KDXRIDER.NET

If I want to do a 600-mile (50% county dirt road/50% paved highway) dualsport "challenge" at 70 MPH all day long, what gearing should I use on KDX220?

13/47 is stock. It is pretty good all around gearing. You can try to drop the rear size a bit but you may not have the hp to pull it.
I found that the KDX was O.K. at around 50 mph, rpm and handling wise. Much more than that it gets a bit lively. 70 can get a bit scary.

I have a plated KDX 220 and I changed the gearing to 14/45 and it's still like riding a chainsaw at 70 mph. With that gearing my KDX will top out at about 80 or a little under. I'd think you would like to gear it a little taller to ride that many miles with so much of it on the roads. I know that you can get a 15 tooth front sprocket. I'm not sure how much smaller you can get on the rear. I know my dealer said that a 44 tooth was available and I think even 43 or 42.

Even with that tall gearing I don't think it makes 1st that bad. If you ride in tight terrain that you use first gear constantly, than changing your gearing that much could be an issue, but unless you use first for anything besides getting to 2nd I think you will be just fine gearing it up to the 14/45 or taller.

Check out this website. They have the KDX in their data base. You can mess with the gearing on paper and it will tell you the difference in theoretical top speed, speed in each gear, rpm in each gear at certain speeds, etc. This is the website I used before I bought my sprockets.

http://www.gearingcommander.com/

BTW, with my gearing combo (14/45) my KDX is still really buzzy and busy at 60mph. The power valve starts to open at about 50 mph and it gets real loud and frantic above that speed. It's sweet spot is about 45 mph.

i ought to check my gearing but my KDX is plated aswell and i dont like riding it on the highway
it needs to be wide open to hit 75 and i dont like that and there is a vibration (almost like the vibration in your mouth when you humm, hardly notacible but there)

i would agree to try and get the tallest gearing possible, maybe even carry an extra front sprocket in case you can change over between street and dirt?

What chain length do you use with 14/45 ?

terminatr wrote:What chain length do you use with 14/45 ?

When I bought my bike it had 14/45 and the stock length chain. 108 links? I don't recall it being at either end of the tensioner but some where in the middle.

I think my chain is 110 links.

I forget now, it might be 110 but when I got a new chain it was the same length as what was on it.