Nuts, chains and sprockets.

[BluprintZ]

Ordered the 12mm mainshaft nut and tabwasher from the Yamaha dealer in Abergele yesterday, they weren't aware of the 9mm nut problem, so he said but seeing as it was only £2.99. plus postage, i didn't push the issue.
So, on inspection of the chain and sprockets (the nut was tight), it seems a new set is needed, the front sprocket is starting to hook a touch and besides, the bike had been stood for quite a while before i bought it, the chain looked like it had just been oiled after a cursory clean off of the rust i would imagine.
Anyway, any opinions on who is the best supplier of the kit on ebay?, i'm aware that some people have had issues with some suppliers, so if anyone can offer a good supplier please?
I'm also thinking of maybe going up a tooth or so on the front sprocket, anyone done this?

G ; )

[Punkstig]

Go for the DID upgrade kit, gold and black chain which not only looks nice but lasts a long long time, they're about £85 with the sprockets, although there are several suppliers on eBay all the uk based ones are fine to use.


There's very little point going up on the front, in order to change gearing people normally adjust both sprockets, I'm currently one down on the back just because the rear wheel came off my thundercat and the difference is not noticeable. (I understand one tooth on back compared to one on the front would be a bigger ratio!)
But what are you honestly trying to achieve? Fuel consumption would be neglagable, and where are you going to use the 2/3 mph extra top speed?
If you do change both sprockets then its going to be more like starting off from traffic lights in 2nd gear!

[BluprintZ]

Go for the DID upgrade kit, gold and black chain which not only looks nice but lasts a long long time, they're about £85 with the sprockets, although there are several suppliers on eBay all the uk based ones are fine to use.


There's very little point going up on the front, in order to change gearing people normally adjust both sprockets, I'm currently one down on the back just because the rear wheel came off my thundercat and the difference is not noticeable. (I understand one tooth on back compared to one on the front would be a bigger ratio!)
But what are you honestly trying to achieve? Fuel consumption would be neglagable, and where are you going to use the 2/3 mph extra top speed?
If you do change both sprockets then its going to be more like starting off from traffic lights in 2nd gear!

Cheers for the advice.
When i had the Ducati Monster 900, one of the mods was to go down a couple of teeth on the front sprocket, mainly because the bike was a nightmare in town, being an L twin, it was quite lumpy in slow moving traffic, although obviously the difference in gearing showed up on the motorway, so it was a bit of a catch 22 situation with that bike.
With the Fazer, i'm finding myself looking for a seventh gear, the idea of going up a tooth on the front, is that it'll give the bike longer legs on the motorway, which i spend quite a bit of time on.

ps; i assume the kits come with a soft link included?

G ; )

[Punkstig]

Yes, soft links are included with these chains, I know what you mean about it feels like it needs to go up another gear.

[lds1973]

Up one or down one on the front is more noticeable than up one or down one on the back obviously but its also cheaper that way. A front sprocket is 15 quid where a decent rear can be 30. Going down one on the front is a quick way of giving you much better acceleration but at the loss of top end ( who does 130mph anyway) just make sure you have the clearance round the swingarm though. Also a smaller front sprocket will wear your chain out a little quicker as it is going around a tighter corner faster more of the time.

Be kind to your wallet and adjust front only. Its also and easier job.

[J_Dub]

I went down one tooth on the front, better acceleration but its too buzzy (for me) at motorway speeds, one way of keeping your speed down I suppose! I might go back to standard when the chain needs replacing. I also changed the sprocket nut to the 12mm upgrade, 9mm nut was OK but having read about the problems I wanted to get shot of it.

[BluprintZ]

I went down one tooth on the front, better acceleration but its too buzzy (for me) at motorway speeds, one way of keeping your speed down I suppose! I might go back to standard when the chain needs replacing. I also changed the sprocket nut to the 12mm upgrade, 9mm nut was OK but having read about the problems I wanted to get shot of it.

Last thing i want to do, is go down on the front sprocket, as you say John, it makes the bike way too buzzy, same problem i had with the Duc Monster.
I'm looking to go up one or two teeth on the front, to make it less buzzy than i feel it is as standard, especially on motorways, i feel it will cruise better at less revs, give the engine a bit less work to do.
You ok mate?

G ; )

[Robbus]

Keep us posted on your findings, I'm doing a lot of motorway miles too, although getting battered by the wind is my main problem at the mo', I'm almost happy to get to the roadworks on the M62 to have a break - "almost" that is

Have you looked at the gearing spreadsheet here:
http://foc-u.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Effect_of_Changing

Cheers,
Rob

[BluprintZ]

Keep us posted on your findings, I'm doing a lot of motorway miles too, although getting battered by the wind is my main problem at the mo', I'm almost happy to get to the roadworks on the M62 to have a break - "almost" that is

Have you looked at the gearing spreadsheet here:
http://foc-u.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Effect_of_Changing

Cheers,
Rob

Yes, seen the spreadsheet Rob, although due to the area where i live, i'll need to do a bit of experimenting with the gearing.
Being very close to Snowdonia and the brilliant sweepy roads hereabout, the standard gearing is probably ok, although i still find myself going for a seventh gear sometimes, if i'm having a decent thrashing session.
Cruising at 70-80mph on the motorway however, is a different matter, it just feels like the bike is revving too high at that speed, even though the rev-counter is only showing around 6-7k at that speed.
Maybe i've been riding twins for too long and forgotten how revvy the Jap multi's are?
The new chain and sprocket kit arrived this morning, just waiting for the 12mm output shaft nut and tab washer to turn up, then i can get them fitted, plus the fork dust covers i bought a few weeks ago, then take things from there.
I'll post on here any improvements (or not) that i find with the gearing mods.

