Updated info or suggestions for 520 chain conversion??

I do the same to all my machines too. No problem with people that stay stock but I have modded everything I have owned. lol
Rotational mass is not even addressed by most. Usually when you hear about it its pertaining to wheels. Going from heavy OEM to light weight rims makes a big difference that can be immediately felt. Even on short wheel base smaller bikes I can tell the difference. My son has a YZ 125 and my nephew has the exact same bike except he has light weight rims. Bike feels much more flickable especially on the supermoto coarse.

 

I do the same to all my machines too. No problem with people that stay stock but I have modded everything I have owned. lol
Rotational mass is not even addressed by most. Usually when you hear about it its pertaining to wheels. Going from heavy OEM to light weight rims makes a big difference that can be immediately felt. Even on short wheel base smaller bikes I can tell the difference. My son has a YZ 125 and my nephew has the exact same bike except he has light weight rims. Bike feels much more flickable especially on the supermoto coarse.

 

Gator, I am on board with you, I just didn't get what you were saying at first. I have been 520 chain for the last 40,000 miles.

 

So the Wolfee is right as usual

 

Roger that fellow Floridian. 40k! Nice.

 

Oh, I see. This is similar to an oil thread or a tires thread . . .











.

 

Similar but very different. Oil is a very slippery subject. lol

 

while I don't doubt you noticed the difference on the yzf (due to 2 wheels and the size of the radii). I'm struggling to believe the "flickability" of a bike is noticeably affected by a simple swap of 530 down to 520. While I don't doubt there is an improvement, I'm thinking it's more along the lines of the "improvement" seen on the dyno. being not much. Unless you know of a study where they compared force of N's required to countersteer and amount of time to get to set lean angle on both setups....

a general rule of thumb for any motorsports is you want to see at least a 10% performance improvement for any mod to be appreciable.

In the case of super lightweight sprockets, I can get OEM style 530s from JT for dirt cheap that last forever.

 

Go 520 and -1+2 and you will notice a difference.

 

Lol
Yes you would notice that big time. By far the biggest bang for the buck is regearing. minus one +2 is very common and a big improvement in acceleration. But you do lose some top end.

 

Not sure if you would notice much on the VFR but I could tell on a CBR 1000. Subtle yes, but like I said earlier every little thing counts and when you add them up it is noticeable. So if you have to change your sprockets and chain why not go with something that's a little bit better. I can live with 40k on a new 520 set up.

 

A one down upfront is great. A one down three up is insane. It just comes down to personal tastes and how much highway riding that you need to do.
A one down three up is awesome around town, but you dont want to be on the highway for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time with it.
A one down up front with a factory sized rear, provides the best compromise between a little extra fun around town, without hurting highway cruising too much.

 

A larger diameter tire (190/55) will change your gearing too the other way.
-1 +1 with he 190/55 tire is close to just a -1 up front. Years ago before the 190/55 was a popular track tire we would do a -1 +1 for an overall gearing for tracks. Slower technical tracks on a 1k with that gearing was not the best, a -1 +2 would be better but I did not want to go through the extra time and money of regearing for different tracks. Some guys would carry several front and read rear sprockets and several chains.

 

I've thought about changing the gearing, but decided it wasn't really necessary at the time. I only weigh in at 135-140, so the bike performs very well in stock form with me on it.

And I also commute on it a lot, so keeping fuel mileage is somewhat high on the list of things to attain.

Besides, if I'm pushing hard through some twisties, then a gear or two down and keeping the motor spooling in that VTEC range provides plenty of power and performance, and an added benefit is that I like to use the engine braking from the higher RPM versus wheel braking when pushing corners... seems like the less the suspension is deflecting, the more comfortable and controllable the bike feels. :triumphant: