Hey guys.. I was looking into replacing my stock sprocket(s) for some acceleration performance but I have never done this and I was looking for some information on the benefits and cons of doing this and what the difference is in replacing the front sprocket vs replacing the rear vs replacing both front and rear. I was just wondering if anyone had a link to some general sprocket info and what you need to know before doing something like this because I'm not the type to just jump into doing something like this before I do my research about it. Any information or links whether on here or other websites will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance guys!

 

well you could start by including what type of bike you have.

generally if you own a newer 1000cc bike it will come with a 530 chain and sprockets and anything else will have a 525 chain and sprockets which are less durable and lighter but nonetheless do the job with no worry of breakage. some people opt to go with the even lighter 520 chain and sprockets to save a little weight and increase throttle response by just a tad, but these improvements are very minimal and usually only done on track bikes.

if you convert to a 520 chain you must convert both sprockets as well, a 520 chain will not work with 525 or 530 sprockets, and vice versa.

the advantages of changing the teeth on your sprockets are very beneficial if want some more low end power. you always decrease the teeth on the front sprocket or increase the teeth on the rear sprocket or do both. if you do the opposite you will either cancel yourself out or lose low end power. changing your sprockets is like changing the gear ratio in the drivetrain of your car, it will increase your acceleration rate at the expense of top speed.

the drawbacks of changing the teeth on your sprockets are minimal and include inaccurate readouts of your speedometer, which can be cured with a speedohealer. your mileage will be off due to the tires rotating faster on the pavement thus making the bike think its going further in distance than it really is. your top speed will go down, but who goes 150+ everywhere they go? also be careful under hard acceleration as the increased low end power will turn into the front tire trying to leave the ground more often.

going -1 in the front and +1 or +2 in the rear is what i suggest to anyone changing sprockets sizes, anything more is stupid unless stunting is what you want to do with the bike.

good luck

 

One tooth in the front is generally worth 3 in the rear.