Sprocket Selection for Long-Distance Riding

[TxAg2015]

So I'm looking at stepping up to an FZ6 from my old EX500. I've done/do a lot of long-distance riding, so on that bike I went from 16/41 stock gearing to 17/38 for a little more comfortable ride: less vibration, better fuel economy, etc. It looks like the FZ6 has a bit shorter gearbox than the EX, but I think most people would still probably consider it a much more comfortable bike to do long days on than the EX. Particularly for those of you that tend more towards touring, what gearing do you run on the FZ?

I ride pretty conservatively in town, so I don't lose much sleep over losing a bit of acceleration capability by gearing taller. I would think that after being used to going +1/-3 on a pretty underpowered bike like the Ninja 500, that even a tall gearing on the FZ6 would feel significantly more punchy, but I could be wrong.

Also on the topic of touring but off-topic for this thread, has anyone ever tried installing a true cruise control system (like the Rostra kit) on their FZ6? I installed one recently on my Ninja and it works pretty nicely (although the installation was a bit difficult). I couldn't find any mention of anyone doing that on the FZ, but then again, I've never heard of anyone else doing it on a Ninja 500 either...kind of a screwball modification...

 

[Motogiro]

:welcome: to this great forum! When I had the FZ6 I thought the stock gearing was pretty sufficient for cruising speeds and most sprocket mods seemed to go the other way for more low end grunt.
Really good guys to talk to might be Supersprox. They are Supersprox USA |

 

[TxAg2015]

Ah, well good deal. Leaving it alone would be even better! Thanks!

 

[The_Paragon]

From what I've heard there's been a member or two that have gone from a 16 to a 17t front sprocket and have been happy with the results.

That being said,
I've logged 30,000 miles in the last 3 years on my FZ. Including 2 trips from WI to Colorado. I've always found the stock gearing to be sufficient.

That also being said... Cruising I-80 though Iowa and Nebraska at 80+mph, had the rpm's right up there.. I cant say that a 17t front would have hurt the situation. I'm sure it would have been a little happier with a +1 front sprocket.

 

[TxAg2015]

Ok, that's good to hear. Sounds like your usage pattern is similar to mine. Might go one up in the front then, I'll just have to ride around some and get a feel for it. But nothing crazy like +1/-4.

BTW, is that an old FZR400 in your avatar pic by any chance?

 

[The_Paragon]

Ok, that's good to hear. Sounds like your usage pattern is similar to mine. Might go one up in the front then, I'll just have to ride around some and get a feel for it. But nothing crazy like +1/-4.

BTW, is that an old FZR400 in your avatar pic by any chance?

It wouldn't hurt. I also keep a 15t front sprocket in the tool box, sometimes I throw it on when I know im not going to be going any long distances, or if I want to go to the strip with some friends.. it just gives it a little more low end pep.

I WISH it was an FZR400!! Its a 1986 FZ600. I owned it for a couple years but ended up selling so I could buy my FZ6. I sort of wish I still had it just because it looked really nice.., but the bike was a total electrical and mechanical nigh-mare. It spent more time in my shop than on the road.

 

[ShoopCE]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I haven't tried changing sprockets because I've been happy with the stock setup. Most of my miles are either commuting (6 miles each way) or local twisty roads. Once or twice a year I find myself on the interstate to get to point B. The bike runs fine for hours at 5,500 - 6,000 RPM for interstate speeds.(And it's also perfectly happy at 7,000 RPM.) But there have been many times I've tried for a higher gear and found I was already there. So the 17 t front might work well.

One advantage I've heard of is that the 17t sprocket comes pretty close to making the speedometer read the correct speed. With the stock gearing, the speedometer reads about 5% higher than actual. I'm a chemist (and probably OCD about accuracy of instrument readings) and it really bothered me to find the speedo was incorrect, though on the side of not getting a speeding ticket that you didn't know you deserved. Many of us on the forum have added a SpeedoDRD or SpeedoHealer whiich can be calibrated to make the speedometer read the actual speed. Though the mileage (odometer) will be correspondingly decreased. But from other threads I head that the speedo is pretty close to accurate when you replace the 16t stock front sprocket with a 17t - without any other correction. Though that's probably not the best reason to switch sprockets. :Flash:

Chris

 

[TxAg2015]

One advantage I've heard of is that the 17t sprocket comes pretty close to making the speedometer read the correct speed. With the stock gearing, the speedometer reads about 5% higher than actual. I'm a chemist (and probably OCD about accuracy of instrument readings) and it really bothered me to find the speedo was incorrect, though on the side of not getting a speeding ticket that you didn't know you deserved.

Yeah, I hear you there. I'm an electrical engineer, so digital instruments that don't read properly drive me nuts too. I plan to probably install the SpeedoDRD to combat my OCD. I guess it's pretty common for sportbikes to read high on the speedo, but I got spoiled by my 500 that somehow is within 1%.

I WISH it was an FZR400!! Its a 1986 FZ600. I owned it for a couple years but ended up selling so I could buy my FZ6. I sort of wish I still had it just because it looked really nice.., but the bike was a total electrical and mechanical nigh-mare. It spent more time in my shop than on the road.

Aww man. My dad had an old '89 FZR400 racebike in the late 90s/early 00s. A fine machine, but at that point it was pretty old and spent more time in the garage than on the track as well.

 

[tejkowskit]

I've put about 25,000 miles on a 17t up front and stock in the rear. Many of those miles being longer roadtrips. Still has plenty of power for tooling around town, and fast acceleration. It is much more comfortable than the stock 16t. I have no intentions on going back to the 16t. The 17t also corrects the error in the speedometer. Lowers the RPM obviously, and makes cruising on interstate at 70-80mph much more comfortable.

 

[ScooterAddict]

Instead of replacing the front sprocket with +1, can I reduce the rear sprocket 1T-3T and get the same results, including more accurate speedometer? It would be easier and cheaper for me cause my rear sprocket is damaged and needs to be replaced. My chain is pretty new and is really far forward so if I go smaller in the back, I have plenty of adjustment left. (Maybe??) Where is the spedo sensor located? In the tranny or the frt or rear wheels? At 60yrs old, the bike is plenty fast and pulls great. So I don't think I'll notice much. If need be I'll just do a little bit more break-dancing on the shifter!

Scott

 

[FinalImpact]

Doing the back is fine and a good plan given your situation...
Now poke around for a 44 or whatever suits your fancy.... this link was from another thread.

Note; clean and oil the nuts and studs before removing the nuts. If metal is made when removing the locking nuts from the sprocket replace the nuts or risk pulling threads from the studs!

Sunstar 46 teeth

 

[motojoe122]

I do a mix of long distance and commuting. Really have not found a reason to change from stock gearing.


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