12/43 to 13/48... i hate it!

I went from a final drive of 3.58 to 3.7 and it wasn't at all what I expected.

I had expected to gain more low end torque at the cost of some top speed...

I most certainly took a hit on my top speed (I went from being able to cruise 65 comfortably, to almost screaming at 65 now) but notice virtually nothing on the bottom end.

I'm unfortunately a little disappointed. I guess I'll go 13/46 or 13/47 next time, or 14/50 if I want a big giant saucer on the end of my bike.

Just venting my frustration. I ride mostly off-road anyway, so it's not a huge deal but at least before if I was brave I could do freeway. Now I can't even consider it.

I run 13-48 as its a good compromise but wish I had 13-50 a lot while off road, I used to run 13-50 but the bike was revving too much on the road, you cant have it geared good for off road and not be revving pretty high at 65 as its only a 250 and needs low gearing to work well off road.

14/49 is the compromise for me, for interstate it could have a few less on the rear.

Add a 13 for technical use, and add a 51 rear for sand aswell.

So many posts about changing the gearing. I'm running the stock 13/43 and find it perfect for off road, commuting and highway use. Use top gear on the highway no problem and low gear is perfect on fire trails & single track for me. I have adjusted the mixture so there is no hesitation winding on the throttle from walking pace. This was the first thing I did. I've only had the bike for 6 weeks or so. A 2009 with 18k Km.

I run 13/48 all the time and have been known to blast down an Interstate for a couple of hours at 70 to 80 mph. Did the COBDR with my 13/48 setup on a fully loaded bike which included more than one long run on the Million Dollar Highway at speed.

Is the motor screaming? Yep but it likes to scream.

Although I do tend to a lot more in town and off road/pavement stuff on the bike which is where the 13/48 comes in handy.

So stop being a wuss and let your bike have some fun!

I run 14/52 for tight single track and 14/50 for dual sport rides. With 14/52 55 mph it gets buzzy, 14/50 60mph is comfortable, 70-75 is obtainable but she is screaming
Thats with a spedo healer

Just my opinion, but in the tight woods a wr geared 14/50 or 52 will blast past a stock geared bike

I went up to a 14 on the front to save the chain guide and swingarm, stock case saver will not fit with a 14

I run without a case saver, I would rather crack the stator cover then have the case saver break the crankcase bolt threads off inside the motor

I ran a 14 with the stock case saver.

I took the case saver off and removed 1/8 of an inch from it with a grinder where the chain was hitting it, it was a 10 minute job.
Its plastic so you could use a file to do this easily if you don't have a grinder.

I too don't like steel case savers, they don't save the case they crack it where you cant fix it if the chain comes off lol.

13/48 here, was on the bike when I got it.

Can't imagine going much taller, on the snotty stuff I can run in second most of the time and use first when it's more trials like. Still cruise comfortably at 100k(60mph) and max around 135/140 (80mph?)
much shorter and I'll loose the ability for freeways and I should be on an enduro bike in the scrub.

Those that find that gearing too short, what sort of trails are you riding?

Biglake wrote:

I ran a 14 with the stock case saver.

I took the case saver off and removed 1/8 of an inch from it with a grinder where the chain was hitting it, it was a 10 minute job.
Its plastic so you could use a file to do this easily if you don't have a grinder.

I too don't like steel case savers, they don't save the case they crack it where you cant fix it if the chain comes off lol.

Thanks, BigLake. Can't believe I didn't think to just grind the stock case saver a little to fit my 14T. For me, 13 48 is perfect most off road and all around town, short commutes. Want to toss on the 14T on for any longer trips with lighter off road mix. I live in Idaho, so we pretty much have every type of riding available between the desert, mounains, trails, and roads.

I just changed to 13/48 from stock and love it. I do have a bigger D606 on the back, so maybe that's why I'm not screaming at 65 like you are. What tires you have? I think the bike feels normal now and doesn't want to stall, I still cruise at 70 no problem and 6th gear is usuable and not so much of an overdrive only usable on flat fast roads. I bet I could've gone to 50 and still be happy, but I'm going back to stock tires, so I'll see how that effects the gearing, even though my D606 is almost gone, so shouldn't be a huge difference in diameter.