Swapping final drive

[Judd]

I think Yamaha's shaft drive has been basically the same since like, forever. So, could one swap the FD on the Tenere for one that might be lower geared? Say,,,, one from a VMax????

 

[Dogdaze]

I'm not sure whether it would be possible the only way would be to cross reference the part numbers with Yamaha, even then I would suspect there would be issues, such as diameter of hub and maybe the bevel gears.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Yes, the VMax, Venture, Star bikes, FJR, Tenere, and others share the general design and people have done some swaps. It is not universal, as the rear drive is bigger on some bikes and smaller on others. Discussed again last year on the FJR forum here by somebody who did it:


http://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/157786-final-drive-swap-6th-gear-solution/?hl=%2Bgear+%2Bratio

 

[Mark R.]

What problem are you trying to solve?

 

[Don in Lodi]

The gear swap was popular with the Royal Star crowd. On the flip side, the V-Max folks loved getting the Royal's taller gears. I've still got a differential in the garage, I've been meaning to compare the two when I have the wheel off. I'm pretty sure they're identical where it matters. The gear ratios have been put out on the web for the Max and Royal, somebody would just need to put all three ratios together to know if it's a 'good' thing.

 

[EricV]

What problem are you trying to solve?

::026:: What results are you hoping for?

 

[snakebitten]

I assumed I might prefer lower gearing because of my preference for off-road exploration.

But then one day I tractored up a mountain pass with my girl on the back. Steep at times. Rocky and demanding full time. But effortless for this Beast at about 11-13mph. Plenty slow to adjust the line.
Had no idea it would lug like that without coughing or bucking. Just amazing.

Wouldn't gear lower now if I could.

 

[dcstrom]

Not sure I'm in agreement Snakebitten... plenty of times I've wished for a lower gear. Seems to me that about 8mph is the slowest you can go without slipping the clutch. I've been through some rugged sections that needed quite a lot of clutch slipping.

My preference would be for a lower first gear, but since I can't have that I would leave it alone. HOWEVER if somebody could come up with a final drive unit that fits, AND lowered ratios sufficiently, AND could be found relatively cheaply on ebay, I might keep one sitting in the shed and fit it for those trips where I knew I'd be doing a lot of off-road (err, if I had a shed).

But I doubt there's a final drive that fits my criteria...

 

[snakebitten]

LOL.

YOU are the one person who would know!
I have no issue accepting that if I was ALWAYS off-road, and really actually doing a RTW, as you are, I might just want to lower that easy going 11mph to, hmmm, maybe 5mph?

I bow.

 

[Maxified]

The gear swap was popular with the Royal Star crowd. On the flip side, the V-Max folks loved getting the Royal's taller gears. I've still got a differential in the garage, I've been meaning to compare the two when I have the wheel off. I'm pretty sure they're identical where it matters. The gear ratios have been put out on the web for the Max and Royal, somebody would just need to put all three ratios together to know if it's a 'good' thing.

Back in the last century I put a Royal Star rear on my Vmax. I was just getting into some longer distances then and it did help some. For the ST, I am happy with the way it is geared right now. I'd like to have a different motorcycle if i was doing more aggressive/technical off-road riding but there are always riders out there who can ride just about anything just about anywhere. I'm just not that talented.

 

[markjenn]

Based on my research, it is a myth that the S10 final drive has anything in common with the FJR, V-Max, and other Yamaha final drives, except in general design. They share no key parts. There is certainly no bolt-on options to swap final drives between the S10 and any other bike. (With a lot of time/money and a good machine shop, anything is possible.) I've never heard of anyone changing final drive ratio in an S10.

- Mark

 

[Don in Lodi]

Wow, just comparing a Max microfiche and a Tenere's, there are a bunch of the same part #'s, big bearings, small bearings, bushings, O-rings, coupler, retainer, U-joint, on and on. The Tenere prefix 23P being the only addition in a few cases.
That being said, the two pinions use different bearings, and while the ring gear has the same bearing, there are some other bits that are different. I don't think the gear sets will be a drop in exchange like the Max/Venture/Royal was.
I've been trying to remember the name of the shop that did the swap all those years ago, sheesh. Maxified, did you have the same guy do your gear swap? He was back east somewhere. Hmm, it might be on the box my differential is sitting in... He'd be somebody to look over a differential from a parts bike to see if a gear swap is do-able.
Again, ratios, is there any point at all? It was 11% between the Max and Royal.

