Sidewinder Sprockets & Chain from Krause Racing Products

Wondered if anyone has any experience with or 2cents to share about sprockets and chains from Krause Racing Products?

I'm interested in the Titanium II Sprocket for the rear at 45t (if available, still need to call them) and the Smart Chain.

http://sidewindersprockets.com/titaniumII-sprockets.html
http://sidewindersprockets.com/v-series_smart_chain.html

Any other suggestions for chain/sprocket combos would be appreciated as well but I'm pretty well set on this or a DID chain. Sprocket wise though...eh..not too interested in aluminum because of my riding weight and what the aluminum sprocket that came on my bike looks like now

 

i met the owner (at least thats what he told me) at a show over the winter and the parts he had on display seemed very well made. i was going to use them until i found out how much $ they were. granted the warranty seems great, i was going with a 15/45 combo and didn't know if i would like it so i went a less exspensive route. now that i have tried the combo next time i will probably look into them again. when i was at the booth i noticed the chain breaker/ riveter tool was a pro-motion tool. i read quite a few reviews on the different sites that gave this tool poor reviews. i personally used the rk chain tool and it worked perfect the first time. if you need this tool make sure you check out which one you want to make sure you get a good product. i never used the pro-motion so i can't comment on its performance i only used user based reviews.

 

I hadn't planned on buying a chain breaker/riveter from them. I figured I'd just take it down to my local shop and have them pin it on.

sidenote: Have you ever ridden with any 98 VFR owners around Cleveland in the past? I bought my 98 from a guy named Steve in a small town just east of Cleveland last summer. Just curious.

 

nope. i've only had mine for a year and haven't met any riders in the area yet.

 

Well I guess old PT Barnum was right. I bought into Krause Racing's "BS" about their Sidewinder "Titanium" sprockets. Unfortunately, I didn't do my research before buying from Krause. Had I just done a simple search on this site, ADV Rider, or Google, I would have quickly learned that Vic at Krause is a Sheister.

I ordered the Titanium front sprocket for my KLR from Vic (Fick - German for his name preceeded by sick). When I got it, I noticed that it seemed too heavy for Titanium. Stamped on the sprocket was the following: Esjot 32038 15

I did some research and found out that Esjot is a very reputable German company. I found a US number for them and called. I spoke with a very nice German fellow and asked him what material was used for this particular sprocket. He told me that their sprockets were either aluminum or steel - they do not make Titanium sprockets.

I checked the part number on their site and found out that it's steel. But wait, it gets even better. I asked the German at Esjot where I could purchase their sprockets. He directed me to Spiegler Performance Parts in Dayton, OH. I called Spiegler and asked how much they sold their sprockets for. I was told $27.95. I Krause $87 - almost 3 times more!!!!!

Several emails and calls later and the cat's got "Fick's" tongue.

 

Well I guess old PT Barnum was right. I bought into Krause Racing's "BS" about their Sidewinder "Titanium" sprockets. Unfortunately, I didn't do my research before buying from Krause. Had I just done a simple search on this site, ADV Rider, or Google, I would have quickly learned that Vic at Krause is a Sheister.

I ordered the Titanium front sprocket for my KLR from Vic (Fick - German for his name preceeded by sick). When I got it, I noticed that it seemed too heavy for Titanium. Stamped on the sprocket was the following: Esjot 32038 15

I did some research and found out that Esjot is a very reputable German company. I found a US number for them and called. I spoke with a very nice German fellow and asked him what material was used for this particular sprocket. He told me that their sprockets were either aluminum or steel - they do not make Titanium sprockets.

I checked the part number on their site and found out that it's steel. But wait, it gets even better. I asked the German at Esjot where I could purchase their sprockets. He directed me to Spiegler Performance Parts in Dayton, OH. I called Spiegler and asked how much they sold their sprockets for. I was told $27.95. I Krause $87 - almost 3 times more!!!!!

Several emails and calls later and the cat's got "Fick's" tongue.

 

Did he talk your ear off? I think he is one of the neatest guys I've ever had the pleasure of having my ear talked off by! Oh, I use and have used his chains and sprockets for years on my ATV's. Haven't had a need to change them on my street bikes yet.