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What is everyone doing for gearing on their ARO3. I have a stock Husqvarna FC 450 2018 with a FMF pipe.
Gearing for ARO 3
- Thread starter brraappp
- Start date
C
Your stock gearing is 13/17 Primary, and 17/18 on the Secondary for an ARO 3
By Changing Primary to 13/18 and leaving secondary at 17/18 your gear reduction is: 5.55%
By Leaving primary at 13/17 and changing secondary to 16/18 your gear reduction would be 5.96%
By Changing Primary to 12/17 and leaving secondary at 17/18 your gear reduction would be: 7.76%
I know a couple of guys that ride 450's and have changed the primary gearing to 12/17 and like it...they ride primary in Western Wa, where the snow is sometimes wet and heavy.
I also know a couple of people that ride 500's that have changed the primary gearing to 13/18 and like it..they ride in Eastern Wa where the snow is lighter in weight.
Changing secondary to 16/18 is the easiest.
Going the 13/18 route on the primary has the advantage of moving the track closer/more forward to the bike...supposedly reducing ski pressure and aiding handling.
On your 450...if you are riding heavy wet snow...the Primary change to 12/17 would probably be good.
If you are riding on more light fluffy stuff...I would probably change the secondary to 16/18.
The heavier you are (over 200#)...the more I would gear it down.
On my 2020 500 I am going the primary 13/18 route as the 500's have more torque than the 450's.
On the FE 450 I rode...I definitely liked it better after he did the 12/17 swap from stock on most hilly and tree conditions.
I hope this helps,
Chris
By Changing Primary to 13/18 and leaving secondary at 17/18 your gear reduction is: 5.55%
By Leaving primary at 13/17 and changing secondary to 16/18 your gear reduction would be 5.96%
By Changing Primary to 12/17 and leaving secondary at 17/18 your gear reduction would be: 7.76%
I know a couple of guys that ride 450's and have changed the primary gearing to 12/17 and like it...they ride primary in Western Wa, where the snow is sometimes wet and heavy.
I also know a couple of people that ride 500's that have changed the primary gearing to 13/18 and like it..they ride in Eastern Wa where the snow is lighter in weight.
Changing secondary to 16/18 is the easiest.
Going the 13/18 route on the primary has the advantage of moving the track closer/more forward to the bike...supposedly reducing ski pressure and aiding handling.
On your 450...if you are riding heavy wet snow...the Primary change to 12/17 would probably be good.
If you are riding on more light fluffy stuff...I would probably change the secondary to 16/18.
The heavier you are (over 200#)...the more I would gear it down.
On my 2020 500 I am going the primary 13/18 route as the 500's have more torque than the 450's.
On the FE 450 I rode...I definitely liked it better after he did the 12/17 swap from stock on most hilly and tree conditions.
I hope this helps,
Chris
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C
I talked with a guy from Utah today...He has a 2020 ktm 500 with a built 550 kit in it...he likes stock gearing.
Chris
Chris
when my riding partners and I removed the plastic chain deflection gizmo between the bike and kit on our ARO and RIOT kits, we went to 15t on the bike to 18t on the kit, and 17 top 18 bottom in the chain case. That gives you 13.5 inches of track run out. On our old TS kits and homemade kits we thought 12" of run out ideal. I was sure on my RIOT if I would like that gearing and would have to go to 16/18 chain case. Nope, the 13.5" run out is clearly superior for my 500 ktm. Makes 1st gear usable. I was just sure it would make my wide ratio transmission to gappy, not so. I must add, at the same time we rebuilt our engine covers to be really really really tight and well covered so we ran 190 degress in all conditions with heat exchangers . A 500 ktm engine runs sooo much better that way, wow. More power/taller gearing made a better snowbike setup.
C
This thread is specifically for ARO 3 gearing suggestions/discussions...but:
The ARO 3 already has the 17/18 gear setup in the secondary as compared to the standard ARO and Riot gearing of 18/17...Which is an almost 11% gear reduction in the ARO 3 setup compared to the ARO/Riot stock setup.
According to my math going from a 13/17 over a 18/17 to a 15/18 over a 17/18 is an approximate 3% overall gear reduction for the ARO/Riot platform. Which is lower than the stock Standard ARO/Riot gearing...and has the additional benefit of reducing friction by tossing the mid block thingy in the primary gear setup.
In order to run a 15/18 primary to remove the mid block (for an ARO 3), you would need to run a 15/18 in the secondary to get slightly below the stock ARO 3 gearing...and it doesn't look like TS offers a 15 tooth sprocket for the ARO line according to their micro-fiche. Running a 15/18 primary over a 16/18 secondary on an ARO 3 results in raising the gear ratio by about 2.6% over stock gearing.
Just doing the math.
