Honda Shadow Forums : Shadow Motorcycle Forum - View Single Post - Can I lower the gearing on my '83 VT750C?

Amanaland · 09-02-2008, 03:48 PM

OK, so I suppose people ask this all of the time and I'm just too lazy to dig it out of the archives.

Several years ago I bought a VT750 C, pulled off the front fork and started building a frame to attach it to the front suspension of an old VW beetle. Fast forward to last weekend when I finally took it out for its maiden drive. (anybody looking for front end parts?)

It seems like its geared too high. To start in first gear I really need to nurse the clutch to get things rolling. If I had a bike with chain drive I would start out by swapping out the sprocket on the rear wheel with a larger one but of course this bike has shaft drive.

I imagine that my 160# combined with the weight of the new parts is pushing the total rated capacity of this bike. I haven't gone crazy with lots of new steel for the frame, but things do add right up.

I have found that if I were to swap the rear tire for a car tire 155/60-15 or 175/55-15 it will be about 8% smaller in circumference than the original, but I have no idea how significant that is.

If I had the old Comstar wheel, I would consider trimming my "spokes" looking for a 14" rim to replace my 15". I guess that its still an option if there is a 14" Comstar rim out there somewhere.

Do any of you guys know if the final drive from another Honda would be compatible and have lower gearing? I only rode this bike about 50 miles before tearing into things - it seems to run well, idles well but didn't particularly torquey off of the line. My additions haven't done anything to help the situation. I guess that another thought might be that the carburetors aren't balanced or something else is affecting its low end torque.

I'm open to any ideas or suggestions. Thanks in advance for your ideas!

09-02-2008, 03:48 PM	#1 (permalink)
Amanaland Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Amana, IA Posts: 4	Can I lower the gearing on my '83 VT750C? OK, so I suppose people ask this all of the time and I'm just too lazy to dig it out of the archives. Several years ago I bought a VT750 C, pulled off the front fork and started building a frame to attach it to the front suspension of an old VW beetle. Fast forward to last weekend when I finally took it out for its maiden drive. (anybody looking for front end parts?) It seems like its geared too high. To start in first gear I really need to nurse the clutch to get things rolling. If I had a bike with chain drive I would start out by swapping out the sprocket on the rear wheel with a larger one but of course this bike has shaft drive. I imagine that my 160# combined with the weight of the new parts is pushing the total rated capacity of this bike. I haven't gone crazy with lots of new steel for the frame, but things do add right up. I have found that if I were to swap the rear tire for a car tire 155/60-15 or 175/55-15 it will be about 8% smaller in circumference than the original, but I have no idea how significant that is. If I had the old Comstar wheel, I would consider trimming my "spokes" looking for a 14" rim to replace my 15". I guess that its still an option if there is a 14" Comstar rim out there somewhere. Do any of you guys know if the final drive from another Honda would be compatible and have lower gearing? I only rode this bike about 50 miles before tearing into things - it seems to run well, idles well but didn't particularly torquey off of the line. My additions haven't done anything to help the situation. I guess that another thought might be that the carburetors aren't balanced or something else is affecting its low end torque. I'm open to any ideas or suggestions. Thanks in advance for your ideas!