[dsn_klr650] soft asphault

[Toby Lampson]

JSherlockHolmes@... wrote:

> ........................ Is there a particular reason many of you are > doing front sprocket changes? Just curious.

Its easier....you can do it on the trail. Slide

[Tom Bowman]

Jim wrote:

> A couple more questions in search of knowledge. On this list,

there has been

> a lot of talk about gearing changes, primarily by means of

changing the front

> sprockets. I am curious, why the front sprockets? I was brought

up to believe

> that if you wanted taller gearing, you went to a smaller rear

sprocket. If

> you wanted lower gearing, you went to a larger rear sprocket.

The "old"

> school also lead me to believe that one should leave the front

sprocket alone

> unless absolutely necessary. I don't recall the exact reasons

why, but it

> seemed to be general knowledge that the way to go was with rear

sprocket

> changes. Did I miss something? Is there a particular reason

many of you are

> doing front sprocket changes? Just curious. > > Jim Sherlock

The positives: 1. Drive sprockets are cheaper - half to one-third the cost of a rear sprocket 2. Drive sprockets are easier to change than rears 3. Larger drive sprockets reduce the angle the chain has to go through when it rounds the sprocket, potentially increasing life The negatives: 4. There's limited space and sometimes a larger drive sprocket causes case interference 5. One tooth up on the drive sprocket is a much larger jump than a tooth on the rear, and sometimes it's too much 6. Increasing the size means the rear axle has to be moved forward to adjust chain slack: there may not be enough room, and moving the rear forward shortens wheelbase which makes the handling 'quicker', a potential problem if the bike is already twitchy (I doubt this would be a problem on a KLR) Download GearCalc - www.ironjungle.com - and play with the numbers to see the effect of gearing changes. Keep in mind that a 500-rpm increase or decrease is pretty big when felt from the seat even though it doesn't sound like much. Tom Bowman Atlanta A14 "Stella"

[Kurt Simpson]

> A couple more questions in search of knowledge. On this list, there has

been

> a lot of talk about gearing changes, primarily by means of changing the

front

> sprockets. I am curious, why the front sprockets? I was brought up to

believe

> that if you wanted taller gearing, you went to a smaller rear sprocket. If > you wanted lower gearing, you went to a larger rear sprocket. The "old" > school also lead me to believe that one should leave the front sprocket

alone

> unless absolutely necessary. I don't recall the exact reasons why, but it > seemed to be general knowledge that the way to go was with rear sprocket > changes. Did I miss something? Is there a particular reason many of you

are

> doing front sprocket changes? Just curious.

sure, it is because it is so simple and inexpensive. You can go down one or two teeth in the front (or up one...13-16) w/o removing or adding links to the chain. The sprocket sells for under $20 and can be changed in a relatively short amount of time. Pre-'96 KLR's and DR650's can change the front sprocket in such a short amount of time it is like having an extra gear with you. Ride to Moab...change the front sprocket in 30 minutes and you've just added a new gear to your transmission (this idea from Tom Meyer's article at Cycoactive). Kurt

[Conall O'Brien]

>From: k650dsn@... >To: DSN_klr650@egroups.com >Subject: Re: [DSN_klr650] Re: Soft asphault >Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 23:26:45 EDT > >In a message dated 06/20/2000 8:43:10 PM Mountain Daylight Time, >garagedoor79@... writes: > >tech > solution - a jar lid! Jam jar, pickle jar, just get some kind of lid. > Small, light, costs nothing and easily replaceable. > >> > >I keep a metal cover plate from an electrical outlet box in my jacket >pocket. > It has a long string tied to it so I can pull it up once I'm on the bike. > >Gino

Or you could buy the carbon fibre version from Aerostitch's new catalog. Only $20 if you have more money than brains.While your at it get the titanium fork and knife set. Conall Conall ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com