ratios for new chain and sprocket setups

zimmyjim · August 15th, 2012, 07:49 PM

my 08 has over 15000 miles on it ...the chain jingles and my front sprocket is wore, so i figure its time to replace them...

my question is...
what sprocket setups are available?
what kind of performance i should expect
with each of them?
also, what size chain will be needed for each setup?

i mostly ride around town, so id like to be able to
shift a lil less in stop and go type riding and
get a bit more time in each gear ..thx ..zimmyjim

DennyV · August 15th, 2012, 08:09 PM

you pretty much get the option of do you want more torque and less top speed, or do you want alittle more top speed and less torque. for more torque you want a small gear driving a big gear so you can go 1 tooth down in front or 1 or 2 teeth up in the back. with this setup the revs will climb faster and you will loose top speed If you wanna shift less, then you want a big gear driving a small gear, so you can go 1 tooth up in front or down 1 or two teeth in the back. with this setup you lose torque for around town, but you shift less and get alittle better top speed

cuz · August 15th, 2012, 08:25 PM

Have u check this out http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10273

Have fun

lol http://www.gearingcommander.com/

zimmyjim · August 15th, 2012, 11:45 PM

ok..so ill add a tooth in the front and take one outta the back to keep my chain length ...makes sense..thx

eddiekay · August 18th, 2012, 09:31 AM

I have...I think 15/41...I dont recall...just 1 up in front maybe 4 or 5 down in back. I ordered a chain with 4 fewr link ( 102???) Just count the teeth.
2nd gear is good to 50....I lost just a very few mpg...no noticeable loss acceleration on street...will no longer redline in 6...not even sure it'll redline in 5...@ 80...I'm maybe 9k....exaceelnt for fast cruising but the slightest hill and i have to down shift. Lost maybe 5mph top end. If i rememeber...I think it cruises @ 70 in 5 at just under 9k. If I rememeber right. I love it.

NikRN06 · August 21st, 2012, 12:10 PM

My wife drives the Ninja, and we went with a 15t front along with the stock rear. She LOVES that first and second gear are more usable now. I think we'll go down in the back next time around.

Does anyone know the RPM for peak HP and torque on these bikes?

choneofakind · August 21st, 2012, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DennyV

you pretty much get the option of do you want more torque and less top speed, or do you want alittle more top speed and less torque.

more like, do you want more acceleration by using low gears, or a little less busyness and less buzzing by using higher gears. Top speed is going to be around 100 no matter what. It's still a 250.

Top speed is a factor of wind resistance being equal and opposite to the force that the engine is delivering to the road to keep the bike moving forward. The bike only makes a set amount of power. No matter what gearing you have, it's only capable of about 100. Changing gearing just moves around the power band and changes how long each gear is.

For example:

14/47 gearing is very close together and very busy in twisties/around town. It's also quite fun as long as you're willing to be constantly shifting to get into the power band

great gearing for tight twisty stuff, not so much for highway use.

15/45 is longer gearing and a little less busy. Gears can be drawn out a little longer for sweepers and first lasts a little longer, but all this is at the expense of a little roll-on pep. Overall, 15/45 is a good compromise between twisty road acceleration and calmness on the highway. I like 15/45 gearing for my riding style.

Both top out at about 100 in my experience, just like any 250.

If you're doing lots of highway commuting and nothing else, 15/43 is going to be more comfortable for doing 70+ mph all day long. I have not used this gearing, but to me it seems like it would be too low to really get hard drive out of tight turns, and you would never get to see anything above 5th on straights at a track. The bike would run up against too much wind resistance in 5th I think. Someone with this gearing will have to verify my thoughts though...

NikRN06 · August 21st, 2012, 04:11 PM

Choneofakind- I pretty much agree with you. The only exception I have it top speed vs gearing. My wife says her bike is doing just over 11k RPM at her top speed of around 104 in sixth gear (as verified by GPS, not by factory speedo which reads much higher).

I would like to gear the bike higher but I'm afraid we would lose some top speed by being too far below the horsepower and torque peaks.

As an example, I have a Jeep with a six cylinder and 5-speed manual trans, and 3.07 gears. When I switched from 29" tires to 32" tires, fifth gear became darn near useless. Its horsepower and torque at 2kRPM in fifth gear just isnt enough to push the jeep beyond 60-65mph, but downshift into fourth and you can go over 75mph easily. Ultimately, my Jeep needs to be re-geared to better suit the taller tires and use fifth gear but it just shows that a six cylinder Jeep with XX horsepower will not top out at the same MPH with just any overall gear ratio.

Its takes the right gear ratio matched to the engine output at the desired road speed to achieve maximum top speed.

choneofakind · August 21st, 2012, 04:19 PM

Yes, I get the idea of gearing the bike to put the power band in a useful place. Preaching to the choir.

If you want to change gearing, go for it. get it dyno'd to see where the peak is and play with gearing commander a little to see what you want. You might just need to drop to 5th for top speed runs and use 6th as an overdrive of sorts for highway use.

