Falco Chain and fewer toothed sprocket recommendations

Message

sfoley1 · #1 Post by **sfoley1** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:16 pm

Afternoon

MY chain is looking a little tired and with all the city commuting I am doing I could do with a less toothed sprocket as well and I will but a scotoiler to keep the new chain in good nick.

Any products you can recommend? I do about 350 miles a week. (yes I know a hack would be best to compliment the Falco but that's not going to happen!)

Many thanks in advance.

Simon

sfoley1 · #2 Post by **sfoley1** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:25 pm

BTW I have checked the similar topic on page 2.

To be honest reading those has only served to confuse me.

So rather than swamp me with technical data (I am thick) please advise in laymans terms.

Recommendations for town work will suffice as this is what I do mostly. Front and rear sprocket amounts of teeth, chain length and manufacturer recommendations.

Ta

D-Rider · #3 Post by **D-Rider** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:43 pm

Easiest change is stock rear sprocket and 1 fewer teeth on the front (15 rather than 16). This works with a standard chain.
However if you are fitting a new chain and sprockets, you can get the same effect by keeping the front at 16 and adding 3 teeth (44 rather than 41) on the rear. Of course you can go for something in between with a 42 or 43 tooth rear sprocket.

D-Rider wrote:Falco Gearing – Comparison of 15/41 and 16/44 final ratios

Standard Gearing is 16/41

Max Chain Bend Radius and Angle Between Links

Standard 16t sprocket:

Bend radius (at chain pins) = 40.4mm
Angle between chain segments while on sprocket = 22.5 degrees

15t sprocket:

Bend radius (at chain pins) = 37.9mm
Angle between chain segments while on sprocket = 24 degrees

Comparison of Ratios:

16/41 gearing = 0.3902 (standard)
16/44 gearing = 0.3636
15/41 gearing = 0.3658

Those suggested by Sab are:
16/43 gearing = 0.3721
15/40 gearing = 0.3750

Compared to standard gearing:

16/44 gearing is a reduction of 6.82%
15/41 gearing is a reduction of 6.25%

Relative difference in Reduced Gearing Options:

The relative difference between 16/44 and 15/41 ratios is only:
1-(0.3636/0.3658) = 1- 0.9939
= 0.0060
or 0.6% different - so engine characteristics at any speed will essentially be identical.

I find the 15:41 gearing to be a great improvement round town and 16:44 would give almost identical effect.

sfoley1 · #4 Post by **sfoley1** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 3:19 pm

perfect technical response D-Rider, thank you.

Any manufacturer recommendations?

D-Rider · #5 Post by **D-Rider** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 3:30 pm

Yeah - but I did also mention this:

D-Rider wrote:
I find the 15:41 gearing to be a great improvement round town and 16:44 would give almost identical effect.

sfoley1 · #6 Post by **sfoley1** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 4:03 pm

I'm now confused, was that wrong?

D-Rider · #7 Post by **D-Rider** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 5:23 pm

No ... just confirming that part of my response was subjective rather than technical.

HisNibbs · #8 Post by **HisNibbs** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 5:28 pm

No sofley1, I think it is D-Rider who's mind is on other things..........

I can't remember the number of links but I think 16-44 may require another link or two to the standard Falco chain length. When I did this I got a set and I can't exactly recall the brand name, a bit like "Armarni" or "Amoura", for a Millie and removed a link or two. The 15-41 or 16-44 as D-Rider said is good for town work and probably ultimate track day performance. Having run it for a while when I was commuting into Leicester, I've now gradually gone back up to standard. My latest chain is ...sorry can't remember that either but I think it's a high class Japanese model.(xtabushi?)

D-Rider · #9 Post by **D-Rider** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 6:49 pm

HisNibbs wrote:No sofley1, I think it is D-Rider who's mind is on other things..........

I can't remember the number of links but I think 16-44 may require another link or two to the standard Falco chain length.

That's what I was saying - the 15:41 works with a standard chain but if you are buying a new set, then you could go 16:44 for the same gearing effect.
Perhaps I hadn't spelled out in braille that the reason I mentioned "if you were buying a new one" is that you'd need to be getting a new longer one to fit round those extra teeth.

Sorry if I've confused.

jayboy · #10 Post by **jayboy** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 12:15 pm

Mine came -1 front teeth and it's great, still good for about 155 alledgedly and feels good at lower speeds. Had to drop the same on the RSV too, standard gearing is way too long and you end up sat in 2nd at 30mph when after the change it will sit in 3rd at 30-ish.

MartDude · #11 Post by **MartDude** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 7:14 pm

Many Futura owners do this (1 down on front), 'cos it's quite tall geared for where and how most of us ride; fine if you're doing lots of motorway/ dual carriageway work regularly, but how many of us do? Often feels to be in wrong gear, especially in town.

1st. Futura had this mod, & it was wonderful; current one hasn't (yet), & seems quite sluggish in comparison (but can still wheelie)

#12 Post by **mangocrazy** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:44 pm

Can I recommend the following site:

http://www.gearingcommander.com/

The Falco is in the database (listed as an 'SL') and you can play around with gearing options to your heart's content. It even tells you whether you'll need an extra link in your chain or not...

Samray · #13 Post by **Samray** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:55 pm

Neat.

jayboy · #14 Post by **jayboy** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 11:02 am

good find

dyzio · #15 Post by **dyzio** » Tue Sep 08, 2009 11:47 am

Can anyone recommend a place to get a 43 rear steel sprocket?

Normally, I'd buy JT's, but they only do 42's for the Falco (don't want to go for a 15 front).

Cheers