Changing to 15t gear

[Hero Danny]

Today while I was riding my bike I noticed my bike was revving high, it seemed higher than normal. I was at 12k rpms in 6th gear going only 80mph. I wasn't tucking really, but I did a little bit. Also, I'm only 145lbs (probably 155 w/ gear). I made sure the choke was off, etc.

The bike was riding perfect, gear changes, acceleration, etc. it just seemed to rev way too high...

anyway, luckily my 15t gear came in the mail today (I ordered it a few days because) so I plan to install it, my only worry is will this correct the problem? or could it be something else? Also I've been reading the wiki on how to change, etc. I was really hoping for a video but couldn't find one... (for new gen). does anybody have some experience working with switching gears? My mechanical skills are relatively low, only maintenance I can really do is change my oil. Any advice for the install?

If I can remember correctly, all I do is remove the cover, pull up the back wheel by loosening the adjustment, undo the old 14t gear and put in the new 15t gear. hook the chain back on the new gear and adjust the wheel and chain for slack, etc. bolt everything up, done.

Sounds right? I'm going to re-read the wiki a bunch more and some other things, just hoping to get some personal input on how relatively difficult the install is and common mistakes, etc.

Thanks!

[verboten1]

I'm guessing you were in 5th.

80 M/H indicated was 9500 RPM for me this morning

weight, load, choke etc does not change the RPM for any speed in any gear. only a different ratio can change that (unless your clutch was slipping)

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by verboten1

I'm guessing you were in 5th.

80 M/H indicated was 9500 RPM for me this morning

weight, load, choke etc does not change the RPM for any speed in any gear. only a different ratio can change that (unless your clutch was slipping)

Maybe I was in 5th? I'm 95% positive I was in 6th though, but you could be right.

[csmith12]

It's an easy swap Danny. The hardest part is breaking the sprocket nut loose. To do this much easier, leave the chain on and place a 2x4 between the spokes of the wheel and swingarm, then try to loosen the nut. Wrap the 2x4 in a towel to save your paint.

Everything else is straight forward, just reinstall the same way you took it off.

Good luck, and enjoy da ride!

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by csmith12

It's an easy swap Danny. The hardest part is breaking the sprocket nut loose. To do this much easier, leave the chain on and place a 2x4 between the spokes of the wheel and swingarm, then try to loosen the nut. Wrap the 2x4 in a towel to save your paint.

Everything else is straight forward, just reinstall the same way you took it off.

Good luck, and enjoy da ride!

Thanks! Yeah, I saw that in the DIY https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10273 but he didn't mention a towel... great idea though!

Btw, OT: how do I vote that a post was helpful? lol cause you deserve one and I cannot for the life of me figure it out!

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Thanks! Yeah, I saw that in the DIY https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10273 but he didn't mention a towel... great idea though!

Btw, OT: how do I vote that a post was helpful? lol cause you deserve one and I cannot for the life of me figure it out!

np, happy to help.

Voting helpful is a privilege earned after posting 1000 times. You still have a bit to go but it aint too hard.

[curiousrat]

Ignore this post. -- I don't thought I was posting to on a 2007 and older forum. So some or all of these will not apply to you.

I just swapped out to the 15T last week. It was the best upgrade ever. Now the bike does not feel as jerky on the lower gears. It runs at lower rpm and feels a little more quiet. Now when I ride, I keep thinking that I'm in the next higher gear (riding on 2nd gear thinking I'm in 3rd). I just have to get use to the new gearing.

Some of my tips here may help:
When you unscrew the shifter lever, try to remember how it was aligned. It should be parallel to the ground. I panicked for about an hour thinking that I messed it up when I couldn't shift between neutral and 1st.

When you take that gear cover casing out, you might find a lot of old dried up grease in there. I'd clean it out since you are there anyways.

The sprocket retaining plate will align with the holes on the 15T sprocket if you play around with it a little (sliding it in or out slightly). I initially thought that my sprocket was defective.

Besides that, it is pretty simple. Good luck.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by csmith12

np, happy to help.

Voting helpful is a privilege earned after posting 1000 times. You still have a bit to go but it aint too hard.

Ohh, lol. figures.

I ran into another issue. When I was trying to do this step: "unscrew the bolt holding the rod to the crankcase and slip it off so that the lever hangs freely." I was using an open end 10mm wrench it seemed to fit alright, and I was loosening it, but man was it hard! I couldn't get it undone! I was going lefty loosey and pulling down with all my might and I felt I may be damaging the bolt, scared to continue I put the wrench down and came back inside.... any idea of what I did wrong?

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by curiousrat

Ignore this post. -- I don't thought I was posting to on a 2007 and older forum. So some or all of these will not apply to you.

