15T Front sprocket is greeaaatt!

[Hokie11]

finally got around to attempting the install of my 15T front sprocket yesterday for the 2nd time. first attempt i only had a ratcheting wrench = complete fail

i went out to buy a breaker bar, longest one i saw was i think 14in

i put that 27mm sucker on there and went at it...

fail...

for over 30min...

i put a metal bar above the swingarm to keep the wheel from moving and held down the front brake while i stood on it from the front

i looked absolutely ridiculous, and i live in a condo with an underground garage..

imagine heading to your car and seeing a little asian dude jumping up and down on the front of his bike holding it tight...

i bet theyre hiding their little girls from me now

so yeah, i know i should have bought a 3ft pipe and got more leverage, but i was stubborn..

it FINALLY came off after jumping on it enough, though it fell off a few times and i was scared of stripping that guy. man was i sweating. im a pretty strong guy (i think) for my size and that sh*t was a PITA!!!!

adjusted the chain and tightened it back on (first to get it to about 80ft/lb which is the max of my torque settings, then by standing on the breaker bar again lol but with much less force). just in case, i bent the washer back around the nut

took a nice long 3 hour ride and MAN, what a nice difference. i actually was cruising in 5th several times and didn't know it!!

VERY VERY happy with the mod. but word of advice, when the guys in teh DIY replies say use a pipe.. USE ONE!! it would have saved my leg and i probably wouldnt have lost 2lbs in water weight.

[gamma500]

Did it look the Factory had put red locktite on the shaft threads when you got it off or worse yet , the dreaded "gray" ?

[ninjabrewer]

Originally Posted by Hokie11

imagine heading to your car and seeing a little asian dude jumping up and down on the front of his bike holding it tight...

now that would have been a sight. How did the sprocket change affect the acceleration, gas milage etc.?

nb

[Hokie11]

Originally Posted by gamma500

Did it look the Factory had put red locktite on the shaft threads when you got it off or worse yet , the dreaded "gray" ?

not sure what the dreaded gray is, but i was expecting to see red loctite but didnt. im assuming it is the dreaded gray since it was on so damn tight. i just took it out for a nice ride because i hoped it would help heat up that red loctite if it had been there

now that would have been a sight. How did the sprocket change affect the acceleration, gas milage etc.?

acceleration did not seem to be affected much. i have only been riding for 2 weeks (though almost 1000mi already) but i really dont think it hurt
as for gas mileage, i did fill up right before and then calc it to be at 56.3mpg after the swap. my last fill, i had it at about 55.8mpg. but considering i did ride it differently after the swap, both to test accel and also comfort, i think its within a small enough margin of error that it did not hurt nor help mpgs. also read the comments made on the sprocket swap DIY, it gives a good insight as to why it really wont do much for gas mileage, but it can hurt accel if you go further with a rear swap like a 15/43 setup

[Greg_E]

With a mechanical holder, you don't need loctite so there might not have been anything on it.

[Finder]

Originally Posted by Hokie11

adjusted the chain and tightened it back on (first to get it to about 80ft/lb which is the max of my torque settings, then by standing on the breaker bar again lol but with much less force). just in case, i bent the washer back around the nut

I really hope you didn't put much force on that breaker bar!!! 94 ft.lbs is 94 lbs of force at the end of a 1 foot long lever. Not that much more than the 80 ft.lbs of your torque wrench.

[Hokie11]

i dont believe i did, what i actually looked out for after tightening it to 80ft/lb, is for the nut to move a few more mm, that was it, then i bent the washer back around it just in case. with it tightening maybe 2-3mm more than 80ftlb, i was pretty sure i was just under 90, which i doubt will hurt

[minuslars]

I would've sprayed that bolt down nice and good with WD-40, let it soak in that for a few minutes, repeat a couple times, and then try it again... and you can get an 18 in. breaker bar at Home Depot (Husky brand) or Sears (Craftsman). My stubborn axle bolt came right off after WD-40 treatment and breaker bar... and it's torqued at 110 Nm...

But anyways congrats on the upgrade, I'm really tempted to try it myself... do you notice significant loss of pull at the lower end of the RPM range (is there any to lose??? lol)

[noche_caliente]

my hubby was wondering why I was laughing so hard until I had him read your visualization... too funny!

[wayanlam]

why not change the back sprockets out if the front one is such a pita to get off?

[randomwalk101]

Well when I swapped mine to 15 last year, I used an air gun and zapped it off in 1.0238 seconds so I didn't think much of it until I read your post. Now I'm scared of it
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[Ninjaboi57]

Where did you buy you sprocket at? do you have to change out the rear's as well?? I can't find online. Please help with part number and resource. I want the 15/44.

Thanks alot.

[Hokie11]

sprocketcenter.com, you dont need to do the rear, mine is just 15/45 right now, but i will be going to a 15/43 later. website just has it listed as "520 steel front sprocket - kawasaki ex250" $19.95

[Ninjaboi57]

Thanks, I thought the rears have to be changed due to the new ratio in front...???

[Ninjaboi57]

sorry, whats the benefits of just changeing the fronts with out the rears. It is supposed to make the gears taller rite?

[Hokie11]

if u lower rear along with 15t, it will lower rpms through the gears even more but also hurt acceleration more. take it in steps to see what u like. im gonna hang with 15t for now, but plan on getting a 43t for rear later. if i miss the 45t, ill switch back

[Ninjaboi57]

I'll do the front first like you said. Ordered part just now.... Thanks for the info....