Final Drive Swap Poll

[Bonz]

Interested to see the # of Special owners vs. the # of Standard owners that have done the 750/850 FD swap and kept it, and also if you've done the swap, did you go back to stock?

[natemoen]

Janet done it.......yet.


I have not put all that many miles on the original FD, so I want to get some miles before I decide.

[CatatonicBug]

Yep. Swapped in on a MNS, and love it! No plans to ever go back. In fact, if anyone needs a MNS 1100 FD, I have one ready to go!

[CaptonZap]

Put an 850 FD in a 80 Standard, and think it is finer than frog hair! 2.6 mpg improvement on the first tank of gas, I'll see if that holds up over the long run. CZ

[Bonz]

Thanks for the input so far on the poll guys!

Hey, for the one vote that has a Special and went back to the stock FD, do you mind posting up what helped you make the decision to go back?

Thanks much!

[bikerphil]

I've swapped both my Standard and Special and haven't gone back on either one. I would swap the Standard back to stock gearing, but every time I get on the highway I change my mind and leave the taller gears in there.

[jetmechmarty]

Phil,

Swap it, and bring back up to the mountains. You'll quickly find out what the stock set-up is for.

[bikerphil]

Phil,

Swap it, and bring back up to the mountains. You'll quickly find out what the stock set-up is for.

Yep, I've rode both bikes up there with the stock FD's, yes they run much better that way. OR just ride in one lower gear with the FD mod.

[SFerinTEXAS]

Why is NOT DONE IT in the poll

I cant vote (I have one not installed ) and I doubt anyone would go to the trouble of taking it off after the install. No matter if they feel it was worth it. Kinda skewed poll I think.I think I have read every post on this and gotta be honest...Jury's still out.

[jetmechmarty]

You can not convince me this mod is a good thing. I'll say no more.

[James England]

Well, I should get my FD from Germany next week. I'll be riding my bike over this weekend to remind myself of what it's like. Then I'll fit the FD next week and I'll report back with an objective, dispassionate summkary of what it feels like. I'll obviously not be able to comment on the longevity of the modificication although, reading the posts, this does not seem an issue.

If the mod. is no good for me, or disappointing or brilliant, I'll be the first to say so......

[James England]

You can not convince me this mod is a good thing. I'll say no more.

You mention bringing a modified FD bike to the mountains to see what the standard setup is for and you don't seem too enthusiastic about the modification. Presumably, you've done the modification and tried it in hilly conditions. Could you tell me how the mod. affects the ride in such conditions? I plan on using my bike in Scotland (which is quite mountainous), so any feedback you have on how it feels would be very useful! Thanks

[James England]

I doubt anyone would go to the trouble of taking it off after the install. No matter if they feel it was worth it.

Why not? When I fit my FD in the next week or so, if it's not what I want, I'll be taking it off. It's an easy job, so I can't imagine anyone who is capable of fitting the 750FD, and who dislikes the results, leaving it on the bike anyway. Why would anyone do that? I had an entire exhaust system made, didn't like it, so took it off. Removing an unsatisfactory FD would be just as quick and easy.

I'll do the swap and thoroughly road test the bike in varied conditions, then report back honestly on what I think. If I don't like the results, you'll see an XS750 FD for sale on eBay. Hopefully, the results will be satisfactory though. The fact that people do the swap, or consider doing the swap or talk about the swap shows that there is definitely an 'issue' with the gearing of the bike.

Previously in this thread, there has been mention of the 'Yamaha engineers' knowing best etc etc. They were by no means infallible and made some serious design errors. The earlier XS750's had several well-known problems. The XS1100 2nd and 1st gear problems are legendary on this forum. They ditched the original coils and ballast resistor which were a mistake. So, whilst they produced a great bike, they didn't always know best. I can't help thinking that the same goes for the FD thing.

[tinman905]

Thanks for the input so far on the poll guys!

Hey, for the one vote that has a Special and went back to the stock FD, do you mind posting up what helped you make the decision to go back?

Thanks much!

That would be me I did this mod to reduce the rpm's and better gas mileage . I spent more time riding around town and to work 100Km/60 mile trips where 80Km/50 miles/per hour speed limits are posted were common for me. Because of traffic the fastest I could go was 100km/hour.

My bike just seemed to hate the 3500rpms/5th cruising speed and sounded and felt better at 4000rpms in 5th. The gas mileage just didn't seem to change much for me and the rpm's only dropped about 550rpms. I found needed to down shift more more often too. I also experienced more engine "chatter" going up hills even if I down shifted. After I swapped it back I really noticed the "kiddy up" that wasn't there with the 750/850 mod and much less engine "chatter".

That being said if I knew I was going to be traveling on a major highway for longer periods of time over the riding season where my cruising rpm's would be 4000 to 5000rpms I would swap back to the 850 FD.

[jetmechmarty]

I know some guys that rode to Alaska last year, each on a VMAX. One of them prepped all the bikes with FD swaps in hopes of extending their range. I failed to ask if it made a difference, but I do know all the bikes are back to the original FD.

Their trip was an overall success. I enjoyed seeing the photos.