I just swapped out to the 15T last week. It was the best upgrade ever. Now the bike does not feel as jerky on the lower gears. It runs at lower rpm and feels a little more quiet. Now when I ride, I keep thinking that I'm in the next higher gear (riding on 2nd gear thinking I'm in 3rd). I just have to get use to the new gearing.

Some of my tips here may help:
When you unscrew the shifter lever, try to remember how it was aligned. It should be parallel to the ground. I panicked for about an hour thinking that I messed it up when I couldn't shift between neutral and 1st.

When you take that gear cover casing out, you might find a lot of old dried up grease in there. I'd clean it out since you are there anyways.

The sprocket retaining plate will align with the holes on the 15T sprocket if you play around with it a little (sliding it in or out slightly). I initially thought that my sprocket was defective.

Besides that, it is pretty simple. Good luck.

Thanks, I'm sure most of the info you posted pertains to the newgen 250

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Ohh, lol. figures.

I ran into another issue. When I was trying to do this step: "unscrew the bolt holding the rod to the crankcase and slip it off so that the lever hangs freely." I was using an open end 10mm wrench it seemed to fit alright, and I was loosening it, but man was it hard! I couldn't get it undone! I was going lefty loosey and pulling down with all my might and I felt I may be damaging the bolt, scared to continue I put the wrench down and came back inside.... any idea of what I did wrong?

Pulling down? Something doesn't sound quite right...

Hmmm, maybe some loctite on there. A little bit of heat should loosen that up if it's there. You did the right thing putting it down for a bit. The bolt should be a 10mm but use a well fitting closed in wrench. The open end is just gunna round it off.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Pulling down? Something doesn't sound quite right...

Hmmm, maybe some loctite on there. A little bit of heat should loosen that up if it's there. You did the right thing putting it down for a bit. The bolt should be a 10mm but use a well fitting closed in wrench. The open end is just gunna round it off.

I agree, the open end is crap. Horrible idea, bolt already got rounded a little bit, glad I stopped when I did, bolt is still use-able.

After consulting this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14SOtsUQDqY I decided that tomorrow after work I'll try the socket. Didn't know I could reach it from that angle.

And here I thought I was being smart using an open-end wrench... blah..

I'll update the progress tomorrow.

P.S- I realize the bolt should be tight, but when I reassemble it, is it necessary to put it on "that" tight, it would barely turn!

[curiousrat]

I watched the YouTube video. I'm sure you did it correctly -- lefty loosey. I took the lower fairing off so that I had more space to work with. When I took my bolt off, I did it very slowly with the socket wrench. It was on pretty tight. Before it came loose, I heard a light pop. Then it was easy to remove. I didn't have to use a flat head screw driver and a hammer to pull it off or put it back on like the video. I wiggled that part and it came off nicely.

If you plan to reposition your shift lever, be sure to check there is enough space at the end of the rod in the back to shift up and down before putting the bolt back on. When putting it back on, I applied the blue Loctite on the bolt threads.

[Hero Danny]

Ugh, he didn't mention the bike had to be in 1st gear until roughly half way through the thread! Ugh... I tried to get it off, but it was in neutral and even with the 2x4 and my dad holding onto the rear brake it still wouldn't come off.

The entire time my father was saying "why are you even doing this?" and "you're going to break your bike" etc. etc. which was driving me nuts. I'm about to just throw the bike back together and say f it...

[CZroe]

I used a $25 12v emergency impact wrench from Harbor Freight. It has come in handy many times since, so it may be worth it, especially if it keeps you from damaging the output shaft!

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

The entire time my father was saying "why are you even doing this?" and "you're going to break your bike" etc. etc. which was driving me nuts. I'm about to just throw the bike back together and say f it...

Your dad sounds lame. You should ignore him whilst working on the motorbike.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Your dad sounds lame. You should ignore him whilst working on the motorbike.

It's hard to when he won't go away! lol, he's alright, but he is very annoying, he's just worried I'll ruin my bike though.

I'm probably just going to hold off on the mod for a little longer. I don't do any highway commuting so there really wasn't any reason for it to begin with, kinda just wanted to see what all the fuss was.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Ugh, he didn't mention the bike had to be in 1st gear until roughly half way through the thread! Ugh... I tried to get it off, but it was in neutral and even with the 2x4 and my dad holding onto the rear brake it still wouldn't come off.

The entire time my father was saying "why are you even doing this?" and "you're going to break your bike" etc. etc. which was driving me nuts. I'm about to just throw the bike back together and say f it...