FTR, I hit 102 at Mid-Ohio with stock size tires and 14/47 gearing. (6th gear, just over the 13,500 line. Forget the speedo on this one, that thing is useless up there) I don't think I'll be going any faster now that I've changed to 15/45 gearing. (2 mph is negligible in my eyes)

August 15th, 2012, 07:49 PM	#1
zimmyjim ninjette.org newbie Name: jimmy Location: nw arkansas Join Date: Aug 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2008 kawasaki ninja 250 Posts: 3	ratios for new chain and sprocket setups my 08 has over 15000 miles on it ...the chain jingles and my front sprocket is wore, so i figure its time to replace them... my question is... what sprocket setups are available? what kind of performance i should expect with each of them? also, what size chain will be needed for each setup? i mostly ride around town, so id like to be able to shift a lil less in stop and go type riding and get a bit more time in each gear ..thx ..zimmyjim

August 15th, 2012, 08:25 PM	#3
cuz cuz Name: Israel Location: Houston (me) Galveston Join Date: Jul 2011 Motorcycle(s): 09 ninja 250r Posts: A lot.	Have u check this out http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10273 Have fun lol http://www.gearingcommander.com/ __________________________________________________ THE GOOD LIFE

August 21st, 2012, 12:10 PM	#6
NikRN06 ninjette.org member Name: Nikole Location: Lakeland Florida Join Date: Jan 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja 205R, 2009 Yamaha R6 Posts: 41	My wife drives the Ninja, and we went with a 15t front along with the stock rear. She LOVES that first and second gear are more usable now. I think we'll go down in the back next time around. Does anyone know the RPM for peak HP and torque on these bikes? __________________________________________________ 2009 Ninja 250 FOR SALE;clip-ons, LED turn signals, R6 muffler, 15t sprocket. 2009 Yamaha R6, nearly stock. 2008 Kawasaki ZZR600

August 21st, 2012, 04:11 PM	#8
NikRN06 ninjette.org member Name: Nikole Location: Lakeland Florida Join Date: Jan 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja 205R, 2009 Yamaha R6 Posts: 41	Choneofakind- I pretty much agree with you. The only exception I have it top speed vs gearing. My wife says her bike is doing just over 11k RPM at her top speed of around 104 in sixth gear (as verified by GPS, not by factory speedo which reads much higher). I would like to gear the bike higher but I'm afraid we would lose some top speed by being too far below the horsepower and torque peaks. As an example, I have a Jeep with a six cylinder and 5-speed manual trans, and 3.07 gears. When I switched from 29" tires to 32" tires, fifth gear became darn near useless. Its horsepower and torque at 2kRPM in fifth gear just isnt enough to push the jeep beyond 60-65mph, but downshift into fourth and you can go over 75mph easily. Ultimately, my Jeep needs to be re-geared to better suit the taller tires and use fifth gear but it just shows that a six cylinder Jeep with XX horsepower will not top out at the same MPH with just any overall gear ratio. Its takes the right gear ratio matched to the engine output at the desired road speed to achieve maximum top speed. __________________________________________________ 2009 Ninja 250 FOR SALE;clip-ons, LED turn signals, R6 muffler, 15t sprocket. 2009 Yamaha R6, nearly stock. 2008 Kawasaki ZZR600

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August 15th, 2012, 08:09 PM	#2
DennyV ninjette.org member Name: Dennis Location: Maryland Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Ninja 250 Posts: 212	you pretty much get the option of do you want more torque and less top speed, or do you want alittle more top speed and less torque. for more torque you want a small gear driving a big gear so you can go 1 tooth down in front or 1 or 2 teeth up in the back. with this setup the revs will climb faster and you will loose top speed If you wanna shift less, then you want a big gear driving a small gear, so you can go 1 tooth up in front or down 1 or two teeth in the back. with this setup you lose torque for around town, but you shift less and get alittle better top speed

August 15th, 2012, 11:45 PM	#4
zimmyjim ninjette.org newbie Name: jimmy Location: nw arkansas Join Date: Aug 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2008 kawasaki ninja 250 Posts: 3	ok..so ill add a tooth in the front and take one outta the back to keep my chain length ...makes sense..thx

August 18th, 2012, 09:31 AM	#5
eddiekay ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: eddie Location: Lawnguylind Join Date: Nov 2009 Motorcycle(s): 300, WeeStrom Posts: A lot.	I have...I think 15/41...I dont recall...just 1 up in front maybe 4 or 5 down in back. I ordered a chain with 4 fewr link ( 102???) Just count the teeth. 2nd gear is good to 50....I lost just a very few mpg...no noticeable loss acceleration on street...will no longer redline in 6...not even sure it'll redline in 5...@ 80...I'm maybe 9k....exaceelnt for fast cruising but the slightest hill and i have to down shift. Lost maybe 5mph top end. If i rememeber...I think it cruises @ 70 in 5 at just under 9k. If I rememeber right. I love it.

August 21st, 2012, 04:19 PM	#9
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	Yes, I get the idea of gearing the bike to put the power band in a useful place. Preaching to the choir. If you want to change gearing, go for it. get it dyno'd to see where the peak is and play with gearing commander a little to see what you want. You might just need to drop to 5th for top speed runs and use 6th as an overdrive of sorts for highway use. FTR, I hit 102 at Mid-Ohio with stock size tires and 14/47 gearing. (6th gear, just over the 13,500 line. Forget the speedo on this one, that thing is useless up there) I don't think I'll be going any faster now that I've changed to 15/45 gearing. (2 mph is negligible in my eyes)