My history: I started with the standard mods and a 13/42 for about 1500miles. Then went to 14T, because the 13 wore fast and makes alot of noise. Then to 14/48, ran that for 10K miles. I ride to 99% of the off road sites, and drive the freeway at 70-75mph @ 8-9Krpm for 1-2hours at a time. No big deal. I have now stepped up to the 331BB and with that, the stock gears work great for the hiway and FS roads. I have had to switched to 14/45 for off roading, but still a fine compromise.
My .02

 

Listen to this dude named Tony......he knows what he's talking about. What up Tony? When are we hitting Reiter again?

 

Yes, stock length chain works for 13/42, you will need to get a longer one for 14/45 or 13/45 however.

 

I never had an ounce of chain noise or wear with my 13-tooth moose front sprocket from denniskirk.com for under $15. Maybe there are lower quality sprockets out there in which Tony had received unknowingly. My sprocket had the shoulder built in.

 

Just wanted to comment on "drafting trucks"...
Dangerous! In order to get the drafting effect, you need to be real close to the truck.
Way too close to be safe. If that truck runs over anything, you're not going to see it until it's too late.
A guy on advrider came face to face with a queen sized mattress by doing just that.

 

Well' since i started this little discussion I think I will comment about truck drafting, NOT GONNA DO IT! Plus I ride up and down some of these canyons out of salt lake and the wind that gets sucked up out of the valley is enough to scare the poop outta your pants. But again thanks for all the info. I think I will run the 13t front for awhile and see how it feels and then change back to 13t in the front with a bigger in the back if needed. I know when I have been doing 75 on the I-15 that I am usually hangin around 7 to 8 rpm, so i can't imagine that 500 more is going to do any damage to my bike and i really don't want to lose my torque because of the occasional canyon runs that I will be doing. Anybody think I am on the right path here. Dacoontz.

 

I mentioned chain noise at first, but its not really that noticeable unless you stand up or lean ahead of the sprocket. And as far as wear, after 5000 miles on this 13 tooth it still looks rand new. I am curious though, why can't someone make a 13 tooth that matches the stock 14 that came not only with the shoulder, but also the built in rubber dampener/bumper? Now that would be a sweet deal.

 

I run the local canyons(Big/Little Cottonwood, Guardsmen, American Fork, Provo and Butterfield with stock gearing and do just fine.
I've run the bike to St George and back many times along with Pony Express Trails out to Wendover and beyond.

For the kind of riding that we do in Utah and the need for some top speed I would advise keeping the stock gearing and work on enhancing engine performance as much as practical.

 

I think that's reasonable to try out the stock gearing first with my soon to be complete mods. So you think puting on a big gun exhaust system and re-jetting the carbs will be enough to start me off in the right direction? i have the 13t sprocket on order but I will just hold onto it for a later date if needed. Dacoontz.

 

By keeping the stock gearing on even with a full BigGun exhaust you're essentially wasting 6th gear as the bike will not pull it fully with the 14/42. I've always said that the most effective mod outside of the full BigGun EvoX I installed was by far the 13-tooth front sprocket. It dramatically affected the bike and it's powerband. But at the same token you can cruise all day at 65mph with not much difference in rpms than the 14 toother. I weigh in around 150lbs. and riding up inclines it would lose speed in 6th and even 5th. After the swap to the 13 before the exhaust itwould now increase speed when asked up the same inclines or hills. And then after the jetting and exhaust it was like a shot of nitrous as it would bounce off the rev limiter up these same hills, having no problem pullling hard in each gear. For a puny little 250, it did a pretty magnificent job of providing power even with the cv carb. Holding ontothe 13-tooth sprocketfor a later date is in essence wasting it as the bike should've been equipped with it at the factory. Research this subject and you'll find that this little mod is highly recommended for practically every kind of riding terrain. But I guess if you want the fewest rpms at highway speeds, the stock setup is the way to go even though with my 13/42 setup my bike would've cruised right on by you on any acceleration test and flat out outrun it as well simply because the rpms are morein the meat of the powerband and provide needed power more effectively. AAAh, can't wait to install the 13 on the new '09 when it arrives. Then a biggun, then some jetting, then a uni-filter, then an airbox lid enlargement w/removed snorkel, then the smog-system comes off, then a huge smile.