Whilst in for the 20k service, the chain and sprockets were changed for some nice Renthal sprockets. Always found the standard gearing a bit long, especially around town where it was difficult to be in the sweetspot for a quick getaway. So I swapped out for a 16T front sprocket and... WOW!!! What a fantastic difference! The bike is significantly more alive and the slight pickup in revs (approx +500rpm across gears) has the motor right where you want her when you need to pull out/accelerate out. Great (and cheap) way to boost the day-to-day performance I think.
intresting..... id lconsider doing it also but wonderin how it affected your fuel mileage? my only gripe would be on road trips....
bit early to say as I have only done about half a tank so far and am enjoying the extended responsiveness But I've seen about 100 miles so far which is, if anything, slightly better than before! Maybe it's just a case of keeping the engine in a place where the fuel/air mixture is leaner instead of down low where the engine generally runs richer. In terms of noise, she's still perfect: 80mph and she's around 5200 rpm in 6th.
I did a similar move, but went up 2 in the rear, rather than down 1 in the front. My mileage didn't suffer at all, and agreed, the responsiveness is awesome! Be careful on the "slightly better" mileage, as now you're not going as far as your odometer reads now. Your odometer will now read that you've gone close to 5% FARTHER than you've actually gone. And your speedometer will be close to 10% higher than you're actually going... Worth it, absolutely.
