Gearing - trying a 42T.

[Shinysideup]

It also makes the regen feel stronger.  I'm not a big fan of the regen level in Sport mode, so this kind of bugs me. 

OTOH, I'm a huge fan of the Sport mode regen curve: works perfectly on the hills of San Francisco and in making 90 degree turns from boulevard speeds. If I ever find it too aggressive, all I have to do is modulate it with easing  back with my right wrist. It's become second nature to dial in just what I need for any situation.

Having the ability to change regen (etc.) from a smart phone app sounds pretty cool, however.

[Jeff]

It also makes the regen feel stronger.  I'm not a big fan of the regen level in Sport mode, so this kind of bugs me.  Good thing I can have it turned down though... 

I've been thinking about this for a good while now.  I've arrived at the conclusion that:

• On the street, I love the Sport regen mode.  The 42T even moreso.  I love not having to use the brakes, and I love shrieking up to stoplights in full regen and causing all the ladies' nerds' heads to swivel.
• On the track, however, I have come to dislike the regen.  I'm pretty sure that in a track context, if I'm not on the throttle, I should be braking.  There should not be any instance of 'coasting' going on.  In addition, the batteries get too toasty after a few laps anyways and the regen turns itself off, so I all of a sudden have to adjust for no regen in the middle of a lap (or corner!).

I find myself wishing that instead of toggling between Sport and Normal, I could toggle between Sport and Sport With No Regen.  I basically never use Normal anyway, and seem to get nearly identical range out of it the few times I have.

[protomech]

Brammo can probably reprogram the modes for you. It'd be nice to be able to tune the modes as on the Zero bikes.

Since the clutch is almost vestigial, even on the Empulse, I think a left lever to control regen (squeeze lever to reduce or turn "off" regen, just like a clutch) would be interesting.

[Shinysideup]

Thanks Brian and Jeff for planting all these corrupting ideas in my head. 

Since Brian likes Jeff's chain choice, I ordered it today, along with the steel sprocket Jeff chose. I also got a chain-breaking kit for when the times comes.

I've never researched sprockets before (had shaft drive bikes) and wowza! is that subject open to controversy and marketing hype! I'm more interested in longevity of my drive train than weight-saving racing considerations. So...Ironman, Sidewinder, Superlite, Chain Gang, Sunstar, etc.

* What steel rear sprocket brand do people deem the longest lasting? (Link?)

* What front sprocket seems to be the longest lasting? (Link?)

I purchased some Fuji locking style nuts with sprocket from Sprocket Center, but couldn't find any bolts, since they said the one bolt kit they offered was for off-road bikes only. Do the studs in the Marchesini wheels not get replaced with the sprockets?

[barboo]

Lots of good info here gang. Thanks for continuing to plant mod ideas in my head.

I'm giving the 42T a go as well. Same setup as Jeff. I may give the 40T a try after riding the 42T around.

[Shinysideup]

Well I've got all my components: chain and two sprockets and chain alignment tool, and then I measured my chain.

At 12K miles, it's measuring pretty much like new! Guess that Dupont Teflon chain lube sprayt stuff really works.

I'm just too stingy to change it all out without a sufficient mechanical reason.
I'll just have to pin the throttle more often.

[skuzzle]

I'm just too stingy to change it all out without a sufficient mechanical reason.
I'll just have to pin the throttle more often.

You can come visit me in Oregon and drive on the neighborhood dirt road.  That will reduce the life of your chain.  Currently my Empulse is in the shop getting its front bearings replaced after 6000 miles.

[barboo]

Just to add to Jeff's post...

1) I removed 9 links from my 96 link chain to add the 42T. Stock is 86 links.
2) Sprocket torque to rim is 25ft-lbs. This wasn't in the manual and I didn't see it mentioned. Thought that would be helpful.

Haven't tried it out yet...hoping to give it a go tomorrow.

[Gavin]

barboo needs to move to New Mexico so I can bug him to do mods on my ride

G

[barboo]

barboo needs to move to New Mexico so I can bug him to do mods on my ride

G

I would love NM, Gavin. Getting a little tired of the cold in Indiana.

[Shinysideup]

2) Sprocket torque to rim is 25ft-lbs. This wasn't in the manual and I didn't see it mentioned. Thought that would be helpful.

Thanks, barboo.

That's a 17 mm wrench and 34 Nm added to my garage wall torque spreadsheet. (attached)

[Shinysideup]

Although my chain wear isn't excessive (about half way to the limit), at 15K miles the OEM chain had developed 3 stiff links, so I decided to do the install.

I also changed out the rear brake pads, since I had the wheel off anyway. They had a little less than 1 mm remaining. BTW, the spec on them was somewhat difficult to find at my dealer, but they turned out to be Galfer FD220's.

After riding the new setup for a week, I've decided I do prefer most aspects of the 42T ratio. I like the sharp braking, especially when going down the steep San Francisco hills. I like the slightly increased RPM when motoring around the city at slower speeds. And it is a good feeling to finally use 6th gear on the freeway. Blasting away from stoplights on occasion is a bit more thrilling as well. I don't think I'll go back to 38T. (See my other post about an automatic oiler mod.)

[barboo]

Although my chain wear isn't excessive (about half way to the limit), at 15K miles the OEM chain had developed 3 stiff links, so I decided to do the install.

I also changed out the rear brake pads, since I had the wheel off anyway. They had a little less than 1 mm remaining. BTW, the spec on them was somewhat difficult to find at my dealer, but they turned out to be Galfer FD220's.

After riding the new setup for a week, I've decided I do prefer most aspects of the 42T ratio. I like the sharp braking, especially when going down the steep San Francisco hills. I like the slightly increased RPM when motoring around the city at slower speeds. And it is a good feeling to finally use 6th gear on the freeway. Blasting away from stoplights on occasion is a bit more thrilling as well. I don't think I'll go back to 40T. (See my other post about an automatic oiler mod.)

Cool! I also like how the regen does a nice decel buzz when slowing down at stoplights. Catches folks attention and makes them wonder what you're riding.

[Shinysideup]

Cool! I also like how the regen does a nice decel buzz when slowing down at stoplights. Catches folks attention and makes them wonder what you're riding.

Catching pedestrian attention is also very important to me. The decel whine is not very loud, but it IS unusual enough to capture some attention and just may serve to trim down the sad number of deaths per year in San Francisco: 20 in 2013.

Recently in the SF Bay Area, we had a young girl die while listening to her music with earbuds AND texting. What killed her, without her foreknowledge, was a freakin' railroad train! I'm sure she was in her own little world and now she's in another world.

[skuzzle]

I picked up one of these and one of these. 

It looks like I need to replace the chain now at 14k miles.  I have seen the links to rear sprocket and
chain that people have used (Thank you for posting).  Anyone know what front sprocket to use?  I know
the current one is 14 tooth for a 520 chain.