kateroc20

I have an '86 250 and a neighbor suggested to me that i switched the rear sprocket to a 30 tooth i would be able to accelerate faster. has anyone done this or have any thoughts on it?

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Shadow Shack

Accelerate faster? Maybe if you switched to a 36T...the 30T would serve to drop RPMs at higher speeds but hampers acceleration.

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Fridgitator

If you want to experiment with ratios, put a 15 t on the front. It's easier to swap if you change your mind.

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cagie

I went back to stock after my run with both 30t and 15t (not at the same time). If you live in a flat area with no wind, then running either/or is ok. But any strain really takes a toll on the produced torque.

After accepting that the Rebel runs best at higher RPMs and live with the sound, the stock works better, IMO.

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Comments contained in my posts are not intended to cause physical or psychological stress and are mearly my two cents worth, and in this economy, that's cheap!
87 CMX250C 'the Pygmy Pony'
87 CMX450C 'Black Lithium'

Fridgitator

I'm currently back at stock. I didn't have problems with acceleration or terrain, but the 15 t changed the vibration of the bike in a way I didn't like. I expect to try it again when it's time to change the chain and the rear sprocket. I'll see if that has any effect.

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JunkyardDog

I also run stock gearing, and it is my opinion that stock is best for all around use. Out of 45 motorcycles I have owned, only a couple had gearing that I felt was too low. One of them was an '07 Ninja 250, and I went up one tooth on the front sprocket and it was perfect. I can't remember what the other one was.


Many people have a hard time accepting that a motorcycle engine, especially a small one, runs a lot faster than a car engine, and think it is about to blow up. It isn't, but it does take some getting used to, especially if you don't have a lot of experience with motorcycles. Jerry.

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Fridgitator

I have no problem with that. My reason for trying the 15 was the shift points. Running at less than WOT on the the highway is a bonus, but even with the stock gearing I run close to 70 for at least half of my commute.

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cagie

Me too. Plus I thought since I did a LOT of freeway riding I wanted to see if it would improve the overall gas mileage. It did, but only 1 or 2 mpg. It did give a broader range of power per gear, but only marginally. The down side is hills and headwinds. Both are a problem for me and the constant downshifting didn't do anything to improve the overall gas mileage. Stock gearing didn't seem to be any real difference in performance at 70 mph (which BTW, is only about 2 mph off the 'sweet spot' I had to find with the 15t gear)

__________________
Comments contained in my posts are not intended to cause physical or psychological stress and are mearly my two cents worth, and in this economy, that's cheap!
87 CMX250C 'the Pygmy Pony'
87 CMX450C 'Black Lithium'

Shadow Shack

I have mentioned it many times at the other Rebel forum and quite possibly a couple times here...I went this route on a bike with more power and torque and experienced the same issues. As such, I never saw the need to try it on the weaker Rebel, since it hampered "more power" I pretty much expected it to do the same with "less power". It was argued by someone (who I honestly can't remember) at the other place that "by not actually trying it, my points were invalid".

I'm glad that tidbit finally got out in the open, turns out my theory wasn't far off

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Support your FLIBS (Friendly Local Independent Bike Shop)
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Guba

I have a 30T on back and love it! However, most of my riding is at 55 or less and pretty much flat. Today I took a trip down to Columbus through some winding hilly roads into a headwind with a bigger windshield and had some wishful "more power" moments. I had to gear down to get though those and really hated to do that. But I realise it's one of the trade offs if I want better gas mileage.

The reason I got back into biking was the outrageous gas prices a couple years ago. Apparently my riding situation is more condusive for better gas mileage than for other riders. I do notice that when I get on the expressway my gas mileage goes way down (65MPH).

Change sprockets according to your riding conditions, what works for some doesn't work for others.

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Some days beer tastes good...other days beer tastes better!

'07 Rebel 250 26,000 miles