Seeking more low-end torque

[dankatz]

OK, so now that I have a Ducati Monster 696 to share with my wife and have ridden a BMW F800ST for 10 days and 2500km in Europe I am really feeling the need for more low-end torque. Most of my riding is in Boston. What would you guys suggest be a worthwhile modification (aside from getting a different bike) to get more low-end torque. I tend to not exceed 5k rpm in normal riding. My friend suggested a sprocket change? How would that work to increase torque and would it change my rpm? What would be a good Front/Rear combo that won't change my speedometer too much? My understanding are that exhaust pipes are more for sound than actual performance - correct me if I am wrong. Lastly, anything electronic that can be changed with a dynojet to make the bike more torquie? All advice appreciated...

 

[Shamus McFeeley]

I sprocket change, either front or rear will be the easiest and probably the simplest.

You can do one (or a combo) of things to your sprockets:

Decreasing the tooth count on the front sprocket will increase your "low end" torque at the cost of "top end speed"

Increasing the tooth count on the rear sprocket will have the same effect, that is increasing your low end torque.

This works conversely as well.

It's important to note that changing the front sprocket tooth count will have a much more dramatic effect. "Dropping" one tooth from the front will make a huge impact. The rear sprocket will require more teeth to "drop" or "add" to see the same effect.

Of course you could go with a 12 tooth front and 58 rear (stock being 14/48?) and have monstrous torque, but it would be a horrible ride. Others here have experimented with sprockets on the FZ and can comment more smartly than I.

This is a tool I like to use, it has several (many) pre-loaded bikes that you can choose from to input the stock gearing. From there you can play to your hearts content: Final Drive Calculator

YES, changing the sprockets will have a corresponding effect on your RPMs in each gear. How dramatic an effect depends on what tooth counts you use on your sprockets.

While some exhaust systems are out there purely for sound or "show", most of the ones you see for the FZ are going to have some kind of impact on your horsepower and torque numbers. To get the most bang for your buck with aftermarket exhausts you really need to run your bike on a dyno and have someone with the capability and knowledge to tune your fuel mapping. This is also going to require some piece of aftermarket electronics like a power commander.

 

[Jarad]

This is a tool I like to use, it has several (many) pre-loaded bikes that you can choose from to input the stock gearing. From there you can play to your hearts content: Final Drive Calculator

Very cool, thx for this!

 

[tomari]

if you need low end torque there is only one way....get a 750 a 1000 or add a turbine