Help settle a sprocket debate

Marginal. Unnoticable. Irrelevent.

Does accelerating out of corners in 2nd gear wear tyres faster than accelerating out of corners in third gear? (less wheelspin?)

1/13th quicker.

Not on a CR500. kidding aside, I imagine throttle input is a factor here.

This has been the magic combo on my previous KX450 as well as my current KX500:

DID X-Ring chain.

Ironman Dirt Tricks rear sprocket.

Renthal (or equivalent) front sprocket.

The Renthal front sprockets will wear first, the X-Ring chain second, and then finally the Dirt Tricks rear sprocket. Most times I'll wear our 2 or 3 countershaft sprockets, and 2 chains before I'll put any noticeable wear on the rear sprocket!

And for what it's worth, I'm running 14-49.

Good luck dood!

As has already been said, very little difference but there is a difference in wear.

Contact with more teeth would provide less wear per chain link given the same engine output. I'm going to go ahead and say there won't be an appreciable difference in wear.

Go with a 13, 53!

All I know is...I should have stayed in school, lol.

There is a bigger question, and it is the difference in the geometric shape of the chain and sprockets and it's result on chain torque. The smaller the c/s sprocket, the more squat the rear suspension will create on acceleration. Whether that is a good thing or not depends on what you are after, but it is real. Old guys will remember the ATK's, and the Boyeson add on swingarm sprocket device (parrallelogram?) designed to eliminate squat, also the BMW's with the counter shaft through the swingarm pivot.

https://motocrossactionmag.com/forgotten-motocross-tech-eyvind-boyesens…

Seat Bounce or throttle blip lift off of jumps is easier with a smaller sprocket. Bigger c/s sprockets have much less of that effect.

If you choose your gearing based on chain wear, I got some bad news for you.

dirt and whacking on the gas is what wears out chains. 13 vs 14 tooth sprockets are the least of your worries.

The difference would be small but it's more the distribution of the torque over less teeth than the radius that would affect longevity in my mind. The more teeth, the more the load is spread out and less force per tooth. I don't think going from 14 to 13 would make a noticeable change in longevity

i dont think it matters. By the time my steel rear sprocket wears out chain needs replacing anyways.

Chains and sprockets are like wheel bearings. What I mean is the loads put through them are tiny compared to the capability of the system. The main driver for fatigue and failure then is debris, not loading.

I run 14-48 on my 500 EXC, works perfect for me. If using the stock chain you'll have to move the rear axle pretty far forward to account for the 3 extra teeth. 1st gear is low enough for tight single track. Looks like you use yours on the street though? I don't, I ride mine 99% on dirt but the one time i was on a highway i did 65 no prob, 70 it started to humm a little more than i'd like

Less teeth = More wear. Higher pressure on each tooth the smaller the sprocket. BMX used to have 16 tooth freewheels, then when people started using 9 tooth cassette hubs you could see the wear much quicker.