[Aaron91ef9]

hey everyone, this is my first post on this forum. I have been reading through the previous posts and I didn't see where anyone said what the difference would be in the different sprockets available. I have had my 2005 Ninja 500R (ex500) for about 2 months and I would like a little more power. I don't really care about the sound so the exhausts don't seem to be worth the money. I might get the full fairing for the front, but I am not sure. Gearing usually has a dramatic effect on the way a motor performs, so I thought that would probably be the way to go. I have just over a thousand miles on my bike now. How many teeth is on the stock rear sprocket? I see that there are 44 tooth and 45 tooth sprockets available from JT. I don't want it to start doing wheelies easily or anything. I also think tuning the suspension would be benefitial. Would I need to buy different suspension components, or are the stock ones adjustable? I am new to motorcycles, but I have been doing performance modifications on cars for years now, so I believe I am somewhat mechanically able. Thanks everyone and sorry for the long post.

 

[nig]

I don't know much about the gearing stuff, but www.sprocketspecialists.com should be able to tell you what the stock gearing is. I wouldn't worry about easy wheelies on the 500, but with any bike it depends greatly on your body position. If you don't want it to wheelie, just lean forward.

For suspension, aftermarket components is the way to go if you want some good stuff. You can play with the stock front a bit, get some thicker fork oil, make spring spacers for correct sag adjustment. I wouldn't try to rip open the rear shock if I were you though. As a new rider, I would guess the thing you notice most is the soft front w/ brake dive. New fork springs are $100 or less and will cure that. I wouldn't worry about anything else until you start visiting the track.

With only 1k under your belt I wouldn't really worry about either one, just ride and have fun.