| Author | Message | ||
     Essthreetee |
I have spent all night & some of this morning trying to search and figure out what would be best. I would like to reduce freeway speed RPM, but not lose mountain rideability. I DO NOT have money for or interest in a Baker 6 speed, so I am trying to figure out what would be the best pulley combination. My bike is a '02 S3T with stock tranny. So far this is what I have come up with: Stock = 27t (tranny) & 61t (rear) sprocket I could swap a 29t (tranny) and that would gain MPH and lower RPM, but does that have a very negative feel??? Would I have to get a new belt??? What would happen (as for feel/driveablitiy) if I went to say a 30t pulley??? OR is it better to swap in a 55t (rear) pulley?? Thanks for helping me to clear this up...maybe I need to get some sleep...or just more coffee  | ||
| Denfromphilly |
I've done both pulleys. I put a 26 tooth on my bike cause the RPM's were too low at slow speeds like Philly traffic and especially school zones, it would buck. I only moved the belt adjustment .030" and there is plenty of room for more. My guess is that if you have 1/8" of adjustment I think the 29 or 30 will be ok. Either pulley can be changed with roughly the same effort, the rear needs the tire pulled and the front needs a big socket and a way to jam the pulley. Hmmm, maybe the rear is easier, to do the front you need to loosen the rear axle anyway and there are fewer special tools. My .02...Den | ||
| Henrik |
I had a 29T on my S3 but went to a 27T for a bit more git-up'n go. It was great for track and back roads. I did the same swap back and forth on the S2 but was less enthused; the 29 tooth (stock) puts me a tad too low in the RPM range for my preferred cruising speed. The 27 tooth puts me a tad too high. My S2 has a sweet spot for cruising right around 3500 RPM - any higher or lower adds some vibration. The swap was fairly straight forward. I used a 2x4 through the rear wheel and the bike in gear and removed the nut using an electrical impact wrench. I think your S3 would have plenty of power to pull a 29 tooth sprocket, but it depends on your riding style what will work best for you. Henrik | ||
| Koz5150 |
I find that my bike rides much sweeter at around 4000 rpm and higher. I switched to a 26 tooth up front and still barely use fifth gear on the highway. Don't be scared to let the motor wind up. It's a Buell, not a harley... | ||
| Essthreetee |
Koz, this is where I gotta ask...isn't the heart of it a ... well you know??? I guess the reason I am asking about the gearing is it seems like when I have extended periods of freeway speeds, my temperature continues to creep up (I figured due to higher RPM's)...So I thought that if I could lower the RPM's then the temp would stay lower. I am switching to Mobil 1 tomorrow (oil is already in garage awaiting change) to see how that helps, and I guess I could put on a cooler...but I thought...I guess it was just a thought...  Jason | ||
| Oldog |
S3 the temp will go up with speed more energy being expended. some one may thrash me here but 190f is where most water cooled cars operate your high end oil temps are likely about that, if way higher and you dont have one consider an oil cooler, they will stabilize with a steady state load (high speed cruise) and then vary with the surrounding air ie 75 mph 5th on an 85 deg day should yeild the same oil temp when all conditions are the same, If after say 30 min steady cruise it is continuing to heat and the load is steady there may be other issues. (Message edited by oldog on June 20, 2006) | ||
| Essthreetee |
Oldog, thanks for the input. I changed the oil today (switched to Mobil 1 20-50) and went for a nice ride. Most of it was freeway, speeds were in the 75ish, outside temp was somewhere in the 96ish realm...bike temps (according to my oil temp gauge) were 195* (ish). and seemed to lock there. I will keep tabs on it. I am now passed the gear ratio change (for now), I guess I will look into oil cooler. Since the outlook for temps around here is TRIPLE DIGITS.... Thanks Jason | ||
| Cyclonecharlie |
Im a big believer in the more oil your system(tuber) has the better.And by that I mean system capacity(not over loaded)I use the big ford filter and a Jagg oil cooler.Engine seems alot happier in really hot weather. Good oil and plenty of it is cheap insurance.IMO................Charlie | ||
| Djkaplan |
You can't compare oil temperatures to what you typically see coolant temperatures running at. Oil needs to be hot to do its job... typically, 220F is considered normal oil operating temp. If your oil temp isn't going over 250F, you're fine without an oil cooler. Extra capacity is a good idea on these engines. If for no other reason, it'll allow you to go further between top-offs. I use the long HD filter and get an extra half quart of oil. | ||
| Sjh |
Consider the company below. They seem to have created some gears that do what all of us want; Low end grunt and low rpms while cruising, @ a fraction of the cost of a baker. http://www.twistgear.net/page%20html/sportgear.html | ||
| Denfromphilly |
My $.02 is that there are a lot of imported knock off Baker type parts out there. Baker charges 3K for a 6 speed, the Chinese $899. HD gets about 2K for a 5 speed so Baker is not out of line for a US manufacturer. I urge caution, gear cutting is a serious science, hardening and especially case hardening is hard to knock off. Hardness, alloy, tolerance, material selection and research are essential to metal on metal interfaces with oil lubricant. Is a Chinese alloy as good and well researched as from a US company? You get what you pay for.... Where I work we import from China. The Chinese manufacturers that manufacture to US standards of quality, material and workmanship cost 80% of a US company. Even with slave labor, quality ain't cheap. The less expensive companies are a crap shoot, some make great stuff for 30% of US costs, some make utter junk knock offs and disappear when you have a problem and need support. My local chopper shop is selling $60k artsy choppers with TrikShift 6 speed transmissions. I don't know where they come from but I never heard of them before and couldn't find the manufacturer on Google. They look like Bakers and cost $899. A cluster gear for an M-22 is like $600, how can anyone make a quality tranny for $899? Bert Baker invented the 6 speed. He has a reputation. If I was going to sell a bike for $60K I would not save money on the parts. My .02.... | ||
| Djkaplan |
I don't know what Baker suggests as a retail price on their 6-speeds... but when I thought I was going to drop the bomb and get one, I was quoted a significantly lower price from a shop that was willing to deal. Check around and you might be surprised. |
