Which chain and sprocket set? (And, more teeth on rear?)

[Alek]

Hi all,

New forum member here (just said hi in the Welcome Inn).

I need a new chain and sprocket set for my newly purchased VTR and wondered if any of you had any specific recommendations?

I always preferred the "better than standard" options so something a bit more expensive than a stock replacement is fine - a nice race-spec chain would be good. Also, one thing I have always done on my bikes recently is gone up a tooth or two on the rear sprocket. It's usually not a major impact on wheelie-factor so I'm tempted to do this on the VTR too, even though I do keep hearing the front wheel does come up easily on this thing, although I haven't experienced this yet.

So, does anyone have some direct links to some well-priced sets I could look at? I'm hoping to order one ASAP as my current chain is making horrific grinding noises!

Many thanks,
Alek.

[Miztaziggy]

Hi mate,

Have you checked your sprockets to see if they are worn?

Have you checked that your back wheel is on straight and is aligned properly? When you refit a back wheel and misalign it, it really makes some noise from the chain.

If you need to replace, ive been told these ones are good (X ring being better than the O ring chains).
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VTR1000-Firestorm ... 4cf49efbd0

[Alek]

Hmm.. when I got the bike, the chain was quite loose and slapping the exhaust a bit underneath... As we were near his friend's workshop, we went over and got one of the bike mechanics to tighten it. It's made that noise a lot worse since then so you might be right but he seemed to know what he was doing (and there were high end bikes there) so I just assumed it was done correctly. Thanks for the tip though.

I'll check the alignment somehow (urgh it's been a while so will have to research a bit), but will still probably want a new chain and sprocket set for piece of mind. I'm known to wheelie my bikes through the gears too so always need to be absolutely 100% confident in my chain and sprockets etc before I do stuff like that.

Got any links to anything around the 150 quid mark maybe?

Oh and I found this set from some company called Talon, though I haven't heard of them before. Any opinions?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HONDA-FIRESTORM-9 ... 2080wt_832

Also, I jsut read in another thread that I should perhaps go for a 16/45 setup instead of the standard 16/41. Any further comments on this? And would a 16/43 setup work just as well? I want to have a bit more of an edge on acceleration but dont want to overdo it for when coming out of the corners on the dodgy spanish roads here.

Thanks!

[Miztaziggy]

No idea on sprocket sizes mate, mine are standard...but if you change them remember your speedo will be out and you will need a speedo healer.

I wouldnt try to buy the most expensive chain you can, as I really dont think buying for more money always means you get a better quality. Sometimes you can get something just as good for less money. Example being you can get a standard set for £125
http://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/VTR1 ... art_24790/

But being £125 doesnt make them any better than the x ring type DID ones off ebay for £80.

When he tightened your chain, he may have only done the chain side adjuster, which will have twisted the wheel and will cause a lot of chain noise.

Its quite easy to check, just clean the silver chain adjuster things so you can see the notches. Make sure both sides are on the same notch. To do mine, I loosened the back wheel and then turned both adjusters clockwise until the chain was slack and the adjuster was at the same point on both sides. For me this was at the start of the second notch.

Then you turn them both anti clockwise to tighten the chain. Turn them both 1 or 2 turns at a time, checking the tightness of the chain. When it is correct, make a note of what notch the chain side is on, then adjust the brake side of the wheel so that it matches exactly.

When you do this - your wheel will be aligned enough that it wont make too much noise, try it and see if it helps. If it does, then your alignment was out and problem solved.

You will need to fine tune the alignment still, and you can do this with a long bit of string, or laser line etc...there are loads of tutorials online for that.

[Alek]

ok many thanks for that! I was wondering if I had to go through the string method. wasnt sure if using the adjusters would be enough as I have heard they can be damaged or squished or something on firestorms?

Also, as I have just landed in the country and have no tools I'll have to figure out what I need for this first little jobby. I'm tempted not to touch the rear wheel without a torque wrench as I have not dealt with an engine with so much torque before so not sure if doing it with a normal wrench is so sensible (unlike on my old two strokes etc), although I guess I did it with a normal wrench on my old fireblade once and seemed ok..

I get what you mean about the pricing etc and I guess that's fair enough. But do you think the Talon set might be alright or...? I mean, at least it looks kinda nice and I can choose my tooth numbers.

[Alek]

Oh yeah and the speedo being out.. Not heard of "healers" yet.. will google..
If I put a larger sprocket on the back, will that mean the speedo will be slow or fast compared to the real speed?

[sirch345]

Alek, I personally think a 43 tooth rear sprocket is a good move. That's 2 extra than the standard sprocket. It's not mental, but it does make the bike nicer to ride meaning you can use top gear more too. Also it's not revving it's nuts off going down the motorway with just that amount of gearing change. You can use a standard length chain with a 43 tooth rear sprocket.

A Speedo Healer is also a good mod if you change the gearing. Lowering the gearing (bigger rear sprocket or smaller front) means you're showing a faster speed than you are actually doing.

Chris.

[Alek]

That's great. Thank you!

[Alek]

Hmm 85 quid.. A bit pricier than I would have liked (really trying to work on a budget at the moment) but they make a good point about adding extra false miles on the odometer.. Unless I find a cheaper second hand one, I might leave the speedo healer until next month but excellent advice, thanks.

[Stormer Dave]

I'd have a look at this site which gives you some good indicators of the changes with sprokets sizes.

http://www.gearingcommander.com/

Dave

[Animal]

I changed the front to a 15 and the rear 43 tooth sprockets. Big difference in the acceleration but lose out in top end speed which you cant use anyway.
Its like having another 20hp, well worth doing. With this configoration the speedo was reading about 82mph at 70mph.
I fitted a speedo healer which is programmable for any scenario, you can even factor in worn tyres. They are expensive though.
The only downside with this sprocket configoration is the life span of the chain and sprockets has been reduced. I used to get about 18k miles out of chain and sprockets, now I only get about 11k miles.

[sirch345]

I changed the front to a 15 and the rear 43 tooth sprockets. Big difference in the acceleration but lose out in top end speed which you cant use anyway.
Its like having another 20hp, well worth doing. With this configoration the speedo was reading about 82mph at 70mph.
I fitted a speedo healer which is programmable for any scenario, you can even factor in worn tyres. They are expensive though.
The only downside with this sprocket configoration is the life span of the chain and sprockets has been reduced. I used to get about 18k miles out of chain and sprockets, now I only get about 11k miles.

Animal, try using a standard 16 tooth front sprocket and going bigger on the rear instead (like a 45 tooth), when you next fit a new chain and sprockets.

With running a smaller front sprocket you're making the chain work harder as it has a tighter radius to turn than with the standard size, that won't be helping the life span of the chain.

Chris.

[Animal]

Good point, might try that, they are due for changing soon.
Cheers

[sirch345]

Good point, might try that, they are due for changing soon.
Cheers

I should have added to my previous post that, you'll need a slightly longer chain for a 16 front and 45 rear.

Chris.

[benny hedges]

Good point, might try that, they are due for changing soon.
Cheers

I should have added to my previous post that, you'll need a slightly longer chain for a 16 front and 45 rear.

Chris.

http://www.gearingcommander.com will show how many links you will need and the difference it will make to speedo readings at certain rpm