[oddthought]

Well, I got the 17 tooth sprocket and decided to go ahead and commute to work today. I knew that it'd take a bit longer than normal since I'm still breaking in the engine, but this will help me get through the break-in period much faster.

I rode up and over the first big hill on my way to work and everything was fine. For once I was grateful for traffic because I wasn't holding anyone up even though I was topped out at 55 mph and dropping. Still, made it up and over the hill and the rest was downhill.

At 360ish km on the odometer, my speedometer finally quit. I assume this is due to the speedometer cable issue, but I haven't checked yet. In any case, I pulled over and downloaded a GPS app to track how many more miles/km I put on and started off again.

I got to work and shut off the recording, and I discovered that my top speed - moving downhill with no wind to speak of - was 64 mph, which is faster than I expected. I'm pretty pleased by that, but I'd really like to be able to achieve 65 mph on the flat or even a slight uphill. With that or 70 mph as my top speed, I'd be a lot more comfortable.

I kept the 15T sprocket, so if I head out on the dirt, I may put that back on. However, with some very casual riding, the 17T worked just fine, even down in the very low end.

Next step for me is to get through the first 500 miles or so before changing anything else. If the motor loosens up enough to give me the speeds I want, I'll probably stay pretty much stock. If not, I'll get a new carb, try a new exhaust, and put some more street-oriented tires on it, probably in that order.

I'm excited to see what happens!