185s teck ?

[REDCRO_REDNECK]

I have a stockish 1982 185s. It seems to have way too much top end and not enough low grunt.

I think it is geared too high but have not counted teeth. I want to put some 25" tires on the back and it feels undergeared with 22's now. I want to get a lower gear set to run 25" tires easily and still have the low grunt that I need to pull small trailers or other people out of the mud.

any thoughts?

[sandpuppi101]

You have to get the teeth running for what you wanna do.I have a awesome restored '82 185s and I think ,not for sure that I have a 12 on the front and 41 on the rear and I will use it for lawn work.The 25x12x9 tires will be too big for the 185 and you will hit the fenders and chew up your mudflaps.Check out my restro of the 185S.

[thedeatons]

The original 185 (Non-S) had 25" tires, but it also had different rear fenders.... I guess that doesn't help you much.... nevermind...

So, the general rule with sportbikes is that if you want more on the bottom end, and don't care about the top speed, either go up two teeth in the rear, or go down one tooth in the front. Either way is pretty much eqiivalent to the other. Now, the cheapskates go with going down one tooth in the front, because it's a smaller gear, and thus costs less. What they don't know is that this can cause the chain to rub WAY too much on the swingarm protector, and is just a bad practice. So, moral is, make sure if you go down one tooth in the front, you check the chain clearance... Since your 185S is non-suspended, it may not make a difference... in which case my advice is once again... useless......

[96YUKON]

My stock 82 185s has 11 stamped on the front sprocket. Couldn't see one on the back sprocket but I think it is 41.

DennisKirk.com has shows an 8, 9 and 10 front sprockets available in addition to the 11 tooth sprocket. $8.95 each.

By the way, the original 185s may have come with an 11 tooth front and a 47 tooth rear socket.

[REDCRO_REDNECK]

my fenders are about useless, have no mudflaps. I could enter it in the ugliest trike post. I would modify my fenders to run 25" tires if nessary, plus extent the forks on the front. I want to run larger tires to have more underframe clearance and, want lower gears to pull a small lawn trailer with. no more than 500lbs load. I never see 5th on my trike since I do not want to go that "fast" on 3 wheels with only a rear brake and no suspension.

If I go up one tooth rear and go down one tooth front would that work with 25's?

that sould make the count 10-42 right.

[thedeatons]

It's seems useless to me to change both sprockets... Either change the front or the rear. On sportbikes, a two teeth change in the rear can make a non-wheelying bike wheelie on the power no problem. In other words, two teeth on the rear is a major change. If your bike is a 185S, it should have a front drum brake also... FYI... James

[REDCRO_REDNECK]

front drum not hooked up. I also am looking to go up in tire size and be at a lowergear than stock after the tire change. plus chain a sproket worn out, I have 1.5-2 inches of slack

[thedeatons]

Ahh... okay. Well, cables are cheap, especially considering the front brake is the majority of your stopping power... I'm still uncertain whether I would change the front and rear simulatneously. That would be the equivalent of adding 4-5 teeth in the rear... That is a lot. As it stands your first and second gear should not have a problem pulling you and your equipment... James

[REDCRO_REDNECK]

that is the problem my first and second are too high. That is why I never use 5th, and hardly ever 4th.

I am trying to not buy about 3-4 sprocket sets to find the best setup.

why would you say the front brake is more inportant than the rear?