Going from an ARO 137 to an ARO 3 on my 2020 ktm 500, I found that I was riding in a gear lower on the ARO 3 quite often...and am just about to go to 13/18 in the primary gear set to see what it does...I do weigh 245# stepping out of the shower. This gearing was recommended to me by both Brock and Reagan Sieg...both of whom have been very helpful.
Chris
P.S. I guess you can't quite compare apples to apples on the ARO/Riot gearing compared to the ARO 3 gearing because the primary track driver is a larger diameter/different pitch... on the ARO 3
P.P.S Have you found a gear setup you like on your buddies KTM 450/ARO 3 that you like yet?
P.P.P.S What year 500 do you have?...the older 500's had a more brutal bottom end than the current offerings...but did not rev out as far or as quickly.
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C
I just changed the driven sprocket in the primary from a 17 to an 18 (reducing the gear ration by 5.55%) on my ARO 3. This required a little mechanical ability...but was overall easy. I discovered that the stock chain just barely fits the 13/18 gearing...I had to move the track all the way forward...and it has relatively zero chain slack with the bike just sitting there. (Which is ok with a TSS as the chain slackens with TSS compression...but would NOT BE OK with a solid strut.) What this means is that on the standard ARO/Riot platforms...that you will need a longer primary drive chain if you want to go to the 15/18 gearing in the primary.
I will let you guys know how the 13/18 primary drive reduction works on my 2020 500/ARO 3s.
Chris
I will let you guys know how the 13/18 primary drive reduction works on my 2020 500/ARO 3s.
Chris
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I am going to try the 16 over 18 in the chain case. My bike is a YZ450 FX with an ARO3
C
You must be using factory chain routing? I have read multiple places that 15/18 works with the stock chain if you eliminate the chain slider and reroute.
C
I have not tried the 15/18 primary gear combo with my ARO 3 because there are no available gear combos for the secondary gear set to get the overall gearing equal to, or lower geared than the stock ARO 3 gearing....therefore I can not comment on the above quote...I have not tried it.
Chris
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Does anyone know of a substitute sprocket for the 16t ARO sprocket or once again do we submit to Polaris and pony up double what a part should cost?
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I got to run the 16 over 18 chain case gearing and like it so far . It lets my bike pull 3rd gear way more often. Seem to be able to climb a lot faster. 1st gear though is pretty much unused, except in really tight trees which I seem to find my self in more often than not.
C
I have now done quite a bit of testing on my bike/aro3 combo...and have to say that gearing is very bike and rider weight specific. Snow type is also quite a big factor, as is elevation. (I typically ride at between 3k and 7k of elevation.) I weigh about 247 lbs stepping out of the shower right now.
My bike is a 2020 ktm 500 xcf-w with a thinner head gasket, modded PR2 44mm throttle body, all smog stuff gone, FMF Pipe, SX intake with Loud Mouth snow intake, side panels with frogskin circles for better breathing, and a PR2 Vortex ignition retuned by 2WheelDynoWerks on a dyno. It has 42 ft/lbs of torque, and 62 hp.
This bike pulls extremely strongly to 9800 rpm, and often hits the 10200 rev limiter in 2nd.
It is much harder pulling and longer pulling than my friends 2018 ktm 500 with intake, exhaust, and ignition mods.
My kit is a 2020 ARO3 that have had the shocks shortened, and an S kit front spindle. The S kit bikes have been said to be easier to spin due to the reduced track angle.
I have tried stock gearing (13/17 Primary, 17/18 Secondary)
13/17 primary 16/18 secondary.
13/18 primary, 17/18 secondary.
13/17 primary, 17/17 secondary.
On my bike the two shorter gearing selections (13/17 over 16/18, and 13/18 over 17/18) are just too short geared. First is completely useless, and second feels very short. Everyone who rides these combo's hit the rev limiter is 2nd regularly. A lot of riding is done in third...but when you try to shift into 4th on a medium steep climb...the gearing gap to 4th is too wide.
The stock gearing is pretty darn good, with the ability to start in 1st or 2nd, but 1st is pretty low. Most riding and climbing is done in second and third gear. Each of those gears has a nice spread. I rarely if ever use 4th in the hills, but it is nice on the flats. 5th and 6th are trail gears. 1st is only used for very slow speed stuff (like almost trials stuff...balancing the bike moving this slow is difficult.
The 13/17 over 17/17 (An almost 6% gearing increase) also works well on my bike. 1st is usable, and second is a "do-it-all" gear. Shifting is at a minimum. 3rd is for chugging around, and will pull most intermediate hills, just not as aggressively as 2nd. 2nd will still climb anything with the track and snow conditions being the limiting factors. 3rd is great for more open terrain with moderate elevation changes. 3rd and 4th are used on an open lake bed with 2ft of snow.