 

[Maxified]

Sorry, cannot recall the name but he was east. Virginia? New Jersey? He also made me a nice gun fighter seat for the Vmax. I gave all of the paperwork to the guy who bought my 'max so I cannot even check on it.

 

[escapefjrtist]

On - off discussions on the FJRForum.Couple links that pop up for gear swap information...

http://rmsportmax.com/gateway.html

http://www.wisiwiw.com/mttech/archives/000064.html

--G

 

[Judd]

What problem are you trying to solve?

As some have surmised,,,, I'm after lower gearing for a lower crawl speed.

I'm coming off a DL650 that running 14/50 gearing and for anyone that doesn't know,,,,, that's low, real low. I run such gearing because I like to ride in some areas that are steepish and roughish. Yes, I have a XR650L and a DR350 that would do that stuff a lot easier but I ride those in even more roughish stuff. I was hoping the Tenere would work better than my fairly well modded DL650 {modded suspension with a couple inches more travel in the front and an inch more in the rear along with more ground clearance} but I don't think it does. It does handle long distances better due to better wind management along with a higher cruise speed due to the taller gearing {happy cruise speed for the DL650 was around 75-80mph with the lower gearing}. Has a better OEM seat too, comfy enough that I don't think I'll be doing any mods or replacing it. I had a FJR1300 that was my long distance tourer until I sold it a few months ago,,, the Tenere effectively splits the difference between my FJR and the DL650, just sorta wish the gearing was a bit lower as the ability to "go slow" greatly helps my abilities when in rougher stuff.

But, with my DL650,,,, I could creep along literally at a slow walk without touching the clutch. If memory serves, the Tenere is chugging even at roughly twice the speed.

The Tenere can cruise comfortably at triple digits a lot like the FJR. I would gladly trade a few revs off the top in exchange for a slower crawl.

And yes,,,, I am fully aware that many riders do amazing stuff on this 600lb bike. I ain't them and I was just hoping I could pop four bolts off, pull the FD unit and replace with a VMax FD unit. Doesn't sound like that's possible so moot point. I wish I still had my FJR just to verify though. :-\

 

[markjenn]

Wow, just comparing a Max microfiche and a Tenere's, there are a bunch of the same part #'s, big bearings, small bearings, bushings, O-rings, coupler, retainer, U-joint, on and on.

Well, I did the same thing two years ago with the Max and found no part nos. in common except for very minor things like fasteners or seals. Don't know why the discrepancy between your research and mine. In any event, I feel fairly certain in my statement that there are no "bolt in" options for changing the FD ratios for a S10. If this is your thing, you need to be looking in the direction of orange bikes.

- Mark

 

[Don in Lodi]

http://rmsportmax.com/gateway.html
http://www.wisiwiw.com/mttech/archives/000064.html

::008:: ::008::

 

[Checkswrecks]

As some have surmised,,,, I'm after lower gearing for a lower crawl speed.

But, with my DL650,,,, I could creep along literally at a slow walk without touching the clutch. If memory serves, the Tenere is chugging even at roughly twice the speed.

The Tenere can cruise comfortably at triple digits a lot like the FJR. I would gladly trade a few revs off the top in exchange for a slower crawl.

And yes,,,, I am fully aware that many riders do amazing stuff on this 600lb bike. I ain't them and I was just hoping I could pop four bolts off, pull the FD unit and replace with a VMax FD unit. Doesn't sound like that's possible so moot point. I wish I still had my FJR just to verify though. :-\

I think it would be a moot point.

If you drop the final drive gearing 10%, gas consumption increases at the top end of the range and the idle speed would only decrease from about 8 mph to slightly more than 7 mph.

The cost/reward just isn't there.

The real answer would be to tear down the engine, split the case, and drop in a replacement first gear.

Errmmmm
Again, I'm not seeing a good cost/reward basis for it.