were too impatient to go around me safely!)