Can anyone suggest chains and sprockets and bark busters they like?

[Boatguy]

I guess I’m getting the 16 and 47 because there is no 46 available even on the JT website. It shows one but you can’t click on it.

I don’t want to fuss with trying to struggle to get the 17 front sprocket to fit in. It’s supposed to be pretty difficult from other reading on the forum.

[Boatguy]

Or, I guess not! It doesn’t even come in the right size. JTF1264 ONLY comes in a 15!

That’s the one referenced in the other thread. It doesn’t have a 16 or 17. Starting over. Must just get a smaller rear sprocket then to go for the 2.875 gear ratio Dan suggested.

Kind of sucks. The availability jumps from 42 teeth on the rear to 47. Nothing in between. Have to get a 42 instead of 43. Hoping this doesn’t push my gearing that “one tooth too far” that it is no fun off road anymore.

Not easy decisions here.

Maybe I can rush ship something that’s not on amazon. It’s difficult because I have about 2 weeks left where I can get packages easily.

[Boatguy]

The right gear ratios are just not available for sale right now. Sucks. The sprockets I need are out of stock everywhere. I guess I’m just going to have to replace the chain and thats it.

Hopefully it’ll be fine. I have 4000 miles on the bike, but the sprockets look just fine. Nothing looks worn. Hopefully they don’t wreck the new chain too early. And hopefully some sprockets become available next time when the chain and sprockets start to fail.

If I could only get that 16 front sprocket, that’s all I would need to do actually. I could keep the stock rear sprocket. But, it’s not available.

[TominMO]

15/42 gives a 2.80 ratio. 16/45 is 2.82

[Megadan]

Yeah, like TominMO just said, the 15/42 pretty much gives you the same ratio as the 16/45. So you will be A-ok! That actually puts you in a ratio very popular with the TT250 crowd who want a bit more road speed but without hurting their off road capability much.

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by Megadan

Yeah, like TominMO just said, the 15/42 pretty much gives you the same ratio as the 16/45. So you will be A-ok! That actually puts you in a ratio very popular with the TT250 crowd who want a bit more road speed but without hurting their off road capability much.

I didn’t even see these responses. Thank you guys.

Next to Evan decided exactly what I want to do. I think like a 2.9 or something would be even more appropriate for me. I’ll have to find some combination that works. I keep thinking of the times when I am off road in first gear and happily going up some crazy thing. Probably not as often as I am winding out at 7300 RPM to do 55 mph, but still.

I would have just bought these right now. The 15/42. However, it looks like it might not arrive in time for me to be leaving. So I may order them when I get up north.

[Ol,fart]

Originally Posted by Boatguy

I guess I’m getting the 16 and 47 because there is no 46 available even on the JT website. It shows one but you can’t click on it.

I don’t want to fuss with trying to struggle to get the 17 front sprocket to fit in. It’s supposed to be pretty difficult from other reading on the forum.

If its a cg motor with a 428 chain a 17 will fit, but it is much easier to replace to cover if you file a little off one of the corners inside the cover . sorry dont have a pic right now -but its a small adjustment and possible without it.

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by Ol,fart

If its a cg motor with a 428 chain a 17 will fit, but it is much easier to replace to cover if you file a little off one of the corners inside the cover . sorry dont have a pic right now -but its a small adjustment and possible without it.

I get it. I’ve read the threads on people having to modify the cover a little bit to fit a 17 in there. But I think a 17 might be too big for me anyway. I’m still capitulating a little bit here about just how much I want to start gearing this thing up. Stock is just ever so slightly too geared down at the top end. But I love the low end. And I’d like to keep it.

Basically, I’d like to have my cake and eat it too.

The one thing that kind of stinks is I have noticed the teeth do look a little bit worn down on my rear sprocket. Just a little. But since I have a new chain already, I should really replace these sprockets. I am sure I will have some questions about replacing that rear sprocket. There are some really strange little metal things bent to hold the nuts in place. Never seen these in my life. Looks like you have to break them to take the sprocket off. The problem is the sizes available on Amazon are spotty. I’m at more than a 3:1 ratio now. I’d like to do a 2.9 maybe rather than a 2.8. Just to keep more of that nice first gear. A very small adjustment.

[TominMO]

You can reverse the sprockets to get some more life out of them, since they only wear on the forward side. But if you're putting on a new chain anyway, and cost/availability is not an issue, I'd install new sprockets since it is zero extra labor, and keep the old ones as spares, in case availability dries up.

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by TominMO

You can reverse the sprockets to get some more life out of them, since they only wear on the forward side. But if you're putting on a new chain anyway, and cost/availability is not an issue, I'd install new sprockets since it is zero extra labor, and keep the old ones as spares, in case availability dries up.

Oh wow. I hadn’t even considered that. I have had a positive outlook on the supply chain issue thinking it was going to get better sometime. Hadn’t even entered my mind that it could possibly get worse.

Thank you for pointing that out.

