[macjosh1]

so being a noob, I got a question about sprockets. Unn... so again noob, what is the point of changing out sprockets? pro's & con's?


Just curious, allot of the other forums I've rear, just about everyone replaces the sprocket with a different tooth count, but no one seems to want to mention as to why exactly, like what's it suppose to do. lol. solely curiosity. lol.

 

[shortyg83]

so being a noob, I got a question about sprockets. Unn... so again noob, what is the point of changing out sprockets? pro's & con's?


Just curious, allot of the other forums I've rear, just about everyone replaces the sprocket with a different tooth count, but no one seems to want to mention as to why exactly, like what's it suppose to do. lol. solely curiosity. lol.

By changing the ratios you can use the power of the bike in different ways. You can make it so the bike has a bit higher top speed with less bottom end. Or the other way around.

 

[macjosh1]

By changing the ratios you can use the power of the bike in different ways. You can make it so the bike has a bit higher top speed with less bottom end. Or the other way around.

OH! Well, learning something everyday about bikes. that doesn't sound too bad for highway travelling. which is mostly what I do. lol. Very interesting, even more when the rebels get out more and more ppl start making changes to them. thank-you

 

[shortyg83]

OH! Well, learning something everyday about bikes. that doesn't sound too bad for highway travelling. which is mostly what I do. lol. Very interesting, even more when the rebels get out more and more ppl start making changes to them. thank-you

If you check the CBR300 forums a lot of those guys have good info on what they used for sprokets for better highway speeds.

 

[Djdavies]

And just in case its not obvious, there is no free lunch with this. You can improve one dimension of your ride, but there will be a penalty to pay somewhere else.

 

[01-7700]

And just in case its not obvious, there is no free lunch with this. You can improve one dimension of your ride, but there will be a penalty to pay somewhere else.

This is true - here's a cool website where you can see the effect of changing sprockets on rpms, mphs, and even the wear on the chain. Gearing Commander: Motorcycle Speed, RPM, Chain & Sprockets Calculator of course it has no way to determine how the engine will perform with a different tooth count. Honda puts the ideal sprockets on their bikes to get the best performance throughout the entire range expected conditions. A smaller rear sprocket will stretch out the shift points but you may need to downshift more going up hills or to accelerate at higher speeds.

 

[macjosh1]

This is true - here's a cool website where you can see the effect of changing sprockets on rpms, mphs, and even the wear on the chain. Gearing Commander: Motorcycle Speed, RPM, Chain & Sprockets Calculator of course it has no way to determine how the engine will perform with a different tooth count. Honda puts the ideal sprockets on their bikes to get the best performance throughout the entire range expected conditions. A smaller rear sprocket will stretch out the shift points but you may need to downshift more going up hills or to accelerate at higher speeds.

Thank-you. just the info I am looking for. I want to know if its worth it, to change something, to make it more highway friendly without sacrificing everything else. I figure there got to be enough info out there that someone discovered a happy medium. Maybe not with the new rebels yet.

 

[76Paw]

Well stock is by far the best on the original Rebel. This is usually the case for low power bikes. The OEM sizes the gears and sprockets to match the torque and power available to get the most speed out of the bike possible and accelerate well also.

On larger bikes with excess torque and power, you can sacrifice top speed to gain acceleration, or vice versa you can get more top speed without sacrificing too much acceleration or drive ability.

On small bikes, there just isn't usually enough torque available to actually gain speed by dropping the rpm. The 300 has a little more torque and power than the 250. If you are looking to get better acceleration, then you can probably get that by sacrificing some top end. It is more iffy on whether you can actually get more top speed by sacrificing low end. It depends on the shape of the torque curve. You may find that after you drop the rpm, and sacrifice the acceleration, you still can't go any faster.

If you try it, I recommend just one tooth at a time to see if you get any gain. Jumping several teeth, is almost sure to be less than ideal.

What is it exactly that you actually want to improve?

 

[macjosh1]

Well stock is by far the best on the original Rebel. This is usually the case for low power bikes. The OEM sizes the gears and sprockets to match the torque and power available to get the most speed out of the bike possible and accelerate well also.

On larger bikes with excess torque and power, you can sacrifice top speed to gain acceleration, or vice versa you can get more top speed without sacrificing too much acceleration or drive ability.

On small bikes, there just isn't usually enough torque available to actually gain speed by dropping the rpm. The 300 has a little more torque and power than the 250. If you are looking to get better acceleration, then you can probably get that by sacrificing some top end. It is more iffy on whether you can actually get more top speed by sacrificing low end. It depends on the shape of the torque curve. You may find that after you drop the rpm, and sacrifice the acceleration, you still can't go any faster.

If you try it, I recommend just one tooth at a time to see if you get any gain. Jumping several teeth, is almost sure to be less than ideal.

What is it exactly that you actually want to improve?

Highway cruising for the most part. Most of my driving is done on the highway, averaging 110kms/hr. I make a few trips in town there and there to meet up with other folks for a coffee, average speed 70kms/hr and little bit of 50kms/hr.


So stock is probably fine, I still want to maintain low speed zipping around, I just bought the wrong bike for highway cruising maybe? haha. I've met some people that made long highway trips over multiple days with the old 250cc. They never broke down so the 300 should just be fine. However, correct me if I am wrong, the rebel 250 was completely geared differently wasn't it?

