E1 zx9 gearing change (your experiences)

[Ithyphallic]

Hi,
Ive recently bought an E1 zx9 after quite a few years off the bikes (road , anyway). Basically after finding some decent (empty) roads around my local area to get used to the suspension, brakes and power of the zx9 (I’m in love) Im starting to think she may be a little long geared for my liking. Now dont get me wrong, its been a few years since i was on a road bike (which was an R6) so i am taking it very easy and taking my time to know the zx9, so i won’t be making the change to a smaller front/ larger rear for a couple of months.
Basically I’m wanting to see what sort of results anyone with experience in doing this has gotten from their changes. (speed in first would be great!)

The bike at the moment is getting about 130 out of first, so I’m thinking a good starting point would be to keep the standard size rear and drop to a 15 on the front. Im just a little concerned that it might shorten it too much, and was hoping to get some insight into how much it will shorten the gears. At the moment I’m noticing the 9 is pretty easy to keep the front wheel down on in second and I’m willing to sacrifice it being a little more light on the front wheel as i think it will suit my riding style and the roads I’m riding on. Im basically never on the freeway or long trips and wouldn’t mind being able to power wheelie in second a little easier. As it is, it seems to prefer the clutch in second, which I’m not as comfortable doing. It will do it without the clutch, although its moving a little fast for my liking to get it up in second and take more of a bounce and yank than i would like.
I found the R6 much easier to power wheelie in second, which I’m sure is due to the shorter gearing.

Now I’m sorry if this has been covered, but i have searched and really haven’t found what i was looking for.
Thanks in advance

[Nelso]

I found the R6 much easier to power wheelie in second, which I’m sure is due to the shorter gearing.

plus the shorter wheelbase and much lighter bike.

-1 on the front won't leave it too short. It's what is needed on the 9's as they are way tall from factory.

[z900/zx9]

If you really want some more go down low I dropped one on the front and went up 2 on the rear mind you that is on my track bike.On the road bike I have never really bothered changing the ratio as power wheelies in second are no problem and only a little encouragement is needed in third.I would wait until you have got smooth and had some more time on the 9 before changing anything.

[Ithyphallic]

Thanks for the replies guys, The fact that the swing arm is longer and the bike is heavier slipped my mind, as did the fact I’m now 15kg heavier
I think at this stage the issue with the power wheelie is as much confidence related as the gearing, i guess both the additional speed i need (the r6 would sit on 10k at 100km/h and come up perfect and smooth from there) plus the rusty skills and an actual midrange make it a little more intimidating. I guess that i have kids and now value my life also has some significance too haha. I will take the advice and get plenty more hours under my belt first though, the reality is i just bought the thing.
I take it the 9 is seriously moving in a third power wheelie, i know i won’t be up for that for some time. Towards the end of owning the r6 i could get it to power wheelie in 4th, and it took a LOT more control at that speed than it did in second. I dare say i will probably never do thirds gear ones. (I dont fancy prison, and as far as i know you get booted of tracks for it).

Thanks again.

[JimZXR]

It may be a little left field but I've found fitting a quicker throttle has helped heaps on all my road bikes as you're not having to reach for the extra handful of throttle.

I used to have a C1 9R in the UK with a really simple throttle attachment which gave it about a 1/5 turn and it was a beast!

Never bothered altering the gearing after that.

[Ithyphallic]

While that is also an awesome idea, I’m betting that one is for even further down the track haha. (need more throttle control first!)

[z900/zx9]

I have 2 and a half zx9s one of them I put 180,000 ks on , I have also done a track day once a month for 3 years.In reality unless you are an elite rider you will not surpass what a late model zx9 can do

[Ithyphallic]

Oh i worked that out pretty quick haha. At the moment I’m still yet to get my knee down on it! Long way off even doing the bike justice.
Honestly, i was looking at 954’s and R1’s, but the 9 came along at about half the price. (A customer at my work had it). I couldn’t resist at least trying it out since it was such a bargain. Being 6’2 and 100kg odd the bike is perfect for what i want. From what i hear they are a much better road bike than the 954/R1 which is suited more for the track. I do plan on doing the odd track day in the near future and with the money i saved, i could quite literally buy a track bike and not worry about trashing the roadie.

[Ithyphallic]

So.. good news. As suspected, it was a confidence issue
It was literally as simple as my throttle hand positioning. After finding a good spot to practice i quickly realised i wasn’t rolling the throttle on hard enough.
A very, very simple change and now she’s power wheeling like a dream!! That mid range means I’m getting it up at even lower speeds than the r6 too.

[Johnnie5]

-1 on the front is the essential mod for any bike out of the box

they are overgeared for noise emissions

it took aged to convince my mate back in 2007 with his new r1 and once done he was over the moon as it meant
you could commute without flogging the clutch and you could take corners around town in 2nd instead of 1st

[Daz9R]

I've got an E2 and would recommend -1 on the front as well as I felt it was too tall in 1st and 2nd.
Although I must admit that I have gone back to the standard gearing as I commute 8ok's every day and wanted the extra economy.

Look at the Healtech site online calculator under estimated and it will give you a percentage of change for the speedo.

http://www.healtech-electronics.com/ht_sh_online_calculator_en.swf

-1 will alter by 6.2% not allowing for factory speedo error.

[Ithyphallic]

Thanks guys, I’m definitely going to go −1 when the chain and sprockets are due. Really looking forward to it actually!

[Ithyphallic]

Hey guys, not sure if anyone is interested, but i finally changed out chain and sprockets. Went −1 on the front, i absolutely love it. Ive heard a few people say they should be geared like that from the factory and I’ve gotta say i completely agree. It really surprised me how much of a difference it made.