Hahahahahahahahahahahaha - aka Impressions of a 14T sprocket

[Alphamazing]

First off, a few things:

1) This is not for beginners.
2) This is not for beginners.

Thank you.

I installed a 14T front sprocket on my GS500 on Monday, June 26, 2006. I was lucky enough to live in the same city as the seller (pretty much the only reason I bought it, actually) so I picked it up and installed it that night. Thanks go out to Phaedrus for the quick walk-through that eliminated any of the guesswork I might have had in installing it.

Quick math:
Stock gearing on a GS500 is 16 front, 39 rear. Installing a 14 tooth front sprocket increases the revs:

16/14 = 1.142857

This means that there is a 14.285% increase in revs at a given speed in a given gear. For reference, at 80mph in 6th gear with stock gearing the tachometer reads ~6000 RPM. With the 14 tooth front sprocket it reads at ~7000 RPM, right at the start of the good stuff.

My only problem encountered after installing the sprocket was that my chain is at the end of its adjustments. After 13,000 some miles and a new sprocket, I'll replace it.

My first impression of the sprocket was that it made first gear have a lot more pull off idle. Even feathering the clutch I could tell the difference immediately. I spent the next few days commuting back and forth to work on local neighborhood roads, never getting it past 50mph or so. It was readily noticeable that in a given gear there was more power availible at the speed due to the RPM jump. It typically sets everything right into the powerband and I don't have to ring it out so hard anymore, as it's already there!

On my second day commuting I had become accustomed to it already and it just felt normal. I ride by feel and sound, so the bike behaved just as it did before, it just required less effort to do so. I know that if I need more throttle I give it some, but only after I step off the bike do I realize I didn't have to ring the bloody hell out of it. It requires a lot less concentration to ride fast than it did before, which was my main goal. If you want it to feel like the stock bike, you can always upshift (unless you're in 6th already).

After work on that day I decided to see how the bike behaved on the freeway. I didn't notice any extra buzziness due to the RPM increase, but rather only noticed that the bike was ready to jump at all times (relatively speaking of course, it IS a GS after all). The bike is right at the good stuff in the powerband at highway cruising speeds, so there is no longer a need to downshift in order to pass cars. Of course you still CAN downshift, but it isn't necessary now. 6th gear has essentially become 5th gear.

On my way home I was at 30mph in second gear and I pulled in the clutch a little bit while still holding the throttle down, then let out the clutch pretty quickly (just to see, ya know?). Well, whadda ya know? The GS pops its wheel at 30mph in second gear with only a little effort with the clutch. To be honest, I'm kinda scared to try it in first gear. And to be honest, I loved it. It was an absolute hoot having the wheel pop up like that; I didn't ride it out for long, just a hop and it was back down, but it was still made me laugh and smile for longer than it should have. For reference, the only time I could get the wheel even minorly up in 2nd gear with stock gearing was hard shifting into second. Now given, I didn't try very hard, but it usually only ended up accelerating me with a jolt. Now for all the people that have the thought of "OMG WHEELIEZ IN TEH STREET ON PUBLIC ROADS!!! OMGZ SQUIDD!!!!1" I'll let you know I was wearing my gear, there were no cars around, and I was by myself on the bike.

I took a quick (10 miles maybe) ride through a moderately twisty bit near my house consisting of mainly 25 to 35 mph sweepers. I really enjoyed the new feel of the bike and, like I said earlier, it was just a lot easier to ride fast. I encountered a stop light on this road, and with a straight away in front of it I decided to see what the GS felt like pulling hard from a stop. 1st gear tops at around 30mph and pulls a lot better than stock. If I knew how to drag race and get good starts I'm sure it'd be more impressive, but it's fine for what I'm used to (I slip the clutch and do it by feel). Hard shifting into second, meaning clutch in, shift, then drop the clutch essentially, will cause the bike to pop up a little bit as it climbs revs even higher. Hard shifting into third also causes the front end to come up a little bit. Wheelie in third? Dayum. I never knew it until now, but wheelies are fun.

This is not a modification for beginners. The power delivery is much more dramatic and basically not noob friendly. It is less forgiving of mistakes and can get you into trouble a lot faster if you aren't careful. If you drop the clutch too fast the bike can easily come up and if you hammer the throttle coming out of a turn (meaning you don't have smooth throttle control and just open it wide up) the rear wheel could easily spin loose on you.

However, if you're an experienced rider and want a little more pep to your life, this is a cheap and easy way to get it.

[Mandres]

I'd be interested to know what kind of hit your gas mileage takes.

