16 tooth front sprocket KLR650
Issue: Work has me on the road a lot lately and most of that time is on the highways and as KLR650 riders know, our bikes weren’t made for comfort at highway speeds. That meant I had to find a way to reduce vibration and all research pointed to changing the front sprocket on the KLR650 from a 15 tooth to 16 tooth. Here are my step-by-step instructions and observations since making the change.
Instructions: (see video for walkthrough)
Firstly you’ll need the following tools:
- 16 tooth front sprocket for the 2008 KLR650 (here’s where I bought mine: http://www.aviciouscycle.ca/)
- 10mm socket to remove the chain/sprocket cover
- 27mm socket to remove the sprocket
- Large socket wrench (torque wrench would be ideal)
Let’s get to it:
- Use the 10mm socket to remove the three bolts that secure the chain/sprocket cover.
- Use the 27mm socket and torque wrench to remove the nut that secures the 15 tooth sprocket to the KLR. The nut is a regular thread, turn counter clockwise to remove. Note: Remove the 27mm nut can be difficult and if you’re not careful your KLR can lurch forward and drop off the stand. To avoid this, I sat on my KLR with my right foot on the rear break and my left foot on the ground, then (with the rear brake applied) I pulled up on the torque wrench until I heard a snap and the nut released.
- Once the nut and washer have been removed simply remove the 15 tooth sprocket and insert the 16 tooth sprocket.
- Simply reverse the process to complete the install.
*Make sure to double-check your chain tension with the 16 tooth sprocket in place. I noticed that there was far too much tension on my chain and had to complete a chain adjustment as well (click for details). Not including the chain adjustment, changing the the 16 tooth sprocket took me approximately 20 minutes. Now that I know how to do it, I’m sure that I could complete the task in 10 to 15 minutes.
Results: Here’s what I’ve noticed since installing the 16 tooth front sprocket on my 2008 KLR650:
- There has been a reduction of 400 to 500RPMs at speeds over 100KPH, resulting in reduced vibrations and the associated fatigue.
- I had to trade acceleration for the reduced vibration. The KLR was never that quick off the line anyway. It’s not that noticeable or inconvenient.
- Some have claimed it has improved gas mileage but I haven’t noticed a major improvement.
- The 16 tooth is not great if you’re going to be doing a lot of off-road riding. Now that I have the chain adjusted properly I think I could switch sprockets in 10 to 15 minutes if I know I’ll be spending most of the day in the dirt.
