R6 Sprockets

[Morbid]

Hey guys,

I'm thinking of changing the front sprocket on my '00 R6 -1, and possible +1 on the rear, with a new chain. Basically doing whats known as the 520 conversion....

Just curious if i'm going to notice a hell of lot of mileage difference? My R6 already seems very bloody thirsty with my average tank, flicking to reserver (fuel trip) at about 160km.

And yeah, anyone done this? Is it worth it?

[bugjuice]

if it doesn't work, you can always change it back.. and try other combos. It's not huge hassle, but can be a big difference. Remember your speedo will most likely be crazy with speed

[scroter]

the R6 is a thirsty one, my mates gave my old TL a run for its money in the fuel usage department.

As for the sprokets do at least the front, youll love it. it makes a huge difference on the road. youll notice a whole lot less gear changing. as for the speedo itll be out a bit maybe reading 10k faster. unplug it then you wont have to worry about the milage. you can by a speedo for a bicycle and install that if you want only thing is most of them dont go over 199 but hey if your doing that kinda speed i wouldnt be worrying about a speedo.

[MrMelon]

if it doesn't work, you can always change it back.. and try other combos. It's not huge hassle, but can be a big difference. Remember your speedo will most likely be crazy with speed

It shouldn't affect the speedo. The wheel circumference stays the same.. unless it takes the speed from revs somehow.

[vifferman]

As for the sprockets do at least the front, youll love it. it makes a huge difference on the road. youll notice a whole lot less gear changing.

What's the standard sprocketry on an R6? If the standard front sprocket is 16T, then I'd recommend going up two teeth on the back sprocket, rather than down to a 15T on the front. The reason is that chain/sprocket wear will be more rapid with a 15, and the drivetrain will be noisier, with the chain having to negotiate a smaller diameter sprocket.

But you should love the difference in slightly lower gearing, especially if you're commuting. Most sportsbikes are overgeared for compliance testing reasons, and much happier with lower gearing.

I've lowered the gearing on my last three bikes (up two on the rear on the VFR750, 16-->15T on the VTR1000, and 17-->16T on the VFR800), and it made them all much nicer to ride. Dunno 'bout fuel economy, as I didn't correct any of the speedos (they're all electronic ones driven from the countershaft sprocket), but I suspect it would make little noticeable difference. I'm planning to buy a speedo corrector kit for the VFR800 soon (~$50 from Jaycar Electronics), which plugs in betweeen the sender and the speedo. Works with any electronic speedo that uses the Hall Effect.

[bugjuice]

It shouldn't affect the speedo. The wheel circumference stays the same.. unless it takes the speed from revs somehow.

most bikes will take the speed reading from the gearbox, some still take it from the front wheel. If it's from the front wheel, then it doesn't matter what the box does.

Even if its one off the front and one on the back (or whatever it was), the reading will change, but not by much. It's when you start playing with bigger teeth changes that it's really obvious. Not sure what -1/+1 would do actually. Be interesting to find out how much change there will be.

Anyway, it's not that the diameter of the wheel changes, it's the speed the gearbox is spinning at, which puts it to the chain, which goes to the back wheel. If you change the sprokets, then you change the speed at which the gearbox (more specifically, the final drive) is running at to maintain the speed, which means your speedo will be out. don't make sense, I know, but it does somewhere in there

[vifferman]

If you change the sprokets, then you change the speed at which the gearbox (more specifically, the final drive) is running at to maintain the speed, which means your speedo will be out. don't make sense, I know, but it does somewhere in there

Yeah, it makes sense. The speedo reading is calibrated for a given rpm of the countershaft sprocket, so if you lower the gearing, the engine's spinning faster at the same speed, and so is the countershaft.
F'rinstance - if you go from a 17T to 16T sprocket, the engine will be spinning at roughly 6% faster, so it will be reading 100km/h when you're actually doing only 94 (or more likely less than 95, when you take standard speedo optimism into account).

[roo]

Hey guys,

And yeah, anyone done this? Is it worth it?

Yup, yup, and yup.
I took one tooth off the front and put 2 teeth on the rear of my 03 r6, and bloody hell it made a huge difference. Being a light little bastard I already had difficulty keeping the front on the ground... now it skips and lifts at every opportunity - fit a damper if you havent already.
My fuel mileage dropped by about 20Km (light comes on at ~170-180), and it chopped probably 15-20kph off the real top end (272 indicated now, versus 268 indicated beforehand - remember to take off the introduced error percentage...)
An unmentioned effect is increased wear on the sprockets and chewing the tyres out badly (a set of dunlop 208gp's last about 3000kms), but it's all in the name of fun.
I have found it undergeared for pukie, but it's awesome round taupo.
I highly recommend doing it... it's the cheapest 7-8% increase in useable power possible
.

[bugjuice]

Yeah, it makes sense. The speedo reading is calibrated for a given rpm of the countershaft sprocket, so if you lower the gearing, the engine's spinning faster at the same speed, and so is the countershaft.
F'rinstance - if you go from a 17T to 16T sprocket, the engine will be spinning at roughly 6% faster, so it will be reading 100km/h when you're actually doing only 94 (or more likely less than 95, when you take standard speedo optimism into account).

yeah, you got it.. something like that