701 Gearing Change

K

k2pichu

fast rider
Joined
Mar 13, 2021
Messages
26
Location
Massachusetts
Hi All,

I've read through some of the posts on people experimenting with their gearing ratios. Is 15-42 the consensus for a sweet spot between highway cruising and low speed acceleration? I'm looking to change my sprockets this winter.

Thanks!
 
Really depends on what you need to ride, I went 15 on the front but it was a little buzzy at high speeds so I went stock on the front and 42 on the rear. We have a lot of high speed roads here and the distances are far so that’s just what works for me… if you don’t ride long distances above 75 ish I would think 15-42 would be perfect.
 
What rpm were you at with 15 on the front going 75? I do a lot of highway miles so it needs to be comfortable at around 75-80 mph, but I would like to improve acceleration as long as it doesn't sacrifice too much for high way cruising.
 
I can’t remember exactly, just that it seemed noticeably high to me, with the 42 it seems better, I would say 80 is probably somewhere around 6-6500 I think, can cruise 80-85 no problem aside from getting blown around. Not really a highway cruiser…
 
k2pichu said:
What rpm were you at with 15 on the front going 75?
Click to expand...
If I recall correctly my bike (15-42) is running around 5000rpm at 70mph. Which it happily does btw. Knowing the 701 engine doesn't like revs below 4000 rpm in the higher gears anyway, this gearing is perfect for me. It can drop to 60mph without the need to shift down. It is not your regular thumper.

Doesn't feel geared too short at all.
 
Took the bike out for the sake of science, with stock front and 42 rear I was running around 4900-5000rpm at 70 mph and 6000rpm at 80 mph. I think it was a lot better around town with the 15t front so maybe I’ll go back to it since it’s not really my long trip bike.
 
I’d say go with a 15t front to start. It’s a cheap and easy change. Then adjust the rear sprocket as you feel is necessary.
I ended up with a 15t front and kept the OEM 40t on the rear.
 
15 front first is great....one of the best improvement for me so far...lurking on 42 on back for next season not sure if i have to swap to another chain...maybe some fancy gold or silver chain could look awesome ...hmm
 
Are you still running the stock tires? Surprised it’s so close to mine with 16-42..maybe I’ll have to try the 15 front again.
 
Weird there is basically no difference between my 16-42 and your 15-42.. maybe could be a Speedo accuracy issue on my end…
 
I am curious how you handle the chain when going with different gears.

When you drop teeth on yalls 701s is it endin up with a chain thats 1 size longer than it needs to be?

If it is, is it still cool if the chain is a notch longer than it needs to be, as long as it can be adjusted?
 
Did you use math or try it by hand?

I have an equation for the 401 chain length:
(2*40.5)+ ((45+15)/2) + (((45-15) / 6.28)^2) * (1/40.5))
 
The reason I ask is that I have a 114 on my bike now because I wasnt using a 15/45. Now I went back to 15/45 because I wanted to try something and the wheelbase is like 5/8 inch longer vs the 112 link chain.
There is room to adjust it... not sure if it makes a difference really...

Why I was wondering how yall did it because its common to "correct" the drive ratio when its fairly new and I figures yall left the chain on the way it is.
 
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