17 tooth sprocket for my 85' VF500 Interceptor?

Hello.

I just put a 15 tooth front sprocket on my 85' VF500 & it dropped about 500 rpm at highway speed.

I WANT MORE!

I found a few 16 tooth sprockets on Ebay for around $25.

Does anybody make a 17 tooth front sprocket for the 85' VF500???

Will an 85' VF700 sprocket work??

Please save the lecture about trading acceleration for top end speed. I weigh am 6'3", 165 lbs, & like to hide behind the windshield so the bike doesn't even know I am on it!

I ride this bike back & forth to work & don't like turning 6000 rpm at 65 mph (actually 5500 rpm at 65 mph now). I want the engine to turn slower so I don't wear out the bottom end or valvetrain riding on the highway.

 

generally 3 teeth on the rear is about the same as 1 on the front. I've seen as low as 36 tooth rear sprockets.

I did the "less rpm" at high way speeds all ready and dropped as low as 31 mpg average per tank. I run a Magna trans in mine so my 5th gear is the same as the baby ceptors 6th gear. I had mine at to fairly descent rpm at highway speeds but basicly has a fast scooter that well, ran like a scooter. Geared high enough to drop the rpm it would not go over 80-85 period and that was down hill drafting behind a transfer truck.

I was going out in some twisties and geared the bike back a lot closer to stock sprockets and my fuel mileage jumped from 31-32 to 37-38 with pretty hard riding. I'm now averaging 41 and I rarely get below 70 and if I do it's back to it as fast as possible.

Basically if you can't do what you want to do with a 14,15 or 16 tooth front then your going to have to do it with the rear.

THIS can come in really handy when selecting gears

one thing that really helped me with dealing with the bikes rpm was throw the stock pipes back on. Never really hear it enough to notice.

 

Thanks!
My bike is completely stock. I drive 75 miles a day to & from work. With the 14 tooth front sprocket I burned 1.35 gallons in 75 miles. I put the 15 tooth on yesterday & today I burned 1.1 gallons in 75 miles! I might just try a 16 tooth front sprocket & see how that does on gas mileage. Any more gear changing after that will have to be on the back sprocket I guess. The 15 tooth left me plenty of power, didn't seem to affect the acceleration at all. Was sure nice to get that 500 rpm drop too! Thanks again!

 

if you want to go through the trouble like I did a V30 Magna transmission actually helps A LOT. The ceptors has 1,2 and 3rd gears really close ratio then 4,5,6 are farther apart ratio wise which I never understood with the wide power band of the v4 engines, kinda backwards. The Magna has 1,2,3 spaced about like 4,5,6 are on the stock trans and 4,5,6 are closer together and give less rpm drop per gear but the Magna trans your basically covering the stock 6 gears in 5 and 6th is like over drive, 1st gear and 5th gear are the exact same ratio as 1st and 6th on the stock trans. Running stock sprockets in 6th my tach needle is all ways a little behind my speedo needle.

 

I forgot I dropped to a 14 in front and went up one on the back so I'm running 14,44 instead of 15,43.

stock speed in gears at 11500rpm 1st 45mph 2nd 63mph 3rd 80mph 4th 96mph 5th 112mph 6th 129mph

the way I run mine 1st 42mph 2nd 64mph 3rd 83mph 4th 101mph 5th 121mph 6th 139mph

rpm at 70mph stock 6200
magna trans with smaller front, larger rear sprockets at 70mph 5750

I know the above speed numbers make it look as though my upper gears are spaced further apart but they are not, if I gear to the same top speed as stock you can see this. I would have to use a 13/43 combo and they don't make a 13 to fit.

1st 39mph 2nd 60mph 3rd 77 4th 94mph 5th 112 mph 6th 129mph
at 70mph I would turn the exact same rpm as stock, the higher ratio trans canceled by the lower ratio (numerically higher) sprocket ratio 3.03:1 v stock 2.86:1.

The way it is there is all most no difference from 0-100 from stock but my rpm are lower in 5th and 6th gear than stock and lets face it, who really gets out side of that 0-100 range in the twisties on a 30 year old bike anyway, well besides Mat.

btw with the Magna trans and a 16/43 you's be turning 5050 at 70mph.