11 Tooth Counter Shaft Sprocket

[Yankee500]

Anyone see a problem with a sprocket this small on the countershaft. I went from a 13 to an 11 for better woods riding, and it's changed the whole personality of the bike. I now go through stuff and up hills in 2nd that would have me slipping the clutch and spinning the tire in 1st before.

I know the chain has a tighter radius to bend around, and there is more tension on the chain. I plan on adding a DID X or O ring chain to make sure there is plenty of strength in the link between front sprocket and back sprocket.

[426mankiller]

ZOW!! that is some LOW gearing!! IMO that will be hard on your expensive chain. You will probably also need velcro on your pants and bike seat to keep from going over the bars when you let off the gas!!! If you need a tractor mode for your bike you should consider a flywheel weight and/or a rekluse clutch. A rekluse clutch with your stock gearing will allow you to tractor over stuff but you will still have capabilities for top end blasts for more open trails too.

[Yankee500]

My top end has taken a beating, I would guess it's about 60 right now.

Dropping the two teeth has made that problem of a tall 1st gear in the YZ426 go away, and made woods riding fun again. I could go back to the 13 and get a 54 or 56 for the back, 1=3 approx. front to back.

[snow]

WoW I put a 12 on mine just to see what it would do and it works great for the SLOW stuff but I never even thought about racing past 3rd gear I just gave everyone hell till 3rd then let off. Go Rekluse and never look back trust me it is worth the money.

[426mankiller]

I run 13 front and 49 rear and just for grins I put a 53 on the rear and yes I could tractor over anything at slow speeds but everytime I let off the gas in the faster trails fighting the engine braking was like doing push ups all day and that got old fast and it was gone!!! Sometimes I ride rocks, rock ledges , and tight switchbacks with rocks and having the rekluse in those conditions is like riding a 40hp minibike-just point and go and you will do it so effortlessly your riding buddies will tell you constantly that you are cheating!!!

Do a "rekluse" search in this section and you will get the idea!! ?

[ncmountainman]

i'm with them not only is your chain gonna wear faster, but so is the chain slider. i don't know if 1st is about the same on the 450's but i went to 13/52 from 14/51 put in a rekluse and have a +6 flywheel on the way. its about perfect for tight woods. i could maybe see a 12,but 11? leave to a yankee ?

[grayracer513]

i'm with them not only is your chain gonna wear faster, but so is the chain slider.

? The front sprocket itself won't last very long, either.

[felony]

exactly,with only 11 teeth,theres less load bearing (or sharing) between the teeth,increased sprocket wear.i have experimented with 13/48 gearing and it was too low,i couldnt imagine needing anything lower unless your riding trials..lol

[Cisco5311]

I just put new sprockets on my 426. I went with a 49 rear and a 15 for the front. The thing hauls a$$ ! I wouldn't recommend this for anything but motocross.

[Yankee500]

Most of the replies on this are from the mid-west or Cali, maybe you don't have the low speed stuff like we do in the northeast.

Here's my idea of a good low end gear. When you can walk beside the bike in 1st gear at idle, that's gonna be a pretty good 1st gear for almost anything you need. 13/48 is one tooth off stock on my YZ426, and it was a bear to get off the line, climbing hills, etc. It liked to stall because of the low flywheel inertia, and the tall 1st gear just made all those problems worse.

I'll most likely go back to the 13, just because I don't like the looks of the 520 chain taking the tight turn around that 11 tooth gear. If I don't get a rekluse, I'll go with a 54 on the back. My top speed might only be 60, but I get there a lot quicker than before ?

[FZ1426]

Most of the replies on this are from the mid-west or Cali, maybe you don't have the low speed stuff like we do in the northeast.

Here's my idea of a good low end gear. When you can walk beside the bike in 1st gear at idle, that's gonna be a pretty good 1st gear for almost anything you need. 13/48 is one tooth off stock on my YZ426, and it was a bear to get off the line, climbing hills, etc. It liked to stall because of the low flywheel inertia, and the tall 1st gear just made all those problems worse.

I'll most likely go back to the 13, just because I don't like the looks of the 520 chain taking the tight turn around that 11 tooth gear. If I don't get a rekluse, I'll go with a 54 on the back.

[FZ1426]

60 mph with a 13/54? Try about 35. ?

[grayracer513]

Most of the replies on this are from the mid-west or Cali, maybe you don't have the low speed stuff like we do in the northeast.

Here's my idea of a good low end gear. When you can walk beside the bike in 1st gear at idle, that's gonna be a pretty good 1st gear for almost anything you need.

If you haven't ridden the double diamond trails at Corral Canyon, don't think all off SoCal is wide open spaces.

If you need a bike you can walk next to at idle, a YZ Whatever is not your best choice in the first place.

[Yankee500]

I am gonna have to agree with you on that one. We already joined one riding club, they have trails on 400 acres in the Adirondacks, and everytime we went, it was more work than play. The two YZ's aren't great at low speed, steep, gnarly trails, period. We dropped our membership in the club, and haven't been back.

It may be a matter of preference too, I am not too thrilled with low speed, technical trail riding. Am more at home on fast woods trails or powerline roads.

Other than the low speed problems, the YZ has been terrific at just about everything else. We put in studs, and ride them on ice and snow in the winter. Spring thaw, mud bogs, the bike is pretty good at getting through almost anything. So far so good on the mechanicals, nothing broken except a chain master link, and I bought the bike used.

[yzf450jack]

What's your top speed 30mph 35mph ?

[Yankee500]

I've only dropped 2 teeth from the counter-shaft sprocket. That's not gonna make a 75 mph bike into a 35 mph bike. My buddy has a KTM 250 ISDT, top speed on that is about 60, and I can match his top speed on an open trail.

Remember, you most likely cannot pull redline with the stock 13/49 gears. I can pull redline with my 11/49 set, so my top speed hasn't really dropped that much, and I get there a lot quicker than before.

[ry0ken]

wow! i would think that an 11 tooth countershaft sprocket would be hell on your chain. but i guess ya never know for sure till ya expiriment with it. ?

[Motoman_AZ]

Anyone see a problem with a sprocket this small on the countershaft. I went from a 13 to an 11 for better woods riding, and it's changed the whole personality of the bike. I now go through stuff and up hills in 2nd that would have me slipping the clutch and spinning the tire in 1st before.

I know the chain has a tighter radius to bend around, and there is more tension on the chain. I plan on adding a DID X or O ring chain to make sure there is plenty of strength in the link between front sprocket and back sprocket.

I went from a stock 14 to a 12 on my 01' and stripped the teeth. Lots of torque! Torque snaps things! Keep an eye on it! I do love the power down low!

[FZ1426]

I've only dropped 2 teeth from the counter-shaft sprocket. That's not gonna make a 75 mph bike into a 35 mph bike. My buddy has a KTM 250 ISDT, top speed on that is about 60, and I can match his top speed on an open trail.

Remember, you most likely cannot pull redline with the stock 13/49 gears. I can pull redline with my 11/49 set, so my top speed hasn't really dropped that much, and I get there a lot quicker than before.

Hold 60 with that setup for more than about 20 seconds and soon you'll be posting on how to rebuild your motor. ?