Dave
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SuzukiSavage.com Rocks!
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Camp Springs, Kentucky
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I have never done the chain conversion....I like the belt too much. It is clean, low maintenance, and long lasting.
However, like others on here I have not been a fan of the gearing on the stock bike when it comes to highway travel.
When I did the 18" rear wheel conversion for the Cafe' bike, I gained a 3.9% change in gearing....a bit more speed at the same rpm. I also did a Kawasaki Pulley conversion (front and rear) that added another 13.8%. The combination of the rear tire size and pulley sized totals a 17.7% change for me. I probably have lost about 40 pounds of bike weight with the conversion, and I have a Wiseco piston, Stage 1 Cam, mildly ported head, Mikuni carb, less restrictive muffler. My bike pulls the gearing change well - however I don't shift into 5th until I am over 60 mph, and I suspect that the engine runs out of power somewhere around 85 mph in that gear. If I want to go faster I have to shift down to 4th gear to allow the engine to gain rpm and make more horsepower. Cruising at 70 mph with this gearing is nice....the engine is just purring along and seems to be happy. First gear does become pretty tall, and starting out requires a bit more clutch work, and in parking lots or areas where you are trying to stay at a slow speed - you may have to feather the clutch in and out to keep from going too fast.
The stock rear tire and the 17:43 sprocket change is an overdrive of 17%....very close to what I have done. With a stock engine, stock bike, large rider or a windshield or saddlebags....I am not sure it is going to pull high gear very well. That may not be a big deal...as you can always just shift down to 4th gear which is going to be very close to what 5th used to be.
I am not sure the change to a 17:43 would work well on a 4 speed bike with a stock engine.....it may not be able to pull high gear in all situations, and the shift down to 3rd may be geared just a bit too low.
Keep us informed on the "real world testing" Yoshi.
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