My Pantah was fitted by the previous owner with a non O-ring chain with the locking 'clip'. Although the wheel can be turned without much resistance I feel this chain will not last long on our 3000m gravel road. In a different thread I read that the stock final drive of 15/38 is a bit long for the Pantah 500. I plan to fit an X-ring chain in the future and as its common practice to replace the sprockets at the same time I can alter the final drive with a larger rear sprocket. My question is if it is advisable to lower the final drive ratio? (It will be 90% back roads and 10% motorway) I think about fitting a 40T rear sprocket and leave a stock front 15T in place. Going smaller is bad for chain and sprocket life. The Std chain size is 530. Considering the bike has less than 50hp this seems a bit over the top nowadays. I would like to fit a 520 chain but struggle to find 520 sprockets for this bike. has anyone traveled this road before?
I swapped my rear from a 38 to a 41. The bike rides much better and i use 5th gear a lot more now. Top speed is limited to around 160/165 km/h and 5th gear is running about 20km/h per 1000 rpm. The bike is very happy at these revs and you don't really need more than 150 top speed.
It would be a load of trouble and expense to downsize the chain and sprockets for negligible advantage.
You are quite right. I'l stick to the 530. The current lenght of my chain is 94. Will the same lenght be sufficient for the two up rear sprocket?
Thanks @NVDave. Helpfull tool (if you can make a screenshot before the add blocker screen comes on...) I decided on the 15/40 final drive with a 530 chain. This size is ridiculous for a 50Hp bike but thinner (520) sprockets are very hard to find.
