new chain n sprocket time. lots o questions...

the bike's coming up on 18K miles, and the chain's getting a little noisy. it may or may not have a bunch more life in it, but i don't really know how to check for these sort of things and when you put 120 miles/day on the bike, you'd really like to have the peace of mind that all is well.

anywho, i've done a little bit of research on this subject, but now i have more questions than answers. any help is greatly appreciated.

1) i'm contemplating going UP 1 tooth in the front in an effort to lower highway RPMs and (hopefully) gain a little MPG. does anyone have any experience with doing this? what kind of mileage difference can i expect? what kind of power loss can i expect? how does this affect my choice of chain?

2) my primary goal when selecting parts is longevity. i don't want to have to do this again for at least another 20K miles. this means i should be looking at steel sprockets, yes? as far as a chain, i've read that x-rings are (by design) the longest-lasting. also true? anything else better out there? i've heard of titanium sprockets, but haven't heard enough feedback on them to know if i want to try it.

3) can anyone recommend good brands to look for or stay away from? i don't know the first thing about this stuff.

4) i have a buddy whose brothers is a wrench monkey at a local Honda dealership. he says his brother can lend us the necessary tools and help out, but is there anything VFR-specific i need to be sure he and i are aware of? i don't know if the SSSA complicates this or not.

5) any other parts i should think about replacing while i'm in there?

6) most importantly, anybody have a good how-to on this? i don't have an owner's manual nor do i have a repair manual for this bike.

 

Sorry I really can't help you with much, but here is a link to download the service manual:

http://vfrworld.com/forums/parts-service-manuals/3161-downloadable-parts-catalogs-service-manuals.html

 

If I remember you have a 6th gen right? Are you sure you want to go up 1 in front? Like MD, I think you will degrade you off the line performance and you'll end up lugging the motor on the interstate (unless you can run 80 - 100mph). Going one up in front would not be as bad as starting in second gear but you get the Idea. If you want to raise the gearing maybe try going down one on the rear sprocket. Speaking of sprockets steel is good for longevity. I really like the DID chains for long life, mines got 16k and is still in good shape.

Action

 

Actually if he's got a newer bike it's the opposite. I adjust mine on the center stand then check it off the stand with me sitting on the bike.

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the bike is a 6th gen (2004). hence the post in the 6th gen section (not trying to rub it in, just pointing it out).

i would look into dropping a tooth in the rear, but i can't find a sprocket that does that. any ideas would help.

Mike

 

web bike world has a good write up with videos that was helpful to me this week.
The right tools are important. setting the side plate was easy, getting the rivet mushroomed properly without the right tool is quite frustrating.

 

Mike,
Good point about about finding a smaller rear sprocket. I just did a cursory look and didn't see any. I also may have to eat my words about going up one on the front. It seems that some guys on the other form did it and like it (LINK if you want to read about it). Some of the guys saw an increase of a couple of miles per gallon. I'd say go for it, for an extra $20 you could switch back if you didn't like it.

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thanks for the link! sounds like the OEM 17T sprocket off the 5th gen is the way to go.

i also didn't realize how easy it is to swap out the front sprocket. seems like putting it back to stock will be super simple if i decide this isn't for me.

Mike

 

MD-
Yeah 1 3/8 is a pretty healthy amount of slack. I usually look at where it contacts the top chain guide (as it stretches the contact point moves further back) and then check it again with me sitting on the bike. While sitting of the bike I usually have about 3/4" of play measured at the bottom center of the swingarm.

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Sum of All Parts

Sells chain & sprocket kits for just about any bike you can imagine. I got the 520 kit for my Hawk from them & it was delivered in less than 4 days.

Vortex is the only company I know of that makes different rear sizes for the VFR's.

The others thing you might want to check with 16K on the bike are brake pads, spark plugs & steering bearings. Try to do a general once over of the bike every month if you do put 120 miles a day on it.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

should be called "some of all parts" since they screwed up my order on a new chain setup for my black Hawk: they promised a gold chain but sent regular, promised a 47 rear sprocket but sent 46 , BUMMER !!

