16 tooth

[qwadfather]

What a difference. Just when I thought i knew everything, you guys come along and school me, lol! Installed 16t this morning and took a little ride. Wow. Let's say this...It achieved all that I hoped and more. The bike is actually my wife's who is a brand new rider. I wanted to tame the jerkiness typically found in smaller displacement bikes that's caused by the effect of engine braking and overtorque on takeoff in lower gears. You know the jerking when you get into and let off the throttle in lower (especially 1st) gears. Mission accomplished! Smoother takeoffs and stopping, therefore safer for my new rider. The second objective was to get a little more comfortable hiway speed out of her. There you have it! One fellow on here described it as "6th" gear. I felt that way too. Not only 6 gears cruising but the 16t opened up the gear ratios between gears to where they should have been in the first place. I guess you could say highly pleased is an understatement. So, thank you guys out ther for the great info. I'll look forward to more tips! I'm also going to post a tip of my own about some updated PEGS later. See you al and ride safe from the Qwadfather and crew!

[Easy Rider]

The second objective was to get a little more comfortable hiway speed out of her. There you have it!

It appears that you have done your "homework" so you probably already know this but it bears repeating anyway:

With the higher final drive ratio like that, you run out of raw horsepower in top gear and won't be able to achieve as high a top speed as before. That pretty much takes you OFF the Interstates......except for places where the traffic pace is ~ 60 mph or less. You can nurse it up to about 70 on the flat but hills and headwinds will KILL your speed......and make you a hazzard.

Same goes for carrying a load/passenger.

The plus side of that is that you can now maintain ~ 50 mph in 4th with no problem.....like steep hills or BAD headwinds.

[qwadfather]

So your saying that as an added bonus i get a built in speed limiter? Yippeee! Hmm? Wonder how much I can slow her down with a big 'ol windshield and some bags, lol! But seriously, I guess I didn't mean "real" hiway speeds. It will probably be years (?) before she has the confidence to venture onto anything more than the hundreds of backcountry roads here in NM. anybody know where Radiator Springs is? (Right now she's just learning to start up and slow down/stop. Can U say absolute beginner, LOL!) By then she'll probably want to graduate to something bigger anyway. Hell, We are both a hazard to all who drive because we just putter around (two-up on the Honda) everywhere we go anyway, actually avoiding the interstate whenever possible. No hurry, no worry. I learned a long time ago to get up a little earlier to get there on time, lol! Thanks for the advise and ride safe, Ed.