Gearing for the t3 - 18'' tires

[hadar]

I got some 18'' tires for my project trike. I was wondering about gearing for those. I'm running 20'' on my 84 with a 14/42 sprockets. It's an ok arrangement but the trike tops out kind of fast for me. I was thinking about a 15/38 for the 18's but I don't know. Anybody running 18's on their 1st gen tecate? Any suggestions?

[3Wheelers4Life]

it all depends on what you like. if you like going fast keep it geared high (but if you dont have a place to reach the top speed or your engine does not have enough power theres no sense gearing it that high). if you like popping wheelies, hill climbing, or getting the hole shot when racing, gear it low. if you want a little of both gear it mid.

[BigGreenMachine]

15 /38

I have 14/38 on my T3 with 20's and it tops a little *Edited**Edited* a 660 Rap.

18's are in the mail.

[super90]

I run 15/38 on my 200x, for a tecate I think it would be perfect. My X pulls it good everywhere and its quite a bit faster, but with the 20'' tires it would only really be a 14 tooth with stock 22s.

[cr480r]

I was last running a 15/42 combo with 20's... 15/38 should be about perfect with the 18's... It may be a bit on the tall side though depending on your useage...

[hadar]

Thanks for the help. I'm going to try the 15/38 and if the top speed is too much I can allways drop it down a tooth in the front. I was going to try the 18's on my 85 but without regearing I allready know that I wouldn't like it. I guess I have to finish my project before I can try them.

[scooterroo]

i was wondering the same thing. right now i have both the stock set up and i also have a 14 for the front and a 38 for the rear. the jwr manual calls for front sprockets between 13-15 teeth, and rear sprockets to be 34 thru 38 teeth. it also says for most tracks they run 14 front and 36 rear. but thats for short course racing. mostly the riding i do is trails and sand pits, and winter lake riding. which is alot of top end wide open riding.

[digity x]

i have a 14-38 set up with the 18 hoosiers and it ripps real fast.front end lifts up threw 1-4 no problem.like scoot i like hills lakes and trails.

[DixiePlowboy]

I've got 14/36 on mine right now with 18" tires, and I've got several spares in 38 tooth and 34 tooth.

[BigGreenMachine]

Cool reviews here fellas. I'm getting 18's and I think the 14/38 setup is going to be plenty fast on the trails and fun for fooling around since its a little lower gearing then with my 20's.

[ccdhowell]

I run 13/38 with 20s on mine. Really strong for trail riding and dragging. I don't hold at the top end very long and this gearing gets there pretty fast. Chris

[BigGreenMachine]

13/38 would be faster then stock and still plenty strong for trail riding.

I'm very curious to see how much bottom end I get back with the 18 inch tires for trail riding. Should pull like a train until top speed of like 65mph is my guess, maybe even 70?

[nd4speed]

I have 13/37 with the stock tires which are 20 or 21 in. Tops out real quick and doesn't seem to be going over 60 mph. It hill climbed decent in the sand though.

Switching to a set of 18s this summer.

I think a better pipe than my DG would help create more power on top.

[DixiePlowboy]

nd4speed,

The DG is actually a pretty good top end pipe on a 1st gen. I'm sure that if you spent the bucks for a custom pipe developed on a dyno that it could be eclipsed, I'm thinking that my whole Tecate may get a vacation at FTZ next winter to have them build a pipe .....depending on how well it runs after porting with the DG.

Most of the complaints/comments I hear about the Tecate DG is that it's dead on bottom, but revs like a beast. Sounds good to me.

The 14/36 setup will be on mine most of the time, but the bigger tracks will get the 34 tooth rear sprocket so that hopefully I can hit the corners at a higher speed...even if I have to drop a gear coming out of a turn.

Keep in mind, though, that mine will never see a trail ride, hill climb, or mud hole. I'm looking for high speed against the quads down the straights.

[nd4speed]

nd4speed,

The DG is actually a pretty good top end pipe on a 1st gen. I'm sure that if you spent the bucks for a custom pipe developed on a dyno that it could be eclipsed, I'm thinking that my whole Tecate may get a vacation at FTZ next winter to have them build a pipe .....depending on how well it runs after porting with the DG.

Most of the complaints/comments I hear about the Tecate DG is that it's dead on bottom, but revs like a beast. Sounds good to me.
.

Um I was refering to my 86.

The 84 with KX motor has an old style DG pipe that revs mostly on top. It has 13/42 gearing and probably goes like 60-65 mph with 22 inch ice studded stockers.