16 or 17 tooth....that is the question?

[OzTiger007]

Hi all. I searched the forums for info on slowing my 06 down a little. There is a great deal of comment from street riding guys, however not so much for off road experience. I live in SW Colorado and ride passes (engineers, imogene, ophir etc) usually loaded with camp gear and the wifey on the back. The standard gearing is pretty good going up hills with a bit of clutch, but down hill is more excitment than I like. (20mph down a steep scree covered hill??) So i'm looking to go down a tooth or two on the front. Is 16 too much? I still do highway miles to get places. Should i just buy both and try them out? Has anyone done offroad mountain riding with these combos?
Thanks

[Stretch]

I keep the 19 on mine almost all the time, as I'm a flat-lander, and do quite a bit of highway riding.  Even the dirt roads and trails around here aren't quite so gnarly to require lower gearing (usually).

I have a 17 that I use when I'm riding trails for a couple days at a time.  The engine RPMs really jump at highway speeds, though.... in the neighborhood of 4500 RPM at 60 MPH.  The 16 would exacerbate that extreme.  But the smaller countersprockets sure are great for mountain roads and trails.

[OzTiger007]

Thanks Stretch. I'm thinking I might get both and report my findings here for anyone else wanting to climb mountains. What MPG do you get with the 19?

[Stretch]

40-45 mpg... mixed street, highway, and dirt.

[REGULATOR]

mine came with a 17  tooth,  felt like I was in the wrong gear, and was VERY snappy...  wheelied like crazy,  I thought I was on a speed triple

[HappyMan]

:D  I like wheelies!  I get much better mileage out of my front tire that way.

[OzTiger007]

Thanks fellas. The 17 it is...

[BykBoy]

I had all four (16-19) and tried them all. Now I use only the two extreems (16 and 19).

The 16 is a blast. It gives you very quick acceleration and lots of low end control. The 19 is super smooth on the highway and makes the ride very comfortable on long trips.

I keep the 16 on most of the time. I do a lot of dirt and sand so and it makes a big difference to be able to ride at low speeds off road. However, if I ride very long distance (like more then 1,000 miles) I will take the time to swap out the 16 with the 19. Like Stretch said, the 16 and 17 are buzzy at highway speeds. I can tolerate it for short distances as I just ride slower on the highway and keep the RPMs down.

I wish someone would come up with replacement gearing that would lower 1st gear and push up 6th gear. Now that would be something!

[flux]

Mine's got an 18T on the front.  Being as its time for replacement I think I will try out the 17T and see what happens.  I ride a lot of offroad but also a lot of fast 2 and 4 lane highway... not much interstate luckily... I think the 16T might be a tad too low for that combo.  

So, is the 16T a Triumph factory item?  What bike does it hail from?

[Stretch]

Dunno about the Triumph sprockets, but mine came from Sprocket Specialists...

http://www.sprocketspecialists.com/Sear ... Search=598 (http://www.sprocketspecialists.com/SearchResults.aspx?txtSearch=598)

[OzTiger007]

Just ordered the 16 & 17 from Sprocket specialists. Do any of you guys run heavier chains?

[BykBoy]

Dunno about the Triumph sprockets, but mine came from Sprocket Specialists...

http://www.sprocketspecialists.com/Sear ... Search=598 (http://www.sprocketspecialists.com/SearchResults.aspx?txtSearch=598)

Same here.

[BykBoy]

Do any of you guys run heavier chains?

No. I'm on my 4th standard chain.

[flux]

Question:  How are you guys finding sprockets that fit the Tiger on the SS website?  I don't see Tiger listed anywhere.  I guess you just know that it's the 598 part number for the front steel?  How about the rear?  

Thanks for the help!

[Stretch]

Do any of you guys run heavier chains?

The stock DID 530 X-ring chain is about as heavy as they get.  Kawasaki's 167-hp Hayabusa uses the same size chain (made by RK), if that's any indication...

Any high-quality 530 X-ring chain will be just fine for your Tigger.

Question:  How are you guys finding sprockets that fit the Tiger on the SS website?  I don't see Tiger listed anywhere.  I guess you just know that it's the 598 part number for the front steel?  How about the rear?  

That's pretty much it, the 598 countersprockets are simply known to fit Tigers.

I got my rear from Bike Bandit, although SS may carry them.  Give them a call.