Sprocket/Chain Change...Help me decide

Hey everyone,

It is time for me to change my sprockets and chain, and I'm debating about whether to change the teeth on it. I'm 30 years old with two kids, so I'm not out there looking to pop wheelies, but I do think I would like a little more "pop" when I take off.

I have read the other threads out there and I would like to continue the discussion and ask some questions.

1) I hear that dropping 1 tooth on the front is a "mild" change. Have any of you done this? If so were you happy with the change?

2) I have read that a lot of people are doing -1/+2. I think that may be too much "pop" for me. But I'm willing to listen if some of you live by it.

3) Where did you all get your chain and sprocket from? I found moto-heaven.com that seems to be a decent site. I also called and talked with them and they seem very nice. They said instead of doing -1/+2 I could just +4 in the back and they would cut the chain to length. I have not heard that one before so that makes me a little skeptical. But the service was top notch when I called them.

I was considering doing this myself, but my local service guy said he would put them on for $50. I think that is a very good price.

Have thought about the -1+0 and have a 15 tooth front sprocket but went with stock as didn't want to deal with the increased RPM's on the interstate. It goes up Burkholder Gap Road OK. There are a couple of threads you should search for: Someone found a 15 tooth front sprocket with the rubber on the sides like the stock 16 tooth. It is made by Yamaha for an older R6 I think. The other thread talked about the RPM's with different sprocket configurations.

From SprocketCenter.com went with a 530 gold DID and a SuperSprox rear and stock front. Like the look of the gold chain with the SuperSprox rear sprocket. Thought about going to a 520 setup. They said it would last just as long as the 530. Would also accelerate better. Just a thought - 520 with a -1+0 might be a good compromise. I do a lot of interstate riding and for me stock is a good balance.

Someone put together a spreadsheet looking at how the gearing should affect speed and RPM. Maybe playing with that some will help you with the decision:

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/25979-15-t-sprocket-2.html#post274053

I went with -1/+1 (JT sprocket) and a 520 setup (RK) and am happy with it - but most of my riding is local. You might want something less drastic if you do a lot of highway riding. I bought the parts from Bikebandit.

Alright, I ended up going with an EK chain and a front and rear sprocket by Thrust company.

Couple of points for those who have not done this before:

1) I used a rivet tool from motionpro. Pressing the plate on was a pain, I had to stick a piece of chain under the plate in order to prevent it from turning to the right when I added torque. Once I figured that "workaround" out it was easy.

2) The rivet piece was foreign to me. I broke the first masterlink and then ordered another one. The second time was a lot easier because I had a 'feel' for how far I could go. Basically hand-tight without using any real leverage.

3) You will read on other posts that you should not torque the studs on the rear sprocket to factory spec. Trust me. They're correct you are likely to break strip the threads on the stud by doing so. I went with 50-55 lbs of torque with blue loctite (after I replaced the one stud I stripped).

New Question for those who have done this before:

I noticed I have a "new chain sound" now. I just figured out I can now hear the chain going across that plastic guard/track on the top of the swingarm. I did clean the grime that was on there before I put the new chain on. I'm wondering if the sound I'm hearing is "normal" or if I should grease up that track or something. Just trying to see if I'm the only one to hear what is going on down there after cleaning and adding a new chain. Thought/comments/suggestions are appreciated.

After putting on a vortex 15t front sprocket, it made some noise but it was coming from the front sprocket.
I don't hear it anymore. May be i get used to it or later it went away.