Significant difference in life, Steel is the way to go. The amount of weight savings, even with this being unsprung weight and reciprocal mass, is not going to make a big or even noticeable difference on the street. If you were racing, well, maybe, perhaps, kinda, aluminum is the way to go.

 

Yup! What Terry said…
You can lose weight unsprung as well as sprung weight in so many other ways…

 

i've been running renthal alloy sprockets on my bikes for 20 years and have not had one wear out before the chain was due for renewal yet (i always replace chain and sprockets as a set)

 

+1, same here,I find the Renthal alloy sprockets last as long as the steel ones, but they do have a hard anodized coating and I allways use a chain oiler.

Plasma.

 

i prefer steel sprockets. I've seen One aluminum sprocket bend the teeth over. Frock that. I like doing miles and not worry about crap like that.

 

maybe some alum sprockets will last but not all of them will.Steel is the way to go for me.you cant feel the difference between them on the bike anyway who go with something that may not last.

 

aluminum is for offroading and track bikes. It costs more and wears out faster.

 

Going to an alloy rear wont gain you anything back in acceleration that your butt dyno would feel. Not worth it in my opinion.

 

If you are interested in longevity, steel is the best choice for this application, for me.

 

Anyone have opinions on going to the 19t front sprocket? It's definitely time to replace the chain and sprockets. How much drag off the line do you lose and how much top end do you gain? I'm definitely the guy always looking for a 6th gear.


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I have the 19t on my T100 and find it ok.

Plasma.

 

Plenty of discussion on this topic elsewhere. IMHO, it's a good trade off.

 

I used a 19 tooth sprocket on my 07 black and didn't care for it on the back roads. The bike had a bit of an issue pulling that 19. I found it even bog a bit pulling grades at elevation. Went back to the 18 tooth and it works fine for me. Didn't notice any top end or high speed advantage with the 19 tooth at all. Gas milage even stayed about the same. Still have the 19 tooth, maybe would use it if i was going to do freeway cross country or something. That being said I found you had to stay above 60 mph in 5th to not bog the motor down. 5th gear on ths bike is really a 6th gear with 5th gear removed from a six speed transmission. So 5th is in somewhat of an overdrive range on this bike as it is.

 

I was the same,always,looking for a 6th gear,had a 19t sprocket for a few years now,i personally much prefer this setup,the bike pulls fine for me.Originally had a 17t sprocket,going to a 19t was a noticable difference.

 

There may be another option. Supersprox sells a hybrid: steel chain
wheel riveted to an aluminum carrier. I've never tried one but a
friend of mine swears by them. Don't know if they have a listing
for Triumphs, so you'd have to check.

 

My path was to go to a 520 chain w/ lightweight steel sprockets to reduce driven/unsprung mass without sacraficing the longevity afforded by staying with all steel components. I went with the drive systems conversion kit:

http://www.drivesystemsusa.com/c/4229601/1/800-bonnevillet100-02-06.html

Installed the kit 2 years ago and still happy-happy with this change....

Cheers,

--Rich

 

I was just wondering if any of you nay-sayers have used a reputable alloy rear sprocket made after 1985,or are your experiences base on the cheese/aluminium alloy sprockets made in the 70's

200+ hp world superbikes and 225+hp motogp bikes seem to manage with alloy sprockets that are of a lighter construction than the renthal sprockets I use,
I have managed 14000+ miles (still no signs of wear on the spocket) on a renthal alloy sprocket on a bigbore 130hp kawasaki zxr(zx7)

the advantages of alloy sprocket other than lighter weight are less inertia (not a reciprocal force as terry suggested), which manifests it's self as easier accel and easier decel, also less gyroscopic effect which means easier changes of direction.

don't under-estimate the effects of inertial force. why do you think wavey brake rotors were introduced? (not for any braking force benefits)

on it's own a change to an alloy sprocket may not be noticeable to the average guy, but if you've gone to the expense of light-weight alloy wheel rims for the above mentioned benefits, to not change to an alloy sprocket means you would not be getting the full benefits from the lighter rims.

 

Because the alloy sprocket is a much larger radius than the front the wear difference is negligible.
The load going through the rear sprocket is shared by the many more teeth than on the smaller front sprocket.
As long as the quality is good enough and I'd trust Renthal with this the sprockets will wear out at about the same time.

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