FX 350 gearing

[mscruggs61]

I just bought a 2017 FX 350.  1st gear is too tall for tight single track in the rocks.  Gotta clutch & rev it to avoid stalling.  Anyone have experience/recommendation on gearing changes for that application?

[markbfe501]

Same's true with FE501.  Set up more for onroad than off.  I haven't yet made the change, but have the sprocket to go from 14/45 to 14/49.  Read through a few of the recent 17 bike posts, and you can see what others are doing.  If I was strictly single track, I'd probably be trying something more like 13/52. 

[Hans Schmid]

13t on the front to replace the 14t and you should be golden. Also turn up the idle to help with stalling.

Any much larger in the 50t rear could cause clearance issues with the chain guide... 

[slothy]

i went one down in front (13t) on mine and its great in trhe tight single/rocky/rooty trails. i may try 1 or 2 up in the rear next time i see a deal on a rear sprocket

Edited July 21, 2017 by slothy

[cbauer]

Same here. Go to a 13T front and you will be happy. It even works better for moto. You can use 2nd and 3rd gear more effectively also.

Edited July 22, 2017 by cbauer

[mscruggs61]

I went with 13/52.  Worked fine with stock chain, and no issue on the chain guide.  Hoping it's not geared to low now.  Will give'r a try in the rocks & see what happens.  I can always go back to 50 or maybe 51.

 

[pentaxis]

On 7/23/2017 at 11:57 AM, mscruggs61 said:

I went with 13/52.  Worked fine with stock chain, and no issue on the chain guide.  Hoping it's not geared to low now.  Will give'r a try in the rocks & see what happens.  I can always go back to 50 or maybe 51.

 

How did the 13/52 treat ya?   I did a 13t on front when i bought mine right out of the gate.  Still seemed tall in 1st and 2nd for rock hopping and really aggressive single track.  Was thinking about doing 52 rear.  1t in rear doesn't really change much.

 

[mscruggs61]

13/52 was great in the really tight stuff, but a bit short overall, so I went back to 50 on the rear.  Now it feels just a tiny bit tall in the nasty rocky uphills, but not horrible.  I raced Tecate Enduro with that setup and it was great.  The 350 is a mountain goat, for sure.  I should add that I put a Rekluse on as well.  That thing is amazing, and really prevents stalls in the nasty uphill rocky stuff, or when braking hard into tight single track corners.  Hated spending the money (and it a really expensive add on), but it makes a huge difference.

[pentaxis]

Nice.   How much did the rekluse change the clutch feel?

[BikerDAD450F]

I did a 12/50 and a Rekluse, I'm loving it here on the "Rock"  Vancouver Island, tight single track

 

[mscruggs61]

Rekluse has really evolved over the past several years.  Clutch lever feels totally normal.  It's just awesome.  Highly recommended if you ride tight stuff & have tendency to stall, or if your clutch hand gets tired.  Again, it's just awesome.  Only caveat ... you can be in gear, idling, and forget you're in gear.  Gas it & away you go, when you're not ready.  Been there.  Done that ;-)

 

[Joe846]

Most people seem to go to 13 in the front and leave the rear as is, per the above posts.  For riding in Northern California and racing D36 I ended up at 13/48 because I felt like running a 13 alone revved out too quickly in lower gears for sand, open trails and faster sections, and put too much load on the motor for single track.  

Probably just as easy to add a tooth or two on the rear vs. running 13/48 but I didn't want to bring the rear axle closer to the swing arm pivot and didn't want to buy a brand new chain with so few hours on the bike (which was a good move because the OEM chain has lasted forever).

FYI I raced BVet in scrambles and enduro's in the fall, will keep the same gearing in AVet next year and haven't had any issues stalling, abusing the clutch in tight stuff or feeling like I'm between gears.  Lots of the AA riders would probably  be fine with the stock gearing though, so it's all relative...

 

[captain_lazerface]

I am running 13 front 50 rear still way too tall. Great for desert riding but I think I am going to put a 53 on the back. I ride almost only tight single track. My bike is an FC and motocross engines tend to be geared higher than the fx and fe models.