Fella's - Im having some trouble finding a rear alloy sprocket to suit my ride. Does anyone know where I can get one at a reasonable price? Im thinking to drop a couple of teeth for improved top end power (45 on at the moment and want to get a 43 tooth sprocket), although I have people telling me I need to go up in teeth to get the "take off" power?? I think I need to go down in size - Can anyone confirm this? Also, what other bike sprocket would fit my viffer? Thanks
I am not sure what your goal is... what do you mean by top end power? If you go to a smaller rear sprocket you will most likely not even gain any speed on the top end and your acceleration to that point will be less. The only benifit to decreasing the stock gearing would be to gain a lower rpm at cruising highway speeds. I am not sure about your bike but the 5th gen stock rear sprocket is 43 teeth and it is a popular mod to run 45 tooth sprockets on the 5th gen. My guess is that the PO of your bike went one or two up in the rear to get some better acceleration. Do some digging and find out how many teeth are stock on the 4th gen bikes. I would not recomed getting a smaller than stock rear sprocket.
The more teeth you add to the rear, the more acceleration you'll have, while loosing top-speed. The more teeth you remove from the rear, the less acceleration you'll have. Reducing teeth will give you stronger acceleration at high speeds, call it 90+ miles per hour. Common logic for a street fighter would be to add teeth inorder to move torque further down the tach, therefore decreasing your 0-100mph times. In fact if I were to personally turn a VFR into a street fighter I would probably go down 1 tooth in the front and add at least two teeth to the rear, maybe three or four. Total wheelie machine at that point. I just went through the sprocket thing myself. I also decided on aluminum for the performance benefits. I know someone is going to say they don't last as long, but in my opinion it's worth the weight savings to the drive system and the freed up horse power. After lots of shopping and some asking around, the only aluminum sprocket I found that was good for 10,000+ miles, was the Vortex F5 PTFE hardcoated. I went with a 520 conversion so the chain needed to be replaced as well. Not entirely sure if Vortex makes a 530 (OEM) for the VFR. There is a link below. That won't link for some reason, it's vortexracing.com and search. You're looking for part #249a in the black PTFE hardcoated for a VFR. Just choose the year.
Try this thread instead, all of the relavent links are in Norcal's posts, plus some good info regarding a 520 coversion and the needed chain. Plus some pics of the F5 installed on an RC51. http://http://vfrworld.com/forums/5th-generation-1998-2001/26507-chain-question.html#post222178
Gearing Commander: Motorcycle Gearing Ratio Sprocket RPM Speed Chain Calculator This will tell you what the changes will do to your RPMs and speed via different changes. Others are right concerning which direction to go for the gears. Think of it just like a 10-speed bicycle. The smaller gear you are in on the rear, the faster you go but the harder it is to keep going. The reverse is true for the front as the larger you go the faster you go.
I went -1 (front) and +2 rear and while the mod is great on the track, far too buzzy on the road in everyday use. Would suggest a +2 on the rear would be more ideal.
15:45 isn't practical at all!!! But neither is 17:41. No doubt 15:45, its a fun ratio but only for canyons and gear shifting wheelies. I could do 70-72mph MAX without engaging v-tec; (as indicated from GPS, as far as speedo it will indicate 88-92mph at 6000-6400RPM) In theory, 17:41 should put you at damn near 200mph but you would need a long stretch of road several miles long just to wind it out that far. "I heard" +2 rear, -1 front +3 rear, or +1 front was the most you could go with the stock chain. Anyway, if you are looking to get a little more action out of your 6th gen VFR and still keep some top end then I would suggest +2 rear only. 1 on the front is "approximately" 3 on the rear. However, -1 front is a lower ratio than +2 rear, but at the same time -1 front is slightly taller than +3 on the rear. I could explain this till the cows come home, but if you don't already know what I'm talking about then I'm probably confusing you even more. I know differentials, I promise. They are my "thing". I have always started with them on every Motorcycle, Car, Truck, Hot Rod because that's where you get the biggest bang for your buck as far as changing the characteristics and/or behavior of any vehicle. Ratios are simple and straight forward. PM me, I tell you everything you never wanted to know about gearing. Besides, the real sharp guys around here are too busy answering questions about the complicated stuff like suspensions, carbs, and "how do I convert my 2nd gen to v-tec"...lol.