Your gunna need leverage or raw power to break the front sprocket nut loose. The torque on that is 94lbs. Get a breaker bar or pipe to extend your tool handle.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Your gunna need leverage or raw power to break the front sprocket nut loose. The torque on that is 94lbs. Get a breaker bar or pipe to extend your tool handle.

We did, we had a really long pipe that we used on the end, we pulled really hard but since the bike was in neutral it rolled forward still, despite the rear brake being pressed down and a 2x4 inside the back wheel.

It has to be in 1st for anything to change unfortunately... and to do that I basically have to reassemble the bike.

[Alex]

Why do you think it has to be in first? If the chain is on and the rear wheel is stopped, it shouldn't matter whether it is in gear or not.

[csmith12]

Hold up yo. When your goal is to change the front sprocket, the very first thing to do after the shifter is out of the way is to remove the sprocket cover and loosen the big nut. Everything is still on the bike, chain, wheels, brakes, ect.. ect..

With the chain on both sprockets and a 2x4 through the wheel, the bike can only roll forward until the wheel hits the 2x4, which is braced by the swingarm. Unless the chain or 2x4 breaks, it's impossible for the bike to move forward. And we know the chain or 2x4 isn't gunna break with just 94lbs of force. Doing it this way makes it easy, no neutral/1st gear or rear brake shenanigans or the like.

Hell fire... then all ya gotta do is loosen the rear wheel, push it forward, put the chain on the front sprocket and slide it on the spindle. Tighten everything back up. Done deal.

Also, rotate the tool so you can pull up instead of push down.

[Hero Danny]

Huh, good point. actually what was going on was the bike was sliding forward.

But you're right, 1st gear wouldn't of mattered..

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Huh, good point. actually what was going on was the bike was sliding forward.

RedNeck Tip: Roll bike against a wall to stop forward sliding.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by csmith12

RedNeck Tip: Roll bike against a wall to stop forward sliding.

Is it possible for me to remove it by myself? If so then i'll try it tomorrow.

I still need to buy molly grease. But I guess what i have to do is remove the bolt move the back wheel forward and pull off the sprocket, attach molly grease onto new sprocket and slide it back on, tighten it a LOT and then attach chain, bolt everything back up, adjust chain.

Right? Or am I forgetting something lol.

Btw, do I need to lift up the back wheel to adjust it?

[csmith12]

Sure, you can do it solo pretty easy if you have stands or a bike specific wheel chock. Otherwise it's a pain in the arse to do it while the bike is leaning on the side that you're working on. Best to have someone hold the bike stable and straight up & down, especially while tugging.

And yea, you're gunna need to get the rear wheel in the air to adjust/align everything back up and tighten the chain.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Sure, you can do it solo pretty easy if you have stands or a bike specific wheel chock. Otherwise it's a pain in the arse to do it while the bike is leaning on the side that you're working on. Best to have someone hold the bike stable and straight up & down, especially while tugging.

And yea, you're gunna need to get the rear wheel in the air to adjust/align everything back up and tighten the chain.

Alright, Thanks man! I appreciate it! You've been a big help.

[cbinker]

you will never reach top end.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Is it possible for me to remove it by myself? If so then i'll try it tomorrow.

I still need to buy molly grease. But I guess what i have to do is remove the bolt move the back wheel forward and pull off the sprocket, attach molly grease onto new sprocket and slide it back on, tighten it a LOT and then attach chain, bolt everything back up, adjust chain.

Right? Or am I forgetting something lol.

Btw, do I need to lift up the back wheel to adjust it?

The Duck does it by himself and doesn't even need a 2x4:

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Hero Danny]

I decided to button the bike back up and call it quits, I'm honestly glad I did because during this time I decided to change the shift lever, make it point further down and man what a difference! I shift so much easier now! I'm very happy

I didn't do the swap because I realized that I also need to lift up the back tire, I have no way to lift up the back end so oh well. (no motorcycle stands)

After driving around town (did a 50 mile cruise) I felt like my bike was perfectly fine the way it is, sure it would be nice not to shift so soon out of first, but oh well, I'm kind of used to it.

Like @Alex said, having the extra tooth really doesn't improve gas mileage at all. All it does is make the engine a little calmer which is welcomed for highway travel, which I never ride on the highway so it is a little bit pointless.

I will consider possibly doing the mod whenever I get my tires changed. Until then, I'll rock the stock gearing.

[Alex]

Get a rear stand, if not a front stand as well. They will come in handy for just about everything you'd want to do to your bike, including things as basic as chainlube.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by Alex

Get a rear stand, if not a front stand as well. They will come in handy for just about everything you'd want to do to your bike, including things as basic as chainlube.

Gonna add to the list!

I usually just end up rolling the bike back and spray the chain, haha I guess the stands would help a ton though.