In my search for perfection for my combo...I think that the stock gearing is just a smidge too low and the 6% overdrive is a tad too high. I think for my next test I am going to try a 12/17 primary over a 18/17 secondary...which is about a 3% increase over stock gearing.
I also just order a TKI belt drive to do testing on, and will report in-depth on my results. It is currently a 1 to 1 ratio (30/30) but are about to come out with a 29 gear sprocket. I ordered both.
After trying my 12/17 over 18/17 gearing, I will be switching back to 13/17 over 17/17 to try it against the TKI setup as gearing will be identical.
Chris
p.s. my bike setup easily out-performs the rider (me)
My bike is a 2020 ktm 500 xcf-w with a thinner head gasket, modded PR2 44mm throttle body, all smog stuff gone, FMF Pipe, SX intake with Loud Mouth snow intake, side panels with frogskin circles for better breathing, and a PR2 Vortex ignition retuned by 2WheelDynoWerks on a dyno. It has 42 ft/lbs of torque, and 62 hp.
This bike pulls extremely strongly to 9800 rpm, and often hits the 10200 rev limiter in 2nd.
It is much harder pulling and longer pulling than my friends 2018 ktm 500 with intake, exhaust, and ignition mods.
My kit is a 2020 ARO3 that have had the shocks shortened, and an S kit front spindle. The S kit bikes have been said to be easier to spin due to the reduced track angle.
I have tried stock gearing (13/17 Primary, 17/18 Secondary)
13/17 primary 16/18 secondary.
13/18 primary, 17/18 secondary.
13/17 primary, 17/17 secondary.
On my bike the two shorter gearing selections (13/17 over 16/18, and 13/18 over 17/18) are just too short geared. First is completely useless, and second feels very short. Everyone who rides these combo's hit the rev limiter is 2nd regularly. A lot of riding is done in third...but when you try to shift into 4th on a medium steep climb...the gearing gap to 4th is too wide.
The stock gearing is pretty darn good, with the ability to start in 1st or 2nd, but 1st is pretty low. Most riding and climbing is done in second and third gear. Each of those gears has a nice spread. I rarely if ever use 4th in the hills, but it is nice on the flats. 5th and 6th are trail gears. 1st is only used for very slow speed stuff (like almost trials stuff...balancing the bike moving this slow is difficult.
The 13/17 over 17/17 (An almost 6% gearing increase) also works well on my bike. 1st is usable, and second is a "do-it-all" gear. Shifting is at a minimum. 3rd is for chugging around, and will pull most intermediate hills, just not as aggressively as 2nd. 2nd will still climb anything with the track and snow conditions being the limiting factors. 3rd is great for more open terrain with moderate elevation changes. 3rd and 4th are used on an open lake bed with 2ft of snow.
In my search for perfection for my combo...I think that the stock gearing is just a smidge too low and the 6% overdrive is a tad too high. I think for my next test I am going to try a 12/17 primary over a 18/17 secondary...which is about a 3% increase over stock gearing.
I also just order a TKI belt drive to do testing on, and will report in-depth on my results. It is currently a 1 to 1 ratio (30/30) but are about to come out with a 29 gear sprocket. I ordered both.
After trying my 12/17 over 18/17 gearing, I will be switching back to 13/17 over 17/17 to try it against the TKI setup as gearing will be identical.
Chris
p.s. my bike setup easily out-performs the rider (me)
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P
Thanks a ton for all the feedback. Im running a stock ARO3 on a 15 501s with some engine work that has brought back the 1/2 gear power loss from the 3" lug track but still trying to find a gearing solution.
I ordered an 18T primary after reading your first post but thinking now that flipping the secondary gears may give me a similar and simpler result to try.
I also have a few buddies that are trying out the TKI but for 1K (Canada Money) ill wait and see what they say first.
I ordered an 18T primary after reading your first post but thinking now that flipping the secondary gears may give me a similar and simpler result to try.
I also have a few buddies that are trying out the TKI but for 1K (Canada Money) ill wait and see what they say first.
C
If you are thinking you want to gear down some...the simplest solution is to change the top gear in the secondary from a 17 to a 16. Stock secondary gearing on an ARO 3 is 17 over 18.
Chris
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So yea I pretty much come come to the conclusion that the YZ450Fx Wide ratio sucks. It was time for an engine refresh so I grabbed a set of gears from the YZ450F and swapped them out. That jump from second to third is just too much for my liking.
P
"P.S. I guess you can't quite compare apples to apples on the ARO/Riot gearing compared to the ARO 3 gearing because the primary track driver is a larger diameter/different pitch... on the ARO 3"
I was not aware that the 3" track had a different pitch track/drivers. I know the new drivers are anti-ratchet, but are they different pitch and size?
I was not aware that the 3" track had a different pitch track/drivers. I know the new drivers are anti-ratchet, but are they different pitch and size?
C
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yes they are bigger
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