Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Sprocket to me!

I have not done much in the way of modifications to my WR and I really didn't want to "hack it up" like I see some guys do. But one of the things I've noticed over the last year or so is that my bike is geared just a bit too high. I decided that since the transmission doesn't have a 1.5 gear, that I need to get a larger rear sprocket to allow for a better ratio while riding the trails. I knew this would slow down my top end speeds if I were to ride on the streets but I figured that with a 6-speed gearbox that it wouldn't affect it too badly. Considering I don't ride on the highways much, I figured it wouldn't be a big issue overall.

So I went online to http://www.langstonracing.com/ and bought myself a 48 tooth Renthal sprocket and a new Renthal chain. I've found that Langston Racing has excellent customer service and has been promt in shipping my orders every time. My only issue with this last order was that they didn't include a "Langston Racing" decal.

I took off the old stock sprocket and immediately noticed how flippin' heavy it was. I decided to find out the difference in weight between the new sprocket and the old one. It was a little over 1lb difference. That doesn't seem like much but it sure felt like a lot while holding them in my hands.
The installation wasn't too difficult and once I got it all back together, it looked like it was going to work well. I rode it around the property a bit and then took it down the road and back to see how it affected my speeds on the road. It definitely was slower at the top end but I was still able to cruise @ 60 mph without much problem. I was looking forward to trying it out @ Taneum with my brother and his new bike the up-coming weekend.


Here's the new sprocket mounted on my wheel.



I also decided to replace the old bent handlebars with a new Pro Taper bar. It felt nice and sturdy and should work great.

Here's the new Pro Taper bar installed on the WR.
















1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That new sprocket/gearing combo worked great, Brother! Can't wait to ride again...after I do the same sprocket mod to my bike. :)