| Author | Message | |||
     Brettx1 |
Considering a chain conversion this winter, but not sure what front/rear sprocket selection to go with. I don't use the bike for racing, and really want to put a 200 rear on my lightning. I know to go with a 530 chain, but am clueless as to the sprocket selection. Any advice would be appreciated. | |||
| Zane |
Brettx1, I'm a newbie and just use my bike as a commuter. What is the advantage of replacing the belt with a chain? Besides the expense, the belt in low maintainance doesn't, doesn't need to be lubed and lasts half of forever. So why do it? | |||
| Miamiuly |
because he wants to mount a fat tire and I assume needs the extra clearance. | |||
| Cityxslicker |
or he rides off road and is tired of throwing a belt every 9k | |||
| Brettx1 |
Miami has it, I need the clearance, plus the advantage of cheap repair. If I'm in the middle of nowhere and my belt breaks I'd need to be near a buell dealership for a replacement, but if I'm running a chain, it is much easier to find a replacement at say a mom & pop type shop found in almost every city or town. It's also a lot more labor intensive to replace a belt. | |||
| Zane |
Ok, I didn't have a clue why. Thanks for explaining it. | |||
| Buellfighter |
I'm running a 24 harley counter spr. with a 51 AFAM rear and a RK 530 o-ring. | |||
| Trojan |
Standard US gearing for the tube frame bikes would be: 23T front 52T rear Baker drivetrain do a complete kit to fit all tube frame bikes, including everything you would need to do the conversion. The kit is available in stock ratio, or if you need other ratios then they do the kit with the same front sprocket but a choice of 48,50 or 54 T rear as well. Price for the complete kit is around US$350 I believe. If you have an XB then look no further than here  http://www.trojan-horse.co.uk/prods/174.html We always use a 520 chain on the XB for road and race use, and have never had a problem with it. It has the advantage of being much lighter than the 530 and suffers less frictional losses. | |||
| Beatx1 |
Hey Trojan, do you use the spring loaded idler with your conversions? On the Hondas I owned there was always a bit of slack in the chain. If you do use the spring tensioner does the chain have any slack? If most of the slack is removed is the chain a bit noisy? Does the chain come close to hitting the swingarm pivot? Thanks for answering! | |||
| Greenlantern |
Has anybody tried those Harley "Emergency" belts during a malfunction? | |||
| Rotorhead |
brettx1, check out this spread sheet I found while I was looking to do my chain swap. I have the xb12 tire and gear ratios in there. The chain one just swap out the front and rear tooth size and it will give you the RPM and speeds you should get. these are the places I got my sprockets from front sprocket any xl 1991 and up works p/n 19-0384 21 tooth https://www.masclassics.com/vtwin/0857.php rear sprocket 48 tooth http://www.vortexracing.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=991b861819d404d595eaef75afeb7e84&class0_0=1528&class0_1=4069&class0_2=4071&xsearch_id=products_search1&src=directory&view=Products_lister&submenu=Products&submit.x=7&submit.y=8 idler wheel have to use your old tentioner bearing bushings http://www.genosgarage.com/prodinfo.asp?number=DAYCO_89005 chain Still in the air on it but any 530 will do the job as long as it is rated for you HP. as soon as the front sprocket shows up I am going to do a detailed install post and how it all goes together. Once you buy the setup a sprocket change will be a cheap performance gain. Big bag for the buck in my opinion.
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| Brettx1 |
Sorry if i didn't clarify, I ride 2001 X1 lightning, and my question is what ratios affect horsepower, torque, low end, and top end, and that type of thing. thanks for all the posts so far. | |||
| Thumper74 |
No gearing changes your torque or horsepower. It changes how you use your power. Numerically low gear provide softer take off, but with the possibility of a high top speed. Numerically higher gears provide you with more low end grunt because the RPMs are higher at each given speed. Determine your gear ratio now by counting the teeth on your sprockets divide the large number by the little number. | |||
| Brettx1 |
Ok let me try this again, I am curios about sprocket sizes, I see huge ones on stunt bikes, and I assume that creates a great amount of torque to just lift the front wheel up, so does a smaller one decrease torque,but increase top end? I'm not a stunter but I love the torque my bike has and I don't want to compromise that with the wrong sprocket size. Suggestions are what i'm looking for, sorry if I hadn't been clear thus far> | |||
| Thumper74 |
It doesn't make power. It takes a higher RPM to make the wheel spin at any given wheel speed with a larger sprocket. Since you're at a higher RPM at any given wheel speed, you have more power available at that speed, but no more than you would have at the same RPM with your belt drive (note: not taking into account that the belt has less friction and weight) Since your RPMs are higher in every gear to maintain a certain wheel speed, your top speed is reduced. Keep in mind on a short wheelbase bike, with lots'o torque, you're asking for wheelies... With a smaller sprocket, your RPMs are lower, reducing your power at that given wheel speed, but not your actual horsepower or torque. Crotchrockets generally gear up for stunting because they can get the front up with less wheel speed, because the RPMs (power and torque) are higher to maintain that speed. Think about your old ten speed bike. In first gear, you could pop a wheelie by pedaling alone, but you were pedaling your ass off. Put it in the tenth gear and you can't, BUT your not pedaling as fast to maintain a certain speed. We can also use a lever example... The bigger sprocket is essentially a larger lever on the wheel. For cars, common gear ratios are 3.73, 4.10, etc. This number is obtain by dividing the teeth on the ring gear by the teeth on the pinion gear. On a bike, it's obtained by dividing the teeth on the rear sprocket by the teeth on the front sprocket. So for every revolution of the tire, the transmission turns 3.73 or 4.10 times. The engine turns more times than that because the transmission further reduces the RPMS that reach the wheels. (Message edited by Thumper74 on September 19, 2008) (Message edited by Thumper74 on September 19, 2008) | |||
| Skinstains |
I run 530's on my street Buells but a 520 on my track bike. Never a problem with either. The 520 clears the swingarm pivot much better thanthe 530 however. There is a guy on here who has a 240 tire on an XB with the 520 chain, you can check him out at Grandstand Designes(a sponsor here)as he sells everything you need to go fat. He's a nice guy too, will answer any questions you have as well. Check him out. |
