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Update after suspension change (and bonus 16T sprocket change)


eddylindenstein

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My buddy came over last night and we put on the Rally Raid 90nm shock spring, the Touratech progressive fork springs and a 16T front sprocket.  


I took the T7 on a 200 mile roundtrip ride to Bellingham on Monday for work and felt pretty defeated by the time I got home.  The bike was getting kicked around a lot on the highway and it almost felt like I just didn't have control over the bike's behavior.  Couple that with the 5500-6k RPM on the highway and overall, the bike just felt "frantic."  I messaged Kyle the next day to say how much of a bummer it was.


The whole trio of changes took 2 hours last night; $415 in parts.  I took it out today and did about 70 miles total, and, my goodness - it's like a different bike!  I'm "only" 181lbs, but add in some racks and gear and I'm like 25% over the weight that this bike was designed for.  However, riding today the bike felt like it gained magnets on the bottom; the heavier spring feels like it's literally pushing the back wheel into the pavement.  It reminds me of the planted feeling that the Super Tenere gives me.  


The re-gearing of going from 15T to 16T was also a great improvement in it's road manners.  1st gear becomes usable and I'm up to 25-30mph before I hit 5k RPM's.  The front sprocket change took all of 10 minutes and would be something easy to swap for a heavy dirt day or the WABDR next summer.


If you find yourself feeling challenged with the tarmac-prowess of the T7, these additions will pay great dividends.  Further, the beefed up suspension will make your off-road experience spectacular.  The quickness, lighter weight, gearing and suspension makes this thing now feel like a dirt version of an FZ1 I used to have.

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I, too, had an FZ1 as well prior to my T7!

 

I'm going to be replacing the springs for next season as I'm fairly large at 6'1" 210lbs (without gear). I was considering looking at a 16T front sprocket as well. How much of a difference did the gearing make at highway speeds? Do you have a reference of your RPMs at a specific speed in 6th gear before and after? How much of a loss in low end torque do you notice?

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1 minute ago, TeabagInsurance said:

I, too, had an FZ1 as well prior to my T7!

 

I'm going to be replacing the springs for next season as I'm fairly large at 6'1" 210lbs (without gear). I was considering looking at a 16T front sprocket as well. How much of a difference did the gearing make at highway speeds? Do you have a reference of your RPMs at a specific speed in 6th gear before and after? How much of a loss in low end torque do you notice?

I loved my fZ1, BUT I got into off-roading and bought a KLR 250 then a Super Tenere and now a T7.  It's been an awesome change in style after so many years of just tarmac.

 

Reference point for me is 75MPH was about 5600RPM whereas now it's 5k on the dot.  It doesn't seem like a massive change just looking at a few hundred RPM change, but it feels so nice.  I didn't notice a loss in low-end torque - the stock 15 had SO much, so now I just have a lot, I guess.  If I do some gnarly off-road I can swap it back easily, but it's a great change for all of the road riding I do.

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Cool. I've never done a sprocket tooth change on any bike I've owned, but that's about what I would expect. That sounds like a nice adjustment. What brand/sprocket did you end up going with?

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1 minute ago, TeabagInsurance said:

Cool. I've never done a sprocket tooth change on any bike I've owned, but that's about what I would expect. That sounds like a nice adjustment. What brand/sprocket did you end up going with?

The Vortex one - this exact one: 

vor_15_spr_fro.jpg

*Steel front sprockets are precision-manufactured and induction-hardened to precise tolerances to improve concentricity and provide a stronger, quieter and longer-lasting sprocket. *Plated to resist corrosion.

 

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Thanks! They're cheap enough I'm just going to order one now. Would prefer to swap the sprocket sooner rather than later before the stock chain and sprockets wear too much more together. Less than 5,000kms on them now - hopefully it's a non-issue swapping the sprocket at this point.

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15 minutes ago, TeabagInsurance said:

Thanks! They're cheap enough I'm just going to order one now. Would prefer to swap the sprocket sooner rather than later before the stock chain and sprockets wear too much more together. Less than 5,000kms on them now - hopefully it's a non-issue swapping the sprocket at this point.

I can’t imagine it would be - that chain should last 10,000 miles or more I’d think.  If you remember to, come back here after the swap and let me know what you think!

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8 hours ago, eddylindenstein said:

My buddy came over last night and we put on the Rally Raid 90nm shock spring, the Touratech progressive fork springs and a 16T front sprocket.  


I took the T7 on a 200 mile roundtrip ride to Bellingham on Monday for work and felt pretty defeated by the time I got home.  The bike was getting kicked around a lot on the highway and it almost felt like I just didn't have control over the bike's behavior.  Couple that with the 5500-6k RPM on the highway and overall, the bike just felt "frantic."  I messaged Kyle the next day to say how much of a bummer it was.


The whole trio of changes took 2 hours last night; $415 in parts.  I took it out today and did about 70 miles total, and, my goodness - it's like a different bike!  I'm "only" 181lbs, but add in some racks and gear and I'm like 25% over the weight that this bike was designed for.  However, riding today the bike felt like it gained magnets on the bottom; the heavier spring feels like it's literally pushing the back wheel into the pavement.  It reminds me of the planted feeling that the Super Tenere gives me.  


The re-gearing of going from 15T to 16T was also a great improvement in it's road manners.  1st gear becomes usable and I'm up to 25-30mph before I hit 5k RPM's.  The front sprocket change took all of 10 minutes and would be something easy to swap for a heavy dirt day or the WABDR next summer.


