tri-z gearing question??? plz healp

[willcamach]

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ok i have an 85 tri-z and it runs great and has plenty of power but it just seems to go through the gears and top out way to fast, i looked at the sprockets and saw that the front is a 13 tooth sprocket the rear i am not sure about but i will assume it is stock not sure how many teeth they are stock. so i looked around for different sprockets and saw there are many options for the front sprocket ranging anywhere from 11-18 teeth now i know i want to stay away from the smaller sprockets but what would you guys suggest i start at since im running a 13 now i was thinking 15-16 tooth but will that be too much or too little to notice a change in top speed without killing all of the low end.

[jason 32]

2 teeth makes a differance

[Bryan Raffa]

stock gearing for both years was 14/44 I run that on my trail bike..But on my mx bike with the phase 2 i run a 15 /44 because it did the same thing you were talkin about, i still could go up one more with no problem but for what i use it for its just about right, should be a stamp on the side of the rear sprok. with the # of teeth.. oh if ya have a hard time finding one for a tri z there the same as a banshee..

[Bryan Raffa]

and another side note i dont think you will be able to go above a 17 with out a issue with the chain hitting the case

[3WW Star-Yamahondaman]

gearing was 13-44 ???
for the 86 i use the Banshee "rear" gearing ... 13-41..
for the 85 i use the 14-40

[willcamach]

yeah im not sure what has been done to my trike since ive only had it for a few months but i know that it was ported because i have a reciept from a shop that the original owner gave me, it also has boysen reeds and and answer silencer but stock pipe (soon to be changed) so i know its not stock. i didnt realize that they came stock with a 14 tooth if im running a 13 its no wonder i cant keep the front end down this thing rips on the low end but i go through the gears like a mad man lol im going to try and find out how many teeth the rear is but just so i know a 15 or 16 tooth would not be way over geared then?

[Bryan Raffa]

gearing was 13-44 ???
for the 86 i use the Banshee "rear" gearing ... 13-41..
for the 85 i use the 14-40

YES! all my books say thats stock for both years with 520 chain and 98 links
nope that would not be over geard, I ran a 16/44 on my trail bike for a long time but i went back to stock because i use that bike for poker runs and suff like that.. where the bottom end is a must for hills and mud!

[willcamach]

well all i do is trail ride but there are some hills where i ride so i dont want to lose the ability to climb hills or dunes. but i really need more gearing because it seems like im tapped out in 5th before i can blink. sorry for all the questions but i just want to make sure my z is still rideable after changing gearing

[Kintore]

I always thought stock was 13/44?

I was in the same boat as you willcamach, I had 20 inch tires and 13/44 with mild porting and was topping out in no time.

I just went to a 14 tooth front/43 rear combo and it works real nice. Also witht he 18 inch tires I use for racing gives me wicked acceleration.

[willcamach]

im using the stock 22's but will eventually change to 20" holeshots or razrz im undecided between 15 and 16 tooth since i dont really want to touch the rear sprocket maybe i will buy both 15 & 16 and try both of them out. im staying away from 14 because im running 13 now and want a more dramatic change i doubt one tooth would give me what im looking for.

[Bryan Raffa]

my bad it is 13/44 guess i need to read my books alittle more!!LMAO If your going with 20's i would suggest a 15 tooth

[03 ORANGE SHEE]

for my powervalved 6 speed i run 20 inch tires, and 14/40

[Bryan Raffa]

for my powervalved 6 speed i run 20 inch tires, and 14/40

now i now why that rag winds out so fast! LOL

[TimSr]

Im running 13/48 in my 85, with 22" trail tires, and 18" MX track tires and the only time I ever had issues topping out was when racing flat track with it. The 85 does top out at relatively low speeds though.

After rereading the thread few times and looking at your location, my guess is that trail riding in SoCal is a lot more open than midwestern woods trails, as is duning. When you mentioned hill climbing I envisioned crawling up straight-up hills, while dodging rocks, ruts, and tree roots, for which you would even curse your present gearing for being too high, but I again am guessing that "hillclimbing" in SoCal is different than we do it here. Recommending what we use here would probably not be helpful to you. I can give you a very general rule of thumb on gearing I use, though. Two teeth on the front is like shifting one gear. In other words, add two teeth, and your new first gear will feel like 2nd does now. It will feel like somebody took away first gear, and added an extra gear at the top. Also 1 tooth on the front=3.5 teeth on the rear. As Brian mentioned, you will run into front size limitations due to case issues.

[willcamach]

thanks for the info. to me it sounds like i should just go with a 15 tooth and thats what im gonna order. hopefully it will get me were i want to be as far as gearing/top speed. if not i can always go up till i run out of room lol. thanks for the info guys.