[Thumper]

I posted this on another thread. It starts with Storm and Hawk OEM final drive ratios, then compares the new ratios based on sprocket choices (raw difference and % change). I added one for the Expect too. Added 15/43 and 15/45 to the Expect chart now (16/46 was already there). This puts real numbers on the sprocket choices so you can compare them and see how they change (%) from the OEM ratio- 15/46 for Expect (0.326).
15/43 increases by almost 7%, whereas
15/45 is a 2.2% increase.
Those % increases translate exactly to increased speed at the same RPM compared to stock.

The Storm comes in at a ratio of 0.3696, which is taller gearing than OEM on the Hawk or Expect. I don't know how they make these choices, but the Storm does have the smaller 17" rear wheel.

Still, I want lower gearing, so I went 12/35 (with a 520 chain). My ratio will drop from 0.3696 to 0.3429. This will mean I go more than 7% slower in every gear. I can keep RPM a little higher at the same speed in steep tight situations off road for more torque, creep slower through rocks with same torque/rpm, and ride in 2nd gear more often without going too fast through the trees or windy trails. At the same time, I will be going 51 instead of 55 rpm at the same RPM on the road. That's not bad!

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by Megadan

Chain. My personal favorite is DID. My top 3 are DID, EK, and RK Racing. I have never had an issue with any of those brands.

The real question is, do you want a standard chain or O ring style? I have a DID VX2 chain on my Hawk, almost 3k miles later and it's still good as new. Regular cleaning every 500-800 miles. Chain wax or dry lube for an O ring chain is all I use. They cost about twice as much, but also last about 2-3 as long in my experience.

If you want just a standard chain. DID 428H 128 Link will work well. usually around 30-35 dollars. The other brands and their similar equivlents are all within that same price range. Search through Amazon.
...
...
Sprockets. I stick with JT, and not just on my Hawk. I have had great results with their sprockets on every chain driven bike I have owned. They are kind of the industry standard in quality sprockets.

I took a spin into the woods yesterday and decided that I do want to drop 7% on my final ratio. You can see it in the Storm ratio chart above, I went with 12/35 (520 chain). Both are JT sprockets that MegaDan has on his Hawk. I have the 6 spline ~20mm shaft, so should work on the front. And the rear has the four bolt pattern. I will soon know

For a chain, I got an RK Takasago standard Heavy Duty chain. No seals, recommended for up to 500cc. It is the M520H-120, paid $36 for it.

I thoroughly lubed my OEM 428H again yesterday before riding, and readjusted the tension to test it again. It still makes some periodic thunking, so I am sure I damaged it with all of the mud.

I am OK with losing 7% speed on the highway so I can have lower gearing for tight offroad situations, and I think the 520 will have a nice feel in the drive train. The 428H has been adequate, but it feels a little lightweight when I push it in steeps, with rocks and gravel.

[Boatguy]

Hey guys. Resurrecting this old thread. Does anybody know how to search other brands?

I have to order from Amazon because of where I am located. I have no way to receive any type of shipments. I can only send things to an Amazon locker.

I’m trying to stay very close to the current gear ratio of the bike especially because of the type of riding I’m doing this summer. It’s going to be mostly off-road.

I’d like to get the exact sprockets for the bike. The same ones as stock. Those work well off road. I don’t want to gear it up for the type of riding this summer.


So, given that this is the sprocket, is there a bike that this fits that is normal? A standard bike? I keep seeing the Suzuki GS 125 associated with it. Is that a fact? It looks like the bolt holes are a little bit narrower in that one though. They seem to come up as 8.3 mm in the specifications for that bike.



I’d like to stick with the 46 tooth rear and 15 tooth front. Just keep everything in stock and the chain in the same place. I don’t want to create any unnecessary complications. I just want to do a quick swap so I can get riding.

Is there someway to get this off Amazon? Or even maybe at a cycle gear? Or any standard motorcycle shop?

I don’t even know what to start telling them. I’m a lot more used to the world where I can say I have a Honda CRFL 250. Please get me the front and rear sprockets. Will they just take these measurements and get me a sprocket that fits? I’ve never seen people look parts up in that way.

[Boatguy]

Also, what are those bent over type of lock washers they use on the rear sprocket bolts?

It looks like you would have to bend them to take the sprocket off. Is that the right technique? Bend them away from the bolt heads and bend them back when reinstalling?

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by Boatguy

So, given that this is the sprocket, is there a bike that this fits that is normal? A standard bike? I keep seeing the Suzuki GS 125 associated with it. Is that a fact? It looks like the bolt holes are a little bit narrower in that one though. They seem to come up as 8.3 mm in the specifications for that bike.

Is there someway to get this off Amazon? Or even maybe at a cycle gear? Or any standard motorcycle shop?

This sprocket fits Suzuki GS and GN 125 and Hyosung GV, GT and RX 125's and probably a few other of there 125's. Amazon has them. Drop down to a 42 tooth on the rear and get better highway cruising speeds. https://www.amazon.com/JT-Sprockets-...001AVS8VG?th=1