520 vs. 530 final drive weight difference

[Tiamat]

This is kinda a re-hash of an older thread regarding gearing and the benefits (if any) of switching to a light chain and sprocket set.

I recently purchased a 520 RK lightweight chain and sprocket set for my 7R, and decided to weigh both it and the original 530 stock parts for comparison using my kitchen food scale (accurate to within 1 gram). I just thought some of you would be interested in this. Note that the RK set uses an aluminum rear Vortex sprocket and the front sprocket is a 15 tooth vs. the stock 16 tooth. Here's the numbers:

Stock 530 set:
front sprocket = 225g
rear sprocket = 1042g
chain = 2102g
total weight = 3369g or 7.41lbs

RK 520 set:
front sprocket = 164g
rear sprocket = 350g
chain = 1868g
total weight = 2382g or 5.24lbs

difference in weight = 986g or 2.17lbs

Difference in weight is the 520 set is roughly 29% lighter than stock.

[Zippy]

530? Are you sure? My chain has 525 stamped on it.
I think most of the weight savings are due to the aluminum rear sprocket.

[Tiamat]

you may be right. my chain was in too bad a condition to read any of the side plates, but the manual does say 525. that would mean an even larger difference between a 530 and a 520.