 

I too am looking at new chain and sprockets since mine has 18400 on it even though it is quiet and smooth and aside form a couple small rust spots looks great. I am seriously considering going to a 17T up front since 70-80% of my riding is tucked at 70+mph with rpms up over 5k. Wouldn't the speedo and mileage be a lot more accurate as well? I don't mind losing some acceleration off the line since everyone seems to want to race a bike so I purposely granny shift with a big smile while they squeal their tires to the next red light 2 blocks away. My main questions are about 520 vs 530 pitch...are 520 conversion kits a good thing or bad? and which option is better for sprockets the lighter teflon coated aircraft aluminum vortex sprocket thats supposed to last 30% longer or the steel ones. Is the coated aluminum life span much shorter than steel thats $20 less? Sumofallparts is why I ask most of this since they give you the option to go up or down on front and rear sprockets. Does 17/42 vs. the 16/43 stock make sense to anyone besides me for my kind of riding?

I apologize for the many questions but I'd rather ask all the questions before any of the doing.

 

Vire:
What an aluminum sprocket? NO, NO! Aluminum sprockets are cheap junk that will show noticable wear after 2000 miles and be used up by about 5000.

Use STEEL only unless you're racing.

Stick with the stock size chain as a 520 may be too weak for the bike.

 

The tooth count is the last puzzle piece then and I'd like to go 16 or 17 on front and 39-41 on rear and not sure which way would be better for the way I ride and helping speedo accuracy.

 

Pitch does NOT change between 530 and 520 chains. 520 is merely narrower.
See link http://vfrworld.com/forums/mechanics-garage/12599-520-conversion-conversation.html for more information.

On your proposal of 17/42 vs 16/43........
If you typically ride at 5000 RPM this would make your new RPM 4596 at the same ground speed (8% different). Not worth changing your stock drive-line ratios IMHO. My '95 doesn't get "happy" until I'm at 6000 RPM and riding below 4000 RPM just feels way too sluggish to me. In the name of economy this year, I have had the discipline to keep my engine speed closer to 4500 RPM and am getting 41 MPG. Last year, with frequent 80 to 85 MPH highway speeds and spirited backroad riding in the 6000 to 7500 RPM range, I was getting 34 to 36 MPG.
My VFR "happy zone" of 6000+ RPM starts at 85 MPH in 6th. I couldn't imagine making it taller. I'm not flaming you, as everyone has their own style, just giving you information to consider.

Good write-up is here
http://vfrworld.com/forums/maintenance/13858-chain-sprkt-repl-w-pics.html
for replacement.

Good luck!

 

Your description of what you'd want to avoid is exactly what I'm trying to do, going from 5300 rpms to closer to 4750, to save on gas. I average 36 mpg right now because 80% of the time I don't have the option to ride at 4500rpms unless I want to go sub 65mph and get bunched up in merging traffic and semis. I ride 150 miles a week on the freeway and maybe 30 on roads that are 40mph or less and full of timed lights so quick acceleration is rarely if ever needed.

I'm thinking 17/42 which would give me 4875 and 17/41 would give me 4760. I may be the odd man on this one but I'd much rather drop a gear if I wanted to ride in the power..than feel like I wished I had another gear all the time while doing 75mph. To me the vfr is the wrong bike if you want to go fast and hang out in high rpms with its weight when there are many bikes lighter and faster for the same price. Acceleration and speeds over 80mph were not even on my list when looking at different bikes. Reliability and touring were very high.

 

Sounds like the right move for you then.
A good look at the original HP and torque curves would help decide how far to take the approach. If you lower the RPM by 8% across the board, it'll give you an idea of how you may have to alter your low speed gear selections to keep it from lugging.

Let us know how it turns out.:thumbsup: