Has anyone decided to drop a tooth on the front sprocket? (16->15)

I just bought my '90 VFR750 about a month ago and it appears that the chain or my sprockets have never been replaced in its 30k miles, so I just ordered a new chain/sprocket set.

I made an executive decision to drop a tooth on the front sprocket (stock is 16, I ordered a 15 tooth one).

I have never and probably will never actually reach the top speed of our bikes (~145mph), and according to my calculations using the new final-drive ratio, the top speed will only drop ~7% to 135mph, along with the fact that we have 6 gears to work with to cruise around the city...

Has anyone else done this to pick up a little extra low-end acceleration?

 

I tried it on my 98 and honestly couldn't tell any difference. But I hardly never rev my bike past 8k rpm. When I owned a yz 250 set up for off road a one tooth change on the front would be very noticeable. I didn't like my Speedo off either so I really didn't think it was worth spending money on a Speedo healer for no real change. Don't get me wrong I was hoping to feel a difference but I think if I were to just ride a little higher in the rpms I could feel the same effect.
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I saw above that the front is a 16 tooth, what is the rear stock tooth count?

 

Not so good to eliminate the front rubber-damped OEM sprocket cuz any replacement will be noisier and transmit more vibrations, so maybe just go with +2 or +3 at rear.

 

It's a lot more popular with the sport bike fellows. When I was on the CBRworld.net forum, the most common chain mod was a 520 (-1 front, +2 rear) conversion. I would imagine that would be noticeable, but just dropping one in the front, I don’t know.

Of course that is all hearsay, because I've never done it, it’s just what I've read.

 

I added 2 to the rear. It nets you about the same as dropping one in the front. I was looking for, and noticed a difference in torque. Now I have to be a little careful to not wheelie in 1st. I notice that my speedo reads about 8mph faster than actual speed at 70. (speedo says 80, real speed is 72) That seems about right, given that stock, the speedo should read about 5% higher, and the change I made should have been about 5%. I have noticed about a 3mpg difference in fuel economy, but I like the added torque a lot more.

 

It will also add mileage quicker. I have noticed also that the rc 51 owners like to do -1 front +2 on the rear and I'm sure that makes a difference.

 

Mine is +1 in the front and she still boogies just fine and gets better fuel economy when crusing. A little harder to loft the front end but I find that I'm doing that less and less anyway. I have a speedo healer to correct the indication and ensure that the odometer is accurate.

 

That is what I always thought of doing on my fifth gen is adding one to the front. It seems I'm always looking for that next shift on the long straight sections. I also like extending my shifts rather than making them closer together. I know some bikes can really use a drop in the front but I'm a firm believe in just revving it out a little higher when needed. Because truth is you are never adding power with a sprocket change you are just moving the power you have.

 

I had the front sprocket on my 99 VFR changed to one less tooth while changing chain and rear sprocket----wow, what a difference one tooth makes!
It definitely helps the low end, and makes riding the higher elevation winding back highways of the Colorado Rockies a blast.

 

Did the same thing on my 90 a couple years ago. It was neat having the extra umph at slower speeds but I didn't like the vibration higher revs and cruising speeds. Went back to OEM and have been much happier ever since.

 

That was not a problem on my 99, and I've had it above 125 a number of times!