If you find yourself feeling challenged with the tarmac-prowess of the T7, these additions will pay great dividends.  Further, the beefed up suspension will make your off-road experience spectacular.  The quickness, lighter weight, gearing and suspension makes this thing now feel like a dirt version of an FZ1 I used to have.


 

Told ya so!

 

Just kidding, like I said I had a similar experience till I updated springs, you are experiencing the full stroke of the suspension now.

 

I restrung my super Tenere as well, just a fact of life, they build the bike to a spec, and if you are outside of that, you will need to make some tweaks.

 

I have not swapped the sprocket, but maybe I will give it a try. Seems cheap enough so nothing lost if I don’t like it.

 

Mike

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@eddylindenstein, You are a much happier person today... glad to see it.

Rain forecast for my area today. I will pull the T7 in the shop and put the 16 tooth sprocket on.

I learned from someone else on this site (I forgot who, sorry), that Yamaha's MT07 gearing is 16/43 (T7's is 15/46) and that the rear sprocket is also a simple bolt on change. Just a thought... do what you want.

 

Ya, the offroad breed will cringe at this, but motorcycles have always been about making them your own!

Edited by Hibobb
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We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe

~Oliver Wendell Holmes~

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11 hours ago, Hibobb said:

@eddylindenstein, You are a much happier person today... glad to see it.

Rain forecast for my area today. I will pull the T7 in the shop and put the 16 tooth sprocket on.

I learned from someone else on this site (I forgot who, sorry), that Yamaha's MT07 gearing is 16/43 (T7's is 15/46) and that the rear sprocket is also a simple bolt on change. Just a thought... do what you want.

 

Ya, the offroad breed will cringe at this, but motorcycles have always been about making them your own!

Totally.  If I do the BDR, I'll swap to the 15 - it's easy enough to where I could just bring a 15 with me and swap before a full day of off-road right before I hit the dirt.  It's super easy.

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I’m a little more interested in the front spring change. Any thoughts specifically with that? I’m also 180, have changed the rear spring to the 85 (which is perfect for me) and added a preload spacer for the forks. But otherwise stock fork spring and oil weight.  I’ve thought about changing the springs but already feel the bike pushes on corners a little. (But also brake dives too much..)  Seems a stiffer spring rate might exacerbate that keeping higher in the stroke?  How about fork action with bump absorption? 

 

 

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33 minutes ago, DT675 said:

I’m a little more interested in the front spring change. Any thoughts specifically with that? I’m also 180, have changed the rear spring to the 85 (which is perfect for me) and added a preload spacer for the forks. But otherwise stock fork spring and oil weight.  I’ve thought about changing the springs but already feel the bike pushes on corners a little. (But also brake dives too much..)  Seems a stiffer spring rate might exacerbate that keeping higher in the stroke?  How about fork action with bump absorption? 

I’ve been practicing this like a hoodlum by riding up onto sidewalks then going off curbs and hitting potholes like I’m aiming for them (cause I am), and the dive is a lot less now.  I feel like I could really beat the Shet out of this thing even more.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I went for the 16 tooth sprocket and absolutely love the results. 70 mph is 5,000 rpm now.

4,000 rpm gets me about 59 mph, indicated speed.

Just wish I would have written down the old speeds to compare!

For highway use, big improvement, bike does not sound so overrevved at speed. I know it is built to rev high, but it just sounds "right" now.

Thanks for the link to the Vortex sprocket in this thread.🙂

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I did in fact order one earlier this month and swapped it on last week. I ordered a Vortex 3567-16 as well. Very happy with the result here. Plenty of grunt still. The only time I wish for a bit more power is sudden passing at highway speeds (using opposite lane), but if you drop down to 5th it's a non-issue anyway.

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To those who have replaced drive sprocket to 16t. I have tried loosening the 30mm nut, but it won't budge!

Is it Lefthand or Righthand thread?

Thanks

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RH. It is tough to get moving as the nut is "staked" onto the shaft. 

Edited by Hibobb

We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe

~Oliver Wendell Holmes~

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It is standard right hand thread. Rotate counterclockwise to remove. The only way I found that enabled me to remove the nut was by putting the bike in neutral, have someone hold the rear brake, and use a half inch air (or battery) impact wrench with appropriate socket on the nut. Buzzes right off once you hit it with enough torque. I also replaced the chain (for other reasons) after I changed the sprocket.

I think I have Yamaha disease...

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12 minutes ago, Canzvt said:

It is standard right hand thread. Rotate counterclockwise to remove. The only way I found that enabled me to remove the nut was by putting the bike in neutral, have someone hold the rear brake, and use a half inch air (or battery) impact wrench with appropriate socket on the nut. Buzzes right off once you hit it with enough torque. I also replaced the chain (for other reasons) after I changed the sprocket.

@Canzvt Yeah I got my electric Impact & used it, I thought it was a standard thread...as you say it came right off. I only have 6K on the oem chain, so not yet.

Heading to Saskatchewan with friends on Sunday, no gravel (they are on there BMW RT's) I just wanted to test my luggage set up on the road...hopefully for next year.

Thanks

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2 minutes ago, Bighopper said:

@Canzvt Yeah I got my electric Impact & used it, I thought it was a standard thread...as you say it came right off. I only have 6K on the oem chain, so not yet.

Heading to Saskatchewan with friends on Sunday, no gravel (they are on there BMW RT's) I just wanted to test my luggage set up on the road...hopefully for next year.

Thanks

Great! Makes a bit of a difference. Keeps it at around 5000rpm at 110-115 km/h. You won't rail the RT's but you shouldn't have any issue keeping up. Have a great trip. Ride safe.

I think I have Yamaha disease...

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