Hi, first time poster here. I am looking at grabbing a 13T JT sprocket (P/N JTF516.13) for my KLX250 but I am seeing some folks mentioning it's about .8mm narrower than stock and should be shimmed. I'm assuming it's the same with their 14T. Has anyone heard of this or noticed any issues? I could see how a little chain misalignment might affect chain wear over time.

 

I use JT's on my '12, and I have no issues.

 

Thanks, I figure it's probably pretty insignificant.

What are the prevailing thoughts on sprockets? I have the 14/42 stock setup right now. I'd like to lug a bit less in the tight stuff and get some more use out of 2nd on the trail. Not to mention it feels like 6th is out of torque well before it's wound out. If you don't wring out 5th and hit 6th below the power band you'd might as well not even bother.

I'm thinking 14/45 and a new chain, and then I could always put on a 13T for days I know I'll be going through a lot of hard stuff.

 

When I need new sprockets I will be going to a 14 cs sprocket and a 45 rear for the same reason @TankerD18 is doing so. It gives equal gearing to the 13/42 while making it less wear on the swing arm slider because the larger sprockets will raise the chain a bit, less wear caused by chain wrap on a smaller front sprocket, plus, as said, if I want even lower gearing I can install a 13 cs sprocket. It just makes mechanical sense to do when changing sprockets. if buying new, do a 14/45

45/14=3.21 ratio 45/13=3.46 ratio
42/13=3.23 ratio no smaller front sprockets

 

Thanks for the sanity check. It's kind of crazy to me how tall they gear these bikes stock. You don't have the low end torque to be grunting around at low RPM and you don't have the power to be pushing through the wind at top gear. I guess that's the nice thing about chain final drives though, they're easy and (fairly) cheap to change.

 

The bike is really geared for light off road and still be able to run speeds needed for highways without problem. From there it is up to the rider to make their choice. The SM riders tend to go even higher than their 14/38 (or 39) sprocket, to a 15/38. But those are the ones running them almost exclusively on pavement. Off roaders who are mainly off road will gear even lower, like 13/50.