what does more or less teeth in a sprocket do for your machine. Also if you add or lose teeth in a sprocket, does it matter if its the front or the back sprocket, do they affect the machine the same way? thanks

 

they essentially change the rpm range of the engine. if you have say a 13 in the front and a 39 in the back you have a 3:1 gear reduction. if you go to a 12 in the front with the same 39 in the back it would be a 3.25 to one gear reduction. this takes more revolutions of the engine to go the same distance. however changing the rear sprocket has a much less dramatic affect. for instance going to a 40 tooth rear with a 13 front would only take you to 3.076:1. it is useful if you have speed you would like to ride a but the engine isnt where you want it. like on my raptor 1st gear was to short for trail riding but 2nd was too tall. so i droped a tooth on the front and it made 2nd gear pretty much optimal for slower speed corners without fear of stalling the engine. increasing gear reduction increases the actual torque that the wheel sees but at the expense of top end because it will take more rpm to go the same mph than before. does that make any sense.

 

a little bit lol i had to read it a few times. So if i were to add a sprocket with an extra tooth in the front or the back it would give it less torque and power???

 

a smaller sprocket on the front is the equivalent of a bigger sprocket on the back. but it takes a lot more teeth on the back to notice a change. and regaurdless of gearing you will not make more power. it will however deliver more torque to the tires. its like in your car, 1st gear your car accelerates faster than in 2nd, though the engine makes the same horsepower regaurdless of the gear. gears are essentially the same as pulleys or a cheater pipe on a ratchet. a longer pipe alows more torque but it has to travel a greater distance to do the same work. and with pulley systems the more pulleys you add the more work you can do with the same power but it takes more rope or distance to do it. with gears you can drop your gearing and the thing will take off like crazy in first but first will only allow you to go a few miles an hour. with taller gearing it will not take off as quick but will have a wider range of speed. you want to gear your vehicle to have your rpms where you want them at the speed you will be travelling most often.

 

real simple, if you add teeth to the front it has more top speed. If you take away teeth in the front you gain more power on the low end. Same goes for the rear except that it is opposite.

 

Yup.