G ; )

[Punkstig]

Sounds like you're just not used to the inline 4 yet, although it won't get there in 6th you've got another 5000 revs on top!

[BluprintZ]

Sounds like you're just not used to the inline 4 yet, although it won't get there in 6th you've got another 5000 revs on top!

I know mate, it's some 25 years since i had the Z1R and the GS1000's, used to thrash them everywhere, although i was in my early 30's back then.
I'll be 60 next April and i'm no Kenny Roberts but i do enjoy howling the Fazer around the mountain roads here, i'm very happy with it but the oily biker that i was, just can't help wanting to tweak it a little bit more.

G ; )

[Punkstig]

It's the little tweaks that make it your bike!
Have fun getting back in touch with your younger self!

[BluprintZ]

Phoned my "local" Yamaha dealer this morning, to see if the 12mm sprocket nut and tab washer i ordered a week ago had been sent out to me yet.
Unfortunately not, so i "might" have it by Monday!
So, do i fit the new chain and sprockets, that only took two days to arrive from a supplier on ebay, and then replace the nut whenever it arrives, or just wait until the nut arrives and fit the lot in one go?
I'm a bit pi$$ed to say the least, was hoping to go out for a spin on Sunday with the lads.
Maybe i should have asked one of you guys if the 12mm nut was available on ebay before i ordered it from the shop first?

G 

[Dead Eye]

You can get it from Wemoto as that's where I obtained mine. Can't remember how long it took to arrive but it was only a few days at most

[BluprintZ]

All i can find on Wemoto is the original nut: http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/yamaha/fzs_600_fazer_sp/02-03/picture/sprocket_front_retaining_nut_kit_oem/

Anyway, i took the front sprocket off this afternoon, had to use a short piece of scaffold tube on the socket bar and a bit of heat.
As expected, it went with a crack and this is what came off:






The nut is obviously goosed but the shaft seems ok, didn't have time to clean the crap off it, so i'll do that in the morning.

G ; )

[Dead Eye]

http://www.wemoto.com/parts/picture/yh-90891-10124/

Bought it myself, so it's definitely the 12mm kit just in case anyone is uncertain

[BluprintZ]

http://www.wemoto.com/parts/picture/yh-90891-10124/

Bought it myself, so it's definitely the 12mm kit just in case anyone is uncertain

Right you are Deadeye, noticed the small print at the bottom.

G ; )

[brianjc]

Went for 1 tooth extra on front and 1 less on rear.
made a difference of 500 revs at 70mph .
Much smoother cruising and I now get 60 / 65 mpg on our Highland empty roads,which are not slow.
Good move all round
could have gone for 2 less on rear I think but wasnt sure if the chain would be affected.
Acceleration ( for a normal person ) is just the same.
 

[BluprintZ]

Got a phone call yesterday afternoon from the Yam dealers that i ordered the nut and washer from TEN DAYS AGO!!
They have posted it out and i should have it today, yippee!
Hopefully, the bike should be back on the road this afternoon.

G ; )

[BluprintZ]

Just got the nut and tab washer, obviously it's the 12mm one but as in the pic above of the old 9mm one, there's a shoulder of about 3mm which i assume locates on the plastic bit on the original Yam sprocket, to quieten things down i believe?
So, my question to those of you who have had to replace the old nut with the new one, what do you consider the best torque setting, after of course adding threadlock to the shaft threads?
I would rather take advice from someone who has done this than rely on the Haynes book of lies, to be honest.

G ; )

[darrsi]

Just got the nut and tab washer, obviously it's the 12mm one but as in the pic above of the old 9mm one, there's a shoulder of about 3mm which i assume locates on the plastic bit on the original Yam sprocket, to quieten things down i believe?
So, my question to those of you who have had to replace the old nut with the new one, what do you consider the best torque setting, after of course adding threadlock to the shaft threads?
I would rather take advice from someone who has done this than rely on the Haynes book of lies, to be honest.

G ; )

From memory i think the old one was 70Nm and the new one was a suggested 90Nm, but i personally had mine torqued at 80Nm.

[Dead Eye]

Pretty sure I put mine on at 90Nm after reading about the recommended upgrade - but then again I didn't use any threadlock

Haven't had any issues in the 4k miles I've done

[BluprintZ]

Ok guys, cheers for the info, i'll be gritting my teeth as i tighten it up, the shaft threads didn't look too clever really!

G ; )

[darrsi]

Ok guys, cheers for the info, i'll be gritting my teeth as i tighten it up, the shaft threads didn't look too clever really!

G ; )

It's because other people had said they had a bad feeling about pushing 90Nm that a few of us opted for 80Nm instead.

[BluprintZ]

Right then, the nut and tab-washer are fitted.....although, i took it to 70Nm and the torque wrench was clicking away.
The tab-washer and the sprocket were still very loose, so i took it to 90Nm and again, clickety click and the washer etc, were still rather loose.
So i thought sod it, keep going until the washer and sprocket were waggle free, which i did and folded the tab over and put everything back together again.
I'm assuming that the sprocket isn't supposed to be loose?, i'm thinking that the reason the torque wrench was clicking, was because the nut was threading the slightly damaged shaft and it was reaching the specified Nm due to this?
Oh well, time will tell i expect, i put threadlock on the shaft, it's got new chain and sprockets fitted, plus of course the new nut and washer, we'll see how things go.
It's gonna be a nervous ride, the next time i take her out.

G ; )