Are solid front sprockets bad for the bike?

I was talking to a friend that is an avid bike rider, collector, mechanic. I told him I put an aftermarket chain and sprocket kit on the VFR.

He told me that he wouldn't run a solid sprocket on the bike, that it should have a rubber mounted front sprocket because the solid one introduces a lot of vibration and shock that the stock rubber mounted sprocket dampens. He went on to tell me about how people with KTM enduros were having major issues when running solid sprockets on street ridden bikes. I guess KTM put out a TSB about this.

Has anyone seen or heard of any issues like this. I guess it would be hard to quantify as it could take years for any issue to show up.

 

Most bikes have rubber cushioning devices in the hub of the rear wheel. If there is a rubber ring on the stock countershaft sprocket, it is only there to reduce noise, as far as I know. Every aftermarket countershaft sprocket I have ever seen is plain old metal, no rubber rings attached.

 

our stock sprocket is solid isn't it?

 

Well, all sprockets are "solid", so to speak. My reference was to a kind of additional shoulder with a rubber insert that rides on the outside of the countershaft sprocket. The rubber insert is just the right diameter to catch the link plates of the chain as they engage the gear teeth, and dampen any resonance from the metal-to-metal contact.

I have never removed the countershaft sprocket cover on a VFR, of any year (not yet, anyways), so I am personally clueless as to what is standard. All of the countershaft sprocket rubber dampers I have seen were on larger displacement bikes from the 80's.

OK. Curiosity got me. The 6th Gen shop manual pictures show no rubber damper on the countershaft sprocket, but there are the typical rubber inserts in the rear hub.

 

Honda stock front sprockets have a rubber/metal sandwich like a front crankshaft damper on a car, and it tends to run smoother and quieter than an aftermarket setup, but i cannot believe that any damage is caused by using an aftermarket solid sprocket