Gearing up

[misterprofessionality]

Those of you that have reduced the size of your rear sprocket in the name of fuel efficiency share with me how many teeth you dropped and what was the effect like? If not for fuel efficiency why did you do it?

My CB was actually significantly geared down for more a more punchy and aggressive feel (1 teeth down on the front, 2 teeth up in the rear) and I was curious about the other side of the coin (not for my bike, i'm very happy with my ratio).

 

[tod.branko_imp]

I seem to remember some discussions about that, and people digging deep into the sprocket calculator apps, and I'm not sure there is a consensus on what's good and what's not. Personally, I've played with that on my dirt bikes, and I understand how it can affect performance but not in the CB, and I doubt that on the long run it would be an efficient money saving scheme.

'14 CB1100 STD 5 speed

 

[PowerDubs_imp]

I agree w/ Tod

Gearing down for an increase in fun? Sure.

Gearing up and expecting to 'save' because of fuel? Nope.

I'd wager that many times that would cause people to open the throttle more trying to accel- and for a longer time period.

Think of it this way- you already always have a next gear for lower rpm until you get to top gear.

So the only time it would matter is 6th (5th if you have a 13)- and how often and for how long are you in top gear?

Even people that do long trips- slow down. You loose MUCH more due to an extra 5-10mph against the wind than you do on gearing.

Honda's no dummy- if they could get a worthy gain in mpg by gearing- they would have done it because unlike the other side of the coin (acell / power) there is no trade off in increased emission / noise / heat / wear & tear.

 

[misterprofessionality]

Ah, yea all that makes sense. I only ask because I've always had a 6 speed, and my sentiment is the same as yours, but I was wondering if the 5 speeds would benefit more from this if they were using the bike primarily on distance rides. I tend to cruise 80 or 90 when i'm riding distance on the slab, and It occurred to me that might not work so well on a 5 speed.

 

[Inhouse Bob]

Ah, yea all that makes sense. I only ask because I've always had a 6 speed, and my sentiment is the same as yours, but I was wondering if the 5 speeds would benefit more from this if they were using the bike primarily on distance rides. I tend to cruise 80 or 90 when i'm riding distance on the slab, and It occurred to me that might not work so well on a 5 speed.

I've only got five and 80-90 is no trouble. It just hums a bit more. But it'll do it all day.
Remember, my fifth gear ratio is higher than your fifth gear ratio. How much, I'm not sure.

 

[tod.branko_imp]

Ah, yea all that makes sense. I only ask because I've always had a 6 speed, and my sentiment is the same as yours, but I was wondering if the 5 speeds would benefit more from this if they were using the bike primarily on distance rides. I tend to cruise 80 or 90 when i'm riding distance on the slab, and It occurred to me that might not work so well on a 5 speed.

Oh that's the thing. I spend a lot of time between 4k and 5k in top gear, whether it's 5th or 6th I can't say, there is no gear indicator and I'm always looking for another gear regardless of the bike. But really our 5-speeds don't care much about being 5-speeds, they still max out 180km/h - 112mph(?) and still average around 6.5l/100km that's ~36mpg combined.

I'm also one if those who appreciate the longer gears, there is something nice about pulling out of a roundabout in 2nd and winding on well into highway speed without a need to shift

And being at the torque sweet spot while on the highway definitely helps with overtaking, I have never ever had a need to downshift for a pickup

'14 CB1100 STD 5 speed

 

[Obleo]

On my 13 I went up 1 tooth to 19 for a reduction in rpms , was cheap and easy to do. It reduces rpm by about 250 to 300 rpm in 5 th gear. Before the swap 53 mpg , after swap 59 mpg. The reason I did it was to take some of the buzzyness out. As far as blasting at 80 to ninety , no thanks my bike never saw the redline , my 2 cents.

 

[peterbaron]

On my 13 I went up 1 tooth to 19 for a reduction in rpms , was cheap and easy to do. It reduces rpm by about 250 to 300 rpm in 5 th gear. Before the swap 53 mpg , after swap 59 mpg. The reason I did it was to take some of the buzzyness out. As far as blasting at 80 to ninety , no thanks my bike never saw the redline , my 2 cents.

^^ +1 ^^ with my previous '13 CB

 

[Houtman_imp]

I for one prefer the 5 speed as well .

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

In the twilight years of the CB1100, I used mostly 5th at speed to have instant power available when riding with a herd of cages, and hyper access to 4th in rare situations. Otherwise, the calm 6th was the way.

 

[17-CB-002]

Just like you MP, I went up to a 42 Teeth sprocket, reason being previously I barely used the 6th with the original sprocket. Now with the new 42T there's slightly more oomph during acceleration, however, the fuel consumption drops down - I got a range of 190 miles to the tank until the last bar start flashing. Mine is a 2017 with the famous seamless tank (15 L?)