belt drive

You might look into the belt drive kit by scootworks
http://www.shopscootworks.com/produ...m/productdetail.htm?browse=-18983&productId=-128049&shopBy=-3078&catalogId=-799

Their kit has a 2.22:1 final drive that say will reduce engine rpm by 11%

I last looked at their kit a few months ago and the price for the complete kit with a chrome rear pulley was @$650. Kind of expensive but no more oiling of the chain

 

I've been reading up on the different options for changing the gears too. On this forum: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/EN500/ one of the members said that he made the jump to a 17 tooth sprocket with the stock chain and he was really happy with the outcome.

 

Thanks for the reply, I am also thinking that going to a 17 front would be better than a 40 rear.

 

I had my front sprocket changed to a 17 tooth at my 500 mile "checkup" with the dealer. The sprocket was about $25 and they didn't charge much to put it on, seems like it was about $30 labor. I've still got plenty of power out of the hole and I'm getting about 60 mpg combined. I don't know how that impacted my top speed, but I did take it up to 104 just to see what she'd do once and she was still "climbing" but that was a lot faster than I wanted to go, so I backed off.

 

Theoretical Top Speed is 106

Unless I did something wrong or this site (http://www.dansmc.com/mc_software1.htm) is incorrect the 17 tooth sprocket will up each gear's top speed by about 5 MPH. I'm thinking about doing the same thing at my 500 mile check up because I do feel like I have the revs a bit higher than I'd like while on the highway and the 17 should definitely save some fuel.

Here's the 16 and 17 comparison as well as the 42 vs. 40

---------------------------------------------------------

Primary Gear 2.652 Front Sprocket 16
Rear Sprocket 42 Rear Wheel Dia 24.92

1 Gear 2.571, 33.13752671979043 MPH
2 Gear 1.722, 49.47536654853728 MPH
3 Gear 1.333, 63.91341425099865 MPH
4 Gear 1.125, 75.73029439696106 MPH
5 Gear 0.961, 88.65409073525619 MPH
6 Gear 0.851, 100.11349141783924 MPH

RPM 8000

---------------------------------------------------------

Primary Gear 2.652 Front Sprocket 17
Rear Sprocket 42 Rear Wheel Dia 24.92

1 Gear 2.571, 35.208622139777326 MPH
2 Gear 1.722, 52.567576957820854 MPH
3 Gear 1.333, 67.90800264168605 MPH
4 Gear 1.125, 80.46343779677112 MPH
5 Gear 0.961, 94.19497140620969 MPH
6 Gear 0.851, 106.37058463145418 MPH

RPM 8000

---------------------------------------------------------

Primary Gear 2.652 Front Sprocket 16
Rear Sprocket 40 Rear Wheel Dia 24.92

1 Gear 2.571, 34.794403055779945 MPH
2 Gear 1.722, 51.949134875964134 MPH
3 Gear 1.333, 67.10908496354857 MPH
4 Gear 1.125, 79.5168091168091 MPH
5 Gear 0.961, 93.08679527201897 MPH
6 Gear 0.851, 105.11916598873118 MPH

RPM 8000

Disclaimer: I'm new to motorcycling and not too much of a gear head so I may have messed up some of the figures.

 

Wow, nice info. I didnt realize 1st gear could see 33 mph. I thought I was pushing it at 25. I went an tried it and I got to 30 mph, but she was screaming and I let off... It was still climbing though. What is redline for the vulcan 500. I have a ninja 500 manual, and it shows 11,000 redline. Also, does anyone have engine rpm/ hp chart?

 

I Cheated A Little

I couldn't find the red line so I used the max HP RPM from http://www.topspeed.com/motorcycles...torcycles/motorcycle-reviews/kawasaki/2009-kawasaki-vulcan-500-ltd-ar72888.html.

Now that I realize that is not the red line, you could probably go a bit faster (but you won't have much torque and your HP will be dropping so that wind will get real tough to overcome). I don't feel like re-entering all the values for an 11,000 RPM red line, but my guess is you could get that baby going really fast with a nice tailwind and maybe going downhill.

My factory manual will be arriving in the next couple of days, I'll let you know if it has the Vulcan's red line.