 

[76Paw]

The 250 has a 5 speed, and I think your 300 has a 6 speed doesn't it?

My stock 250 runs 75 mph or 120kph pretty easily, and will break 80 mph or 130 kph with a long enough straight.

Yours is a single vs my twin, but still is supposed to have a little more torque and power. It should have a completely different feel and lower rpm power band and redline but with the 6 speed it should do a little better than that unless it is geared too low. 110 kph is only 68 mph so it should have a lot left in reserve. No need to change sprockets that I see. Have you gotten a good feel for top speed yet, or are you still breaking it in.

I know there is only one way in and one way out of Ft Mac, but those are pretty wide open 4 lanes until you get up to where the gravel begins, or you cross the bridge to nowhere. Im not sure about the speed limits, but I don't remember them being very high. I don't think they are like our Interstates where it is listed 70 mph, but everyone is going at least 80 mph or 130 kph and the 250 has to run WOT just to barely keep up. You should have no problem going fast enough to get plenty of tickets, and get in plenty of trouble with the stock setup.

 

[macjosh1]

The 250 has a 5 speed, and I think your 300 has a 6 speed doesn't it?

My stock 250 runs 75 mph or 120kph pretty easily, and will break 80 mph or 130 kph with a long enough straight.

Yours is a single vs my twin, but still is supposed to have a little more torque and power. It should have a completely different feel and lower rpm power band and redline but with the 6 speed it should do a little better than that unless it is geared too low. 110 kph is only 68 mph so it should have a lot left in reserve. No need to change sprockets that I see. Have you gotten a good feel for top speed yet, or are you still breaking it in.

I know there is only one way in and one way out of Ft Mac, but those are pretty wide open 4 lanes until you get up to where the gravel begins, or you cross the bridge to nowhere. Im not sure about the speed limits, but I don't remember them being very high. I don't think they are like our Interstates where it is listed 70 mph, but everyone is going at least 80 mph or 130 kph and the 250 has to run WOT just to barely keep up. You should have no problem going fast enough to get plenty of tickets, and get in plenty of trouble with the stock setup.

I had the bike up to 145kms/hr once and I was laying on the gas tank, flat straight road. Was passing a semi. The bike is a 6 speed yes. And I think in part its how these things are geared. you can cruise around town at 60kms in 6th no problem. From 60 and up, vibrations start at 70kms and up.


Don't think she had much more to give than that. Even at a 110kms she's screaming pretty good, and the vibration is god awful. Even doing 80kms, within 10min I can't feel my hands or me arse and my right arm starts killing me. Can't remember what the break in was in the manual, but 1300kms it must be just about broken in now, lol.


Perhaps its the way I'm riding maybe? holding on too tight? I don't much like the grips, their a very thin solid rubber, and from what I hear, a b**ch to get them off to replace.

 

[CueBaller]

Depends on how patient you are regarding removing the stock grips... I ended up cutting mine off lol.

Get some good grips (I put Kuryakyn Kinetics on mine), and a good pair of gloves... something with some vibration dampening foam in the palms. It also helps if the gloves are pre-curved, so it's a more natural grip.

And yes, lighten your grip if you're holding on too tight.

All of this has made a huge difference in my hand fatigue from riding back and forth to work.

 

[76Paw]

145 kph or 90 mph is pretty good. That's 15 kph and 10 mph faster than the 250. I doubt there are any speed limits that allow that legally.

Single thumpers always vibrate at the higher rpms. CueBaller offers good advice on the gel gloves and loose grip. I don't know about specific grips for it, but there lots of choices out there. Just find something that you think feels good to you. My 250 is stock, but I have Keryakin grips, pegs, pedals, etc. on my Harley.

If the vibration bothers you at the normal cruising speeds, and if you have more than enough acceleration in the lower gears, then you may want to consider a sprocket change to move the rpms down for less vibration at the cruise and above speeds. It could possibly move the onset of vibration to a higher speed, and reduce it some at all lower to mid speeds.

It might increase top speed, or it might lose some but that is not what you are after, as it will be vibrating even more at top end with the higher load. You just have to decide if you can give up low end performance and acceleration, and are willing to shift gears sooner, to get smoother operation in the cruising range.

I don't know how much it will help, but it may be worth a try if the vibration really bothers you.

 

[jsonder]

Grip puppies (foam over grips that go over the stock grips) work well for this as well.

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Hi all. New rebel 300 owner here. Why is mine only goes 50mph top speed? Please help/advise. What should i do to make it go faster, 60 to 80 mph for the highway. Please help. Thanks

 

[01-7700]

it should go faster - are you winding it up fast enough before shifting into top gears ?

 

[Showmeguy66]

Hi all. New rebel 300 owner here. Why is mine only goes 50mph top speed? Please help/advise. What should i do to make it go faster, 60 to 80 mph for the highway. Please help. Thanks

Start it up first! Seriously unless you have something interfering with the throttle cable/movement. 5th gear is probably going to get you your best max speed unless it's a nice calm day going downhill, but you should easily get to 60+ mph! Twist that right hand a little further!