Review of swapping the Lifan X-Pect front sprocket from stock 15 to 17 teeth

[KSSK]

Like some other owners do, I swapped the front sprocket on my 2021 X-Pect 200 from the factory 15 tooth to a 17-tooth JT sprocket. I got it on Amazon for about $13. It's part number JTF1264.17.

It improves the on-road riding, but for me it severely hurt off-road riding. I'll probably switch back to the factory 15-tooth sprocket.

I took the bike off road for the first time after the swap this weekend, and I really was wishing I still had the stock sprocket installed.

As most of you know, doing this basically trades low-end torque for more top-end. In around-town riding, it is better. You have to shift less, especially at lower speeds, and you get a slightly higher top speed.

But, I do some decent off-road riding, and the loss of low-end torque really hurt me off road. You don't have the low-speed grunt to power through things or purposely spin the back tire for u-turns.

I may try to find a 16-tooth version, which would be JTF1264.16, but those are much less common than the 15 and 17-tooth versions.

If you only do on-road riding, the change makes sense. If you do any serious off-road riding, it really hurts.

Side note - you might notice in the pictures that I don't have the factory tires. I swapped to Bridgestone AX41 tires and they are a huge improvement off road. They're still good on-road, as well. The downside with these tires is that to get good performance both on- and off-road, they have short tread life.

[China Rider 27]

Looks good with those tires! I too am thinking the 15 tooth stock at 3.06 ratio will be good enough for off road.

[buzz]

Nice Bike Just put new knobby tires on mine,way better for me.

[Boatguy]

Good post. I came to the same conclusion without actually trying the modification. I like to take the bike through single track and very narrow tricky areas off road. Having tried the bike stock for that, I realized that it’s perfect. Wouldn’t change a thing.

I don’t think it’s that important to have a high top speed in fifth gear. I can just take my time at 50-55 miles an hour. Around 7000 RPMs. People pass me. No big deal. I pull over sometimes if I’m on a one lane road or holding anyone up.

Then there’s the matter of the clutch. If you are riding like we are talking about off road, the amount you have to slip the clutch in first gear in tricky stuff because you geared the bike up too much is not good. You’re going to wear the clutch out very quickly. That was really the main reason that I didn’t do it to begin with. But then after riding in a while in tricky tight conditions off road, I saw that the clutch already has to slip a decent amount to deal with that. Anymore and you’re going to burn them out.


Those tires are BEASTS!! It’s getting closer to new tire time for me at 2500 miles on the bike now. What are some of the improvements off-road you noticed with those tires? With the stock tires, I don’t really notice anything wrong. But I have nothing to compare it to. What kind of improvement do you see? Do those help you in mud at all? When I am riding in Florida in the winter it is all sand. It’s kind of like riding on the beach at the ocean or something. To be honest, it’s not very fun. The stock tires I feel make it worse.

[Thumper]

I agree that losing the low gearing for tricky off road situations is not worth the higher top end speed. I was thinking that once I do performance upgrades and increase the torque and horsepower, it may be feasible. But I like to let the engine rev at least 2000 rpm in tight situations to make sure it has plenty of torque to power through any mishaps like a rogue tree limb or rock!

[TxTaoRider]

By any chance did you replace the tires at the same time you replaced the sprocket? Most of the aftermarket tires are heavier than the lightweight stockers, and sometimes a little taller. The extra rotating mass can be noticable on our underpowered bikes, and if they are larger in diameter, it adds to the effective ratio. If you changed the sprocket at the same time, It may feel really sluggish. Just thinking out loud...

[KSSK]

Originally Posted by TxTaoRider

By any chance did you replace the tires at the same time you replaced the sprocket? Most of the aftermarket tires are heavier than the lightweight stockers, and sometimes a little taller. The extra rotating mass can be noticable on our underpowered bikes, and if they are larger in diameter, it adds to the effective ratio. If you changed the sprocket at the same time, It may feel really sluggish. Just thinking out loud...

That's a good question. I did the tires first, rode it for a couple weeks and then swapped the sprocket.

[KSSK]

Originally Posted by Boatguy

Then there’s the matter of the clutch. If you are riding like we are talking about off road, the amount you have to slip the clutch in first gear in tricky stuff because you geared the bike up too much is not good. You’re going to wear the clutch out very quickly.


Those tires are BEASTS!! It’s getting closer to new tire time for me at 2500 miles on the bike now. What are some of the improvements off-road you noticed with those tires?

With on-road riding, I don't feel I have to slip the clutch a damaging amount. It rides pretty much fine on road. Off road, there's definitely more clutch slip needed.

For me, the stock tires would get clogged up with mud anytime it was at all wet, and they couldn't expel it. After driving through mud, I basically had little to no grip.


These Bridgestones dig through anything loose so much better and handle mud way better than stock. They also handle well on road. These tires aren't cheap, but to me it's been worth it.