MacLean Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 Hi,I have a drz400 with 18/21inch dirt wheels on and I have a set of 17inch wheels with road tyres. I'm wanting to be able to switch between the two but the gearing with my dirt wheel is 14/47 which is bang on for green laning, but need to lower the teeth on rear sprocket quite a bit to make it more suitable when in 'road mode'.After using this very handy tool http://www.gearingcommander.com/ I have found that by reducing the rear sprocket to my ideal which is around 40 - 42 teeth i will not have enough room to adjust rear wheel to take up the slack....Which led me onto chains - I thought maybe having two chains would be a good idea, but the chain on it does not have the clip on master link therefore - can this type of chain be removed and reasembled without destroying/weaking them?I'm thinking that perhaps I may just have to accept a less than ideal gearing and just go with a large sprocket on the back in road mode and just avoid motorways! The bike is primarliy for green laning which I've been using it for so far so will not compramise it for its intended purpose but would like to have a bit of fun on it with some solid road tyres on the road. (knobblys are scary on road lol)Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 Changing the number of teeth on the Front sprocket would have a greater impact......so, if you upped the front sprocket by 2 teeth it shouldn't have too great affect on the chain tensioning if any......and I would have thought that changing the front sprocket over while you're swapping the wheels wouldn't be too much of a job?...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacLean Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 Changing the number of teeth on the Front sprocket would have a greater impact......so, if you upped the front sprocket by 2 teeth it shouldn't have too great affect on the chain tensioning if any......and I would have thought that changing the front sprocket over while you're swapping the wheels wouldn't be too much of a job?...... Well that might be an idea.... I have read though that 16tooth front sprocket can cause issues on drz with rubbing a plastic guard piece or something...I was also put off by guys talking about locktite and the like on the front - making me think that a front sprocket is a bit of hastle if you want to swap it on a semi-regular basis.But I dunno - perhaps I need to have more of a look into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megawatt Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 Loctite? Why would you need that? If nut/ bolts tightened properly, you don,t need anything else. If still worried, use a drop of silicone. Always worked for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 the thing you have to watch with smaller front sprocket is that the chain doesn't rub on the pivot point of the swingarm and destroy it!! Loctite? Why would you need that? If nut/ bolts tightened properly, you don,t need anything else. totally disagreeafter owning a big twin for the last 7 years I can tell you it makes no odds on some bolts how much you tighten them up as some will vibrate loose!!just recently I have had to tighten up 3 bolts which one of them has a lock nut for the 3rd time in 7 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 the thing you have to watch with smaller front sprocket is that the chain doesn't rub on the pivot point of the swingarm and destroy it!! It would need a bigger front sprocket wouldn't it........to increase the top end speed?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 the thing you have to watch with smaller front sprocket is that the chain doesn't rub on the pivot point of the swingarm and destroy it!! It would need a bigger front sprocket wouldn't it........to increase the top end speed?. ooops sorry Bob I miss read your post and thought you meant smaller front for some reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Interesting conundrum. I don't think you'll get around it without either changing out the front or being very careful about your rear selection.For me, I'd change the front as, like said previously, it'll have a greater effect on gearing with minimal adjustment but it is more of a pain as you'll end up changing more stuff over. Kinda depends how often you want to transition from lane to road I guess.Personally, I already have a smaller front/bigger rear than stock and wouldn't mind going a step further on both - makes it super snappy round and about and I just have to live with it buzzing away on the motorway whenever I have to use them. Not Ideal as it eats fuel but I try and avoid motorways anyhow as they are deathly tedious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacLean Posted October 7, 2013 Author Share Posted October 7, 2013 I'm going to have a look into how awkward (or not hopefully) the front sprocket is to change. I've previously had sprockets and chain done at shop so haven't had to touch a front sprocket before, I guess I'm assuming that due to the crap that gets dragged in there and the load on the front sprocket that its going to super tight and potiential for rounding off bolts or snapping things or other fun stuff like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acting_strange Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 I'm going to have a look into how awkward (or not hopefully) the front sprocket is to change. I've previously had sprockets and chain done at shop so haven't had to touch a front sprocket before, I guess I'm assuming that due to the crap that gets dragged in there and the load on the front sprocket that its going to super tight and potiential for rounding off bolts or snapping things or other fun stuff like that? Just make sure you clean it all well first and that you use a six sided socket not a twelve sided...that will greatly reduce any chance of rounding nut/bolt heads... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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