[green-patriot]

I know they say to go to a 20/39 gears on elevations above 5000' but you get almost the same exact ratio if you go to a 21/41 so why do they tell you to change both its a lot cheaper just to buy a top gear instead of both and a chain. If there is a real reason to this could you please let me know.Thanks G-P

 

[jleosnow]

green-patriot,
Great question, that's exactly what I have been trying to figure out with other posts(gearing and altitude). I still have not come up with a solid answer yet...... Someone on this board must have tried doing this. Anyone???
-John

 

[arcticmannf7]

The reason for going 20/39 is chain life. You wouldn't think one tooth would make such a difference, but 21/41 has much more chain slack than 20/39 when new. So you wind up getting longer chain adjustment life because there is more room to adjust the tensioner. Hope that makes sense. :huh:

 

[jleosnow]

arcticmannf7,

Thanks for the input. Yes, that makes perfect sence. Let me ask you this. If some of us are planning to gear for only 1 -3 trips out west and do not plan to keep the gearing at 21/41, wouldn't it be sufficient to get by that way since we wouldn't be to worried about longevity of adjustment of the 21/41 gear set-up? chain would eventually stretch, but when we switched back to our stock 22/41, adjustment should still be plentifull.... Thoughts?? Thanks.
-John

 

[arcticmannf7]

I'd say 21/41 would work for 1-3 trips. I geared down to 20/39 because up here in Alaska I can go from sea level to several thousand feet all in the same ride. Sorry it took so long to get back to you I was out trying out my D+D pipe and can setup. B)

 

[highlander]

Would you have to get another chain if you use 20/39....Thanks

 

[jleosnow]

Originally posted by highlander@Jan 12 2003, 07:28 AM
Would you have to get another chain if you use 20/39....Thanks

highlander,

Yes, if you go with the 20/30 gears, you have to replace the stock 72P chain with a 70P chain. There would be too much slack in the stock 72P chain when dropping down to a 20/39 gear combination.

 

[jleosnow]

Originally posted by arcticmannf7@Jan 11 2003, 10:01 PM
I'd say 21/41 would work for 1-3 trips. I geared down to 20/39 because up here in Alaska I can go from sea level to several thousand feet all in the same ride. Sorry it took so long to get back to you I was out trying out my D+D pipe and can setup. B)

arcticmannf7,
Thank you for your input. I guess I could simply buy the 21 tooth upper sprocket for what little riding I would be doing out West in altitude from Minnesota, but............. now I see when I looked thru my parts I have a 20T upper and a 70P chain from when I replaced these 2 components in our 99 ZL600 EFI(1900 miles) this summer. I replaced them because it seemed that there was hardly any adjustment left in the chain(adjuster bolt was turned in what seemed to be too much) only to find out after I replaced the chain and upper sprocket with new, it was exactly the same as the old chain and gear.

I could use the 70P chain and the 20T upper sprocket that I pulled from the ZL and simply purchase a new 39T lower...... Thoughts or opinions??

Thanks.
-John

 

[arcticmannf7]

So the choices are buy a 39 lower gear (about $40) or a 21 upper gear (about $25). Hmm, I would go with the 39 lower because it is a known good performer, you already have 2/3 of the setup, and you would have the gears and chain off anyway. I don't know any one who has run 21/41 so I can't comment on that combos performance.

 

[jleosnow]

arcticmannf7,

That's correct, I have 2/3 of the combination already but remember, they upper sprocket and chain have 1900 miles on them already....... The upper gear that I took out has some marks on the side of it and on the face of the gears, but they don't appear to look "worn". As far as the chain, I really dont know what to look for as far as 'wear' goes. It still looks like new to my eye. Ant tips on what to look for here before I may regret using these parts that have a900 miles on them?? Thanks!
-John

 

[arcticmannf7]

The easiest way to tell on the chain is to try to twist it from side to side. It shouldn't move very much at all, if it does it is suspect and I don't think that it could handle all that F7 POWER.

 

[jleosnow]

Originally posted by arcticmannf7@Jan 12 2003, 12:36 PM
The easiest way to tell on the chain is to try to twist it from side to side. It shouldn't move very much at all, if it does it is suspect

arcticmannf7,

Do I hold the chain in my hands(whole length) and twist each end and look for this or check 3-4 links at a time and work my way around the chain?

Thanks for the info you have given.
-John

 

[arcticmannf7]

Hold whole chain and twist.

 

[jleosnow]

Originally posted by arcticmannf7@Jan 12 2003, 02:29 PM
Hold whole chain and twist.

arcticmannf7,

Hee is what I saw. It will be kind of hard to type, so try to stick with me here. I held the chain and pulled firm and twisted. I can get it to twist about 1/8th of the way. What I mean by 1/8th is that if you could twist it a complete 360 degrees, this would be approximatly 45 degrees. Do you follow? Thanks!
-John

 

[jleosnow]

Originally posted by arcticmannf7@Jan 12 2003, 02:29 PM
Hold whole chain and twist.

arcticmannf7,

Here is what I saw while checking like you have said. It will be kind of hard to type, so try to stick with me here.

I held the chain and pulled firm and twisted. I can get it to twist about 1/8th of the way. What I mean by 1/8th is that if you could twist it a complete 360 degrees, this would be approximatly 45 degrees. Do you follow? Thanks!
-John

 

[jleosnow]

Oops, sorry about the double post.... :wacko:
-John

 

[arcticmannf7]

That is too much twist, 15 degrees is about right. Go with the 21 upper gear if you're only going to run a 1.95 ratio a couple times.

 

[jleosnow]

arcticmannf7,

15 degrees, that's not much twist/deflection at all. Thanks for the useful info!
-John

 

[Goin' For Snow]

If you JUST ride trails out west, the 22/41 will be fine. Any off trail, bring extra belts. I popped 2 first day.

All i had in the toolbox with us was a 20. Rode 2 more days and pulled 6 cogs off the belt.

I was able to use the stock chain with the 20/41. The stock chain has almost NO hourglass in it, with stock gearing.

Even though the ratio is close to the same, its where the teeth are taken from.

 

[jleosnow]

Pat,

Did you still burn up belts after putting in the 20T top gear??
-John