-M

[Alphamazing]

I'd be interested to know what kind of hit your gas mileage takes.

-M

I noticed that with the stock gearing the bike got better gas mileage the harder I rode it. That means I'm either lean up top or rich on the mids (whatever, the bike works fine and the plugs look great). But I'll definitely get a gas mileage report when I fill up.

I'm leaving for San Antonio in a few hours and 100 miles will be thrown onto the odometer by the time I get there. I'll have to fill up before I leave, so expect it soon!

[CirclesCenter]

AHAHAHAHAH!!!!

Alpha, i might just follow your lead on this one, our local track is really tight anyways and I want the GS to be the Giant Slayer.

(Plus wheelies sound stupid....... stupid fun..... )

Think of this if you go nuts and drop in those 79mm's you were talking about, AHAHAHHAHA!!!

[TadMC]

I think im gonna do this too, 

a K&N lunchbox
stage 3 jet
14 tooth sprocket

ok maybe not

[nick_villan]

someboy likes to pop wheels 

[TadMC]

how much did it cost you for the sprocket, and did you have to tighten the chain?

[dracflamloc]

How hard is it to install and setup? I might be interested in this if it still lets me get up to 85-90mph so I can commute to work. Sounds like this kind of mod would give me exactly what I want from my GS. This way I wouldnt want to buy a new motorcycle to get the response I want.

[Phaedrus]

How hard is it to install and setup? I might be interested in this if it still lets me get up to 85-90mph so I can commute to work. Sounds like this kind of mod would give me exactly what I want from my GS. This way I wouldnt want to buy a new motorcycle to get the response I want.

Eh, even with the 15T sprocket, prolonged 85-90mph is kidna pushing the RPM's too high. And that is indicated MPH - not even real MPH! I can only imagine a 14T 

[TadMC]

Well screw this, Im gonna get a 2 tooth sprocket, then ill show you alpha

[Alphamazing]

Mmkay, I'm still in San Antonio and here's some info:

Yes, I had to tighten the chain. A lot. Now I need a new one because it is on the last bit of the adjusters.

The vibes come in at 8000 RPM and go away at 8250ish. That's right around 90mph, but might be cured with different bar ends. Also, I have SM2s so the stock bars might vibrate differently.

I travelled all the way down to San Antonio (100 mile trip) at around 85 to 90mph and didn't really mind the vibes that much. I'm hardcore and super tough though, you might be annoyed by them. As said before, 80mph is 7k rpm, and I had a nice little run up to 110 indicated, which was at 10k rpm. Max speed will be right around 120 (if it can even get there). The bike pulled a lot easier to the big numbers than it did before, and I was in top gear!

I got the sprocket for $11 off eBay from a guy here in Austin. You can get one from a retailer for ~$20.

[Alphamazing]

Gas mileage update!

170.3 miles - 4.000 gallons = 42.575

Before this I was getting on average between 43 and 45mpg. I will probably end up getting better mileage around town, as I was cruisning at 85mph and above (up to 110) for about 90 miles of that 170.

[CirclesCenter]

Wow, I may very well have to do this, LOL.

[dracflamloc]

Yea this sounds great. $20 and a slightly lower top speed maybe is definitely worth it when comapred to selling the GS for a 4-5000$ bike with the pep I want.

[Alphamazing]

Yea this sounds great. $20 and a slightly lower top speed maybe is definitely worth it when comapred to selling the GS for a 4-5000$ bike with the pep I want.

Actually, the top speed is higher for me. I've gotten it to 115 on a country back road with no cars. Took a long time to get there too. This climbed to 110 a lot easier. I have a feeling it'd hit 120 if I asked it.

It can definitely scoot if it needs to. Much more good around town, and I really didn't mind the highway that much either.

I gotta admit though, wheelies are fun.

[Simba]

Wow i really want to try this now!!

[makenzie71]

Dropping two up front with the GS' gearing isn't that severe...it's a life/death scenario with my TL.

[Alphamazing]

Dropping two up front with the GS' gearing isn't that severe...it's a life/death scenario with my TL.

Yeah. I'd be piss scared to try it on a bigger bike with *ahem* availible torque.

But yeah, good mod, but the whole needing a chain thing sucks ass.

Filled up on gas today - 90 miles with 1.7 gallons = 53mpg!!

[makenzie71]

needing a chain isn't that bad.  You can pick up a brand new 525 roller $15 (I LOVE roller chains!!)

[Alphamazing]

needing a chain isn't that bad.  You can pick up a brand new 525 roller $15 (I LOVE roller chains!!)

Roller? Wha? O-ring? Non o-ring?