Final Drive Swap Poll

[bikerphil]

Phil, I am doing my fd swap as we speak. Would a piece of 1/16 inch aluminum tub work since there isn't any weight bearing involved?

I used a bronze spacer/bushing from Ace Hardware cut down to 16-17 MM, nice and beefy. I wouldn't risk it and use something too flimsy. If you gotta get her rolling now, go for it.

[Clyde K.]

Aw shucks. Ok, I will wait until morning and do it correctly. Thanks, Clyde

[3Phase]

I went wild when I did the 750 mod.

I cut the end off of a bad u-joint yoke and made it the same length as the spacer, then drilled and pinned it to the end of the good yoke so it's splined to the drive shaft and acts like part of the yoke, not just a spacer. No problems with it so far.

[xschop]

Glad to see you guys are still doing the "6th Gear Mod". Shifting was even smoother when I first did the mod and 4th gear roll-on was much more quicker than 5th gear with the Factory 3.3 FD. My original 750 FD is on a local bike that has 0ver 20K on it plus the few thousand I put on it and has the original copper spacer! It rotates with the shaft and really sees no wear.....
My $0.03 cents ($0.02 + inflation)

[Bonz]

Let's give it up for XSchop, the founding father of the swap.

General question for anyone:

Wasn't the Special the more "popular" model, in terms of numbers of bikes sold, in the States? Maybe I'm wrong, and the Special was sold in smaller numbers, I just remember the magazine articles on this forum indicate the Special outsold the Standard.

If that's the case, it's interesting that the number of Specials (assuming there were more Specials sold, thus more in the gene pool for the swap) with the swap (based on the poll so far) is lower than the Standards with the swap, being that the Special has shorter gearing by a noticeable amount already vs. the Standard, due to the smaller rear tire.

[DGXSER]

HBonser,

I think the shift your seeing is that the Special owners are more cruiser type of guys, so we do not bother with poles as much. As to where the competitive spirit of the typical Standard owner drives them to want to win in the pole, so they vote.


The above is of course a bunch of bullcrap and I have no clue about the numbers. But sicne it is numbers and a poll, some statistician will use them to prove whatever point it is they want to prove anyway.

[Bonz]

Good one DG!

[cywelchjr]

I think it's cause the special guys are too busy chopping their bikes and hardtailing them to be putting the 750 FD on them.

It is interesting isn't it. I actually would have expected it to be the other way around, but a lot of us standard owners have done the swap, or at least more of us will admit to it than special owners will. Someone send Fred one so we can hear how bad it screws up a sidecar rig.

I'm wondering actually now well it would work on a rig like Fred's. Would it be a good mod for a situation like his with that big orange wart hanging off the side of it?

[Geezer]

I bought one off a 850 Midnight Special then I took a couple long rides and decided I didn't want to install it.

I'm not going to use it and it's up for grabs for the right offer...

Geezer

[James England]

I bought one off a 850 Midnight Special then I took a couple long rides and decided I didn't want to install it.

I'm not going to use it and it's up for grabs for the right offer...

Geezer

Were the couple of long rides without the swap being done? Or do you mean you did the rides with swap done and then decided to take it off?

[Geezer]

Without it. I didn't get around to it and I decided I liked the gearing the way it was and decided not to change it after all...

Geezer

[Bonz]

Geezer and anyone near him that's done the swap...

Someone step up and give the Geez a ride on their bike with the swap, so he can be informed as to how the other half lives and save him from himself!

Geezer, can I ask if you ride mostly rural roads (2 lane) or if you get out on the interstate? Not sure what your speed limits are out there in Oregon, but I'd be curious as to the kind of riding you do.

Thanks much!

[jetmechmarty]

Has it occurred to anyone that maybe Geezer doesn't NEED to try it? It isn't for everybody. Now, go out and enjoy your bike! I have a few days before I can get to mine.

Marty (in Irving, TX)

[Bonz]

Just curious what kind of riding he does. It isn't for everyone, that's a given.

That's why I asked the question to Geezer...

[cywelchjr]

Has it occurred to anyone that maybe Geezer doesn't NEED to try it? It isn't for everybody. Now, go out and enjoy your bike! I have a few days before I can get to mine.

Marty (in Irving, TX)

I would disagree. I would agree that he may not want to do it just to do it (although it is just plain simple and easy and really simple to reverse it). I really was thinking I didn't want the difference after I got the correct rear tire on my standard, but since my FD was FUBAR and I had a 750 FD cause it was cheaper than an 11 FD, I figured I'd give it a try and if I didn't like it I'd get a replacement 11 FD and go back. Guess what? I'm not going back, no way no how. If I was going to take it drag racing down a sacramento raceway (our local drag strip, which has drags which include bikes) then I would put the stock FD, but I'd also be getting a gastric bypass and stripping the bike down as far as I could as well . That's why the suggestion, cause then without him having the try it, he could see if the difference in the gearing would be for him, cause he just might be surprised, since the 750/850 final gear ratio was the actual ratio the bike was actually designed for. The FD change was done at the last minute for no other reason than bragging rights by having the fastest production bike in the quarter mile, at the expense of everything else. So the FD swap is just putting the final drive ratio back to what the Yamaha engineers had originally intended, rather than what the marketing people wanted. Oh, and BTW, the FD swap on a special gives just about the same effective ratio as a standard with the stock FD, so with the special there is even more reason to strongly consider the swap.