Gearing for touring?

[thasty12]

I have read all these posts about doing the 15t conversion on the front sprocket for better torque but what's the best setup for long distance riding? I'm wanting to bring down the rpm's at highways speeds and dont care about low end torque or top speed. Suggestions?

 

[Chri5]

i regularly go touring around Europe i use 17/44 and get about 40-50 more miles out a tank it does really hamper torque but the motorway economy is excellent i only use this gearing on long trips as it does take a little of the fun out it but if you going the distance its good to save the cash but take note your speedo will be out

 

[Downs]

I run stock gearing.

 

[tejkowskit]

I run stock gearing as well. Does just fine.

 

[dpaul007]

Bought the bike with a 15t front sprocket, and slapped a 17t on. Much better for commuting. Plus the speedo is fairly accurate.

 

[FinalImpact]

It seems to me that until someone breaks 57~60+ MPG what's the point?

The higher mechanical load on the engine from turning less RPM doesn't really appear to get this low torque engine any better mileage. On a high torque engine, GO FOR IT! On these, its not helping. I mean we can all get 55mpg if we burn off a tank a gas on the highway w/out stopping 50 times.

Low rpms can increase fuel demand & will reduce oil and water circulation increase the engines wear. Just thinking out load. My point; lest see some proof that it improves MPG vs just making the bike a dog!

 

[Chri5]

It seems to me that until someone breaks 57~60+ MPG what's the point?

The extra 40-50 miles per tank might not seem much over in the US with your insanly cheap fuel but over here in Europe and the UK it matters. Even inner city travel i get about 170-180 miles to my tank excluding reserve thats about 55 mpg and over lets say 3000 mile trip it saves me at least £110 ($170) which is about 8 nights camping cost.

 

[TSRBrad]

I have read all these posts about doing the 15t conversion on the front sprocket for better torque but what's the best setup for long distance riding? I'm wanting to bring down the rpm's at highways speeds and dont care about low end torque or top speed. Suggestions?

Not sure about your goal here. My first thought when talking about lowering RPMs would be aimed at reducing vibration at highway speeds. Personally, for the type of riding I do I rarely give much thought to MPG and instead focus on comfort and trying to lessen any buzz. I'm also running stock gearing and am for the most part happy with it.

Having said that, I'd like to think that the engineers that design these bikes know what they're doing and put a certain amount of thought into what works best towards a set of performance criteria.

 

[SANGER_A2]

I do lots of motorway riding and I went to 17t and never looked back! Much smoother at 70+ and it DID improved my fuel consumption. If you check my site link below you can see a list of pros and cons and how my install went.