justalonewolf007
Member
- Apr 30, 2007
- 657
- 0
This one’s for olderndirtmom because the race was postponed this Saturday because of torrential North Dakotan (which is correctly pronounced “Nort Dakoda” in the Minnesotan tongue) rainfalls.
Sprockets are evil.
Dealers are even worse.
Young newbies working in the service department are downright worse than the two above combined.
The chain on the CR was stretched so badly that I had to get it replaced. So I tried to buy a new one, and while I was at it I figured that I might as well replace the sprockets too.
I figure that I need a bigger rear sprocket for the thing so I’ll have a little better low end power (think “oomph” maybe?). So I go and count my teeth, er…tried to count my teeth, and figured that it was a 52.
I go and waltz into the dealer wearing my pink streetbike jacket. I have to note that I absolutely abhor the color pink in any way shape or form, but absolutely love my jacket. The one salesman-guy-person-whateverheis knows me pretty well because I am ALWAYS in there lusting after various bikes or parts.
He looks me up and down and says “Oh. It’s you again! You’re boyfriend was just here five minutes ago.”
At this point I got pissed off because I had NO idea that the boyfriend went and picked up his CRF 450 WITHOUT me! I got flustered to the point where I almost forgot what I was there for in the first place.
Finally after standing there staring at him stupidly for a good three seconds, I remembered. “Ah, yea. I need a rear sprocket, and chain for my bike.”
“Okay, you’ll need a front one too then. What size?”
Stupid salesmen are always trying to push extra stuff – the front sprocket was not worn looking at all!!
“I need bigger. For better low end power. It’s a renthal and that’s all I remember.”
“Stock is 51 tooth. You probably have a stock on there. Get a 52 tooth and you’ll be fine. BUT, for safety’s sake, go count the teeth though so we’re absolutely sure on what you’ve got.”
At this point he literally shooed me out of the store till I came back with the right number of teeth. So I “miffed offedly” called the boyfriend and had him count the teeth. To which he simply read the numbers that were stamped in under the grease. (I had no idea they did that but it makes my life better).
It had 55 teeth, which is SO not stock.
I went back in, and somehow the dealer convinced me that the bike had too much low end power for a little woman such as myself, and that a smaller rear sprocket would tame the bike down a little bit.
I bought the 51 tooth rear, a replacement front sprocket, and a DID chain, all the cheapest they could find. They sent the new (16 years old maybe?) kid to help me order the parts because NONE of them were in stock. And for those three parts it took well over an hour and a half to get it right (I think he’d been smoking something prior to work…).
Then I had to get oil, Honda brand antifreeze for the boyfriend’s bike, and an airfilter cleaning kit for his bike too.
They cheerfully rung me up at $92. So I painfully wrote out the check and left.
We switched the chain and sprockets on my bike that afternoon, and went to the gravel pits for him to try out the bike. He hadn’t ridden in about ten years, we just cruised around. When I got bored with that and went to play on some whoops and hilly-sandy-rocks-with-some-mud-and-grass-plus-all-sortsa-other-good-stuff, I tried out a few small places that I’d been before.
The bike was terrible. No power to the thing at all! I even had to “AIEYAH C’MAAAAAAANNNNNNNN BABY!” it up all the hills!
After fifteen minutes of the above with some added “You evil dealers are bike murderers! My poor little CR!!!!” we called it quits for the day. To add insult to emotional injury, the boyfriend wouldn’t let me try his 450 even in the flat hardpacked area.
The old rear sprocket is back on the bike.
It’s not in terrible condition yet, and should last at very very least three more races.
However, I realized that I liked my bike very much the way it was before. There’s just one problem.
The sprocket I want is 60$ in its least expensive form. I don’t exactly know what to do, and my money can’t be spent on another sprocket for quite awhile. Things like rent, gas, and motorcycle payments have to come first. Ideally, I want a renthal (or similar quality) rear sprocket with 55 teeth for a 420 chain.
Anyone have any suggestions?
Sprockets are evil.
Dealers are even worse.
Young newbies working in the service department are downright worse than the two above combined.
The chain on the CR was stretched so badly that I had to get it replaced. So I tried to buy a new one, and while I was at it I figured that I might as well replace the sprockets too.
I figure that I need a bigger rear sprocket for the thing so I’ll have a little better low end power (think “oomph” maybe?). So I go and count my teeth, er…tried to count my teeth, and figured that it was a 52.
I go and waltz into the dealer wearing my pink streetbike jacket. I have to note that I absolutely abhor the color pink in any way shape or form, but absolutely love my jacket. The one salesman-guy-person-whateverheis knows me pretty well because I am ALWAYS in there lusting after various bikes or parts.
He looks me up and down and says “Oh. It’s you again! You’re boyfriend was just here five minutes ago.”
At this point I got pissed off because I had NO idea that the boyfriend went and picked up his CRF 450 WITHOUT me! I got flustered to the point where I almost forgot what I was there for in the first place.
Finally after standing there staring at him stupidly for a good three seconds, I remembered. “Ah, yea. I need a rear sprocket, and chain for my bike.”
“Okay, you’ll need a front one too then. What size?”
Stupid salesmen are always trying to push extra stuff – the front sprocket was not worn looking at all!!
“I need bigger. For better low end power. It’s a renthal and that’s all I remember.”
“Stock is 51 tooth. You probably have a stock on there. Get a 52 tooth and you’ll be fine. BUT, for safety’s sake, go count the teeth though so we’re absolutely sure on what you’ve got.”
At this point he literally shooed me out of the store till I came back with the right number of teeth. So I “miffed offedly” called the boyfriend and had him count the teeth. To which he simply read the numbers that were stamped in under the grease. (I had no idea they did that but it makes my life better).
It had 55 teeth, which is SO not stock.
I went back in, and somehow the dealer convinced me that the bike had too much low end power for a little woman such as myself, and that a smaller rear sprocket would tame the bike down a little bit.
I bought the 51 tooth rear, a replacement front sprocket, and a DID chain, all the cheapest they could find. They sent the new (16 years old maybe?) kid to help me order the parts because NONE of them were in stock. And for those three parts it took well over an hour and a half to get it right (I think he’d been smoking something prior to work…).
Then I had to get oil, Honda brand antifreeze for the boyfriend’s bike, and an airfilter cleaning kit for his bike too.
They cheerfully rung me up at $92. So I painfully wrote out the check and left.
We switched the chain and sprockets on my bike that afternoon, and went to the gravel pits for him to try out the bike. He hadn’t ridden in about ten years, we just cruised around. When I got bored with that and went to play on some whoops and hilly-sandy-rocks-with-some-mud-and-grass-plus-all-sortsa-other-good-stuff, I tried out a few small places that I’d been before.
The bike was terrible. No power to the thing at all! I even had to “AIEYAH C’MAAAAAAANNNNNNNN BABY!” it up all the hills!
After fifteen minutes of the above with some added “You evil dealers are bike murderers! My poor little CR!!!!” we called it quits for the day. To add insult to emotional injury, the boyfriend wouldn’t let me try his 450 even in the flat hardpacked area.
The old rear sprocket is back on the bike.
It’s not in terrible condition yet, and should last at very very least three more races.
However, I realized that I liked my bike very much the way it was before. There’s just one problem.
The sprocket I want is 60$ in its least expensive form. I don’t exactly know what to do, and my money can’t be spent on another sprocket for quite awhile. Things like rent, gas, and motorcycle payments have to come first. Ideally, I want a renthal (or similar quality) rear sprocket with 55 teeth for a 420 chain.
Anyone have any suggestions?
