Change S3 gearing; any recommendations?

[carbster09]

I have only been riding my Triple for a short time know and its clear to me, anyhow that the bike is geared too tall. That with the heavy clucth makes it a b*tch about town. OK, its nice on the open road. Any suggestions on sprockets, which one to change and by how many teeth? I want a light weight sprocket and a good chain. Maybe go with a Regina X?

Any help would be great.

carbster09

[nyspeedtriple]

The easiest way to do it is just dropping the front tooth down by one. I have an 03 S3 which I ended up dropping down the front tooth to an 18 since the stock 19 was just way too tall and kept bogging me down in traffic, never got into 5th and 6th gear. Plus you won't have to get a new chain since the stock one will work just fine considering the higher cost of a new one. Hope this helps out.

Scott

[Aggy]

If dropping the front sprocket by one tooth just remember the chain will have to take a tighter curve around the sprocket and this puts a small amount of extra stress on the chain so make sure you keep it tensioned correctly and lubed well and all will be well. I did this mod to my old Suzi Bandit 1200 and had no problems (maybe helped by the scottoiler fitted to the bike). Another solution is to increase the rear sprocket by 3 teeth, which has a similar affect but with less stress on the chain. I am not sure how this affects the S3 - on the Bandit it was a tight fit under the chain guard and meant the wheel had to be pushed all the way forward against the adjusters. The front sprocket is the cheapest option and it is the mod I am going to be doing to my S3 for the summer.

[miker]

Agreed Aggy, going down one tooth on the front is the best and easiest, no change to the chain length, just keep it lubed and all is well.

If you like hoisting the front wheel, it's a snack with the lower gearing and you can still cruise at 120kph in 6th at less than 5,000rpm.
Have a happy New Year!
Mick

[kuhlka]

Is there a good website that sells the gear or maybe a kit?

[S3fan]

carbster09,

I see you are also from Houston. I ride my '01 S3 all the time here, never gets really cold enough to be uncomfortable. I changed to 18T front and 46T rear with a 520 chain. I really like the gearing with the 46T rear sprocket. Sometimes changing to a 17T front can cause wear problems on the rubber chain guide on the swing arm. I ordered the chain and gear from the Sprocket Center, with shipping to Houston it was just under $200.00. I noticed a increase of about 400 rpm at 70 mph and 500 rpm at 90 mph. I originally changed to try and keep my speed down on the way to work, but it hasn't worked! :horns: Good Luck!

[carbster09]

S3fan,

I like the idea about the sprockets. I am going to check out just going with the 18t front for now. Do you ride near Houston? If you ever are around the area for a ride give me an email. I usually ride on the west side out to New Ulm etc. I could always use someone to ride with. Most of my mates are Harley types.... or too slow or too fast..........

Cheers

Chris

carbster09@juno.com

I drive in Houston all the time and what I ended up doing was to make my fingers on my left hand stronger. That was the cheepest route for me and it has worked for 15000 mile since march. I live on Clear Lake but spend a lot of time inside the 610 loop and am always trying to find another S3 to ride with. So far I have passed one black S3 that is it since October.

I drive in Houston all the time and what I ended up doing was to make my fingers on my left hand stronger. That was the cheepest route for me and it has worked for 15000 mile since march. I live on Clear Lake but spend a lot of time inside the 610 loop and am always trying to find another S3 to ride with. So far I have passed one black S3 that is it since October.