KX Riders

Maintenance & Technical => KX500 Original => Topic started by: deicide76 on December 01, 2012, 12:13:38 AM

Title: woods gearing
Post by: deicide76 on December 01, 2012, 12:13:38 AM
What's a good gearing combo to allow this bike to run abit slower in tight more technical trails.I would like to be as low as I can go , I don't need the bike to do 80mph.
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: Foxx4Beaver on December 01, 2012, 12:21:54 AM
I've been running 14/48...it works really good for where,and what I consider pretty tight New England trails,with alot of water and log crossings.Generally I'm using 2nd and 3rd gear,with the occasional 1st gear foot-peg scraping rutted out up-hill battle.
I've been wanting to try something a little lower...49-50...eventually.
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: alward25 on December 01, 2012, 04:42:23 AM
You would be happier with a 50 out back, I was
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: The Flyin Hawaiian on December 01, 2012, 08:38:03 AM
14/51. Very tight woods, bar banging tight in Southern NJ.
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: brushymtkfive on December 01, 2012, 11:45:41 PM
Hi guys! First post here...I kno :oops:w I found out the hard way that a 14 up front is as low as you can go with a 520 oring on a 92 500. Gotta go up in the rear. I ride in the woods so I don't need to go 40 in 1st. Where would I be with say a 14/54 combo?
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: Foxx4Beaver on December 01, 2012, 11:49:02 PM
Hi guys! First post here...I kno :oops:w I found out the hard way that a 14 up front is as low as you can go with a 520 oring on a 92 500. Gotta go up in the rear. I ride in the woods so I don't need to go 40 in 1st. Where would I be with say a 14/54 combo?

Welcome,
you should be able to pull stumps with that ratio :-D
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: brushymtkfive on December 02, 2012, 01:03:19 AM
You thinkin it may be too low?
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: Foxx4Beaver on December 02, 2012, 01:13:04 AM
You thinkin it may be too low?

In my opinion,yeah...but I have no idea what your terrain looks like.14/48 works "good" for me.The majority of my "tight trails" are roughly 4' wide...or just wide enough for a quad to slowly go through....and there are a few that get even tighter,but only for short distances.

I think Alward25 and The Flyin Hawaiian are closer to what would be more realistic for strictly trails.I'm a little hesitant about going much lower cause my riding is sporadic....I could be in trails for an hour,then out in open power lines for an hour,where I would want that top end run-out.

What are you running as of right now??
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: deicide76 on December 02, 2012, 01:37:08 AM
What is stock
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: brushymtkfive on December 02, 2012, 01:37:56 AM
14/47 sorry for delay, had to reboot phone.
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: brushymtkfive on December 02, 2012, 01:41:57 AM
Grrr!! Keep getting FORBIDDEN msg.
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: Foxx4Beaver on December 02, 2012, 02:11:42 AM
What is stock

14/47 stock.
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: brushymtkfive on December 02, 2012, 02:17:24 AM
Forbidden msg is getting on my nerves.
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: deicide76 on December 02, 2012, 03:25:51 AM
i have 15/48 now, so mabey i will try 14/51. i would like to try to find a bigger rear , but all i can find is a 51. hope the 14/51 will change the bike alot.
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: Foxx4Beaver on December 02, 2012, 08:07:37 AM
yeah you should feel quite a difference going to 14/51,since your 15/48 is "about" the equivelant of 14/46.
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: brushymtkfive on December 02, 2012, 01:29:39 PM
Does anyone know if at some point Kawi made a 500 with a long enough shaft to be able to drop a tooth up front? It cannot be done on my 92 because the rivets of the oring chain will hit the casing. As a matter of fact there's rub marks on mine and i run a 14.
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: deicide76 on December 02, 2012, 02:50:17 PM
if I want a 14 should I just run a non o ring chain
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: The Flyin Hawaiian on December 02, 2012, 03:14:24 PM
I use DID X Ring chains. They are narrower than standard o rings chains.
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: Motorrad on December 02, 2012, 04:20:45 PM
I use DID X Ring chains. They are narrower than standard o rings chains.

They even make a extra narrow one if you look hard.   Rockey mountain atv carrys them
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: Motorrad on December 02, 2012, 04:27:46 PM
Boom...

http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/43/53/222/958/-/24504/DID-520-VT2-Narrow-Enduro-Racing-X-Ring-Chain/enduro+chain
Title: Re: woods gearing
Post by: Foxx4Beaver on December 03, 2012, 07:38:34 AM
i have 15/48 now, so mabey i will try 14/51. i would like to try to find a bigger rear , but all i can find is a 51. hope the 14/51 will change the bike alot.

Not to get off topic,but have you used the "search" option to see what some of the other members are doing besides sprocket changes for trails?
What type of pipe are you running..woods/torque or desert/top-end?.This can make a huge difference as well.I had an FMF woods on mine,and decided to get a new one just because the old one was getting a little rusty...the ad clearly stated "WOODS" pipe,but it came as a desert....but,the desert pipe actually made it a whole lot easier to ride in the trails...the woods pipe was a handful after an hour of non-stop trail riding(tons of torque).The desert pipe is much smoother down low and does'nt rip your arms off...nor does it sign off anywhere near as soon as the woods pipe....I'm talkin the second I click into 5th,it was done pulling with the woods pipe!.With the desert,it's still pullin hard after clickin in 5th for awhile.
Another option,that I have yet to try,and probably won't because I have no need for one...is a reed spacer.There's alot of good info in here about them,and a few members seem to love them for the woods.
Another option is a flywheel weight.