With the info from this site the conversion was quick and painless.  The chain is noisey, messy, and i love it.  Looks great on the bike, feels to me just as smooth so far, and changeable gearing!  I'm running 14/45 right now and it is a change.  first gear isn't entirely useless, but it's used up real quick.  acceleration is much stronger in all gears. top speed is reading 87. don't know how off that is, feels more like 80 or so, but it gets there in a heartbeat.  Engine definately sounds like it's straining more, i wouldn't run this ratio all the time, but it's great in tight and twisty.  I've got a 16t to try, i'll report on that when i do.

barry68v10 wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:05:

I've got a cam shaft to redo...then a cylinder to bore and new piston to fit....not in the budget yet.

I didn't buy a spare sprocket for the spacer.  I took measurements, and plan to do that differently.  There has to be another way, besides wasting a sprocket for $$$.

riptide_fl wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:05:

That's even lower than my 45/17 ratio.   How does it pull?

riptide_fl wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:05:


That's certainly better than shifting when you're already in 5th

BTW, on my 1997 Savage with 17/43 I had to cut the chain down to 106 links.  Also, I didn't have to machine the 13-tooth sprocket I'm using as a spacer.  That should save folks some time and $....

Yes Oldfeller!  That's what I'm saying.  The 13-tooth sandwiched up against the 17-tooth works just fine.  There's only about 0.5 mm of clearance between the chain and the 13-tooth, but that's enough.

Ok, I took it out for a test ride and all I can say is...WOW!  It really is a totally different bike.  Exactly what I expect of a thumper now.  Not as snappy in 5th gear at highway speeds, just smooth.  If snappy is what I want, 4th and 3rd gear are waiting in the wings.  I'm really pleased with the gearing now, but wondering if I should have gone just a bit higher....like the 18/43 or the 17/41...oh well.  The only thing stopping me from going higher is 1st gear is just about as tall as I want it to be.

Thanks hutch for pioneering this!  Hope this helps someone else.

barry68v10 wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:05:

I saw how close the 13 was to the chain and just figured with my luck I would play it safe and cut it down for more room. I'm glad you are happy with it. so far it has been the same outcome for everybody. Everyone likes it and can't believe how much nicer a bike it is. Like I said it was a group effort not just mine, I only started it and wouldn't quit. I wanted to a lot of times and then someone would get me going again. HAVE FUN!!!   Hutch