WWW.YZF1000-R1.CO.UK - Yamaha YZF 1000 R1 Forum

COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
Talon Engineering  - by Matt Pike

So ... Who are Talon Engineering and what do they do ?

Talon Engineering was established in 1972 and has over 30 years experience having grown from humble beginnings in a small, shared factory, into the market leader it is today.

As well as their renowned hubs and wheels, Talon are also well known in the industry for their sprockets, now covering an enormous range, including road bikes. Alongside their ‘home' produced products, Talon are the UK importers of the highly regarded Braking Sunstar products from Italy and Excel rims from Japan.

After over 30 years in business, Talon export to 35 Countries, with distributors in Europe, the United States and Australia. In excess of 70% of the company's business is now in the export market.

Talon Engineering has evolved into a thriving success story, now operating from a 30,000 square feet, state of the art factory, with 50 full time staff. The quality of the product is highlighted by the fact that there have been in excess of 60 world champions, in all bike disciplines, riding with the help of Talon parts.

Installation

Having had some chain clatter when pulling away at slow speeds for quite a while now, I decided I would invest in a new chain and sprocket set. Instead of the traditional silver looking sprockets and chains I decided I wanted gold ones for my next set, when it comes to sprockets and bespoke gearing there can be only one company to trust, the same one that supply to the champions ! Talon Engineering.

The bike used in this review is my 2000 model Yamaha R1, and while standard gearing is 16-Front and 43-Rear, I chose to use a 45 tooth rear sprocket for increased acceleration with minimal (if any) loss to top speed.

Here are some before and after pictures of the installation :

As you can see my bike was certainly ready for a new set of chain and sprockets, from an esthetics point of view its no contest, the design and color of the new Talon sprockets and RK chain looks so much better on the R1 with the gold wheels, I also added a pro bolt gold sprocket nut kit to complete the installation.

One final thing I would like to mention with regards to installation is the RK Chain Splitter / Riveter Kit, it comes with instructions and in a tidy hard case plastic box, the riveter / splitter tool is the best I have used yet, it literally took me 5 minutes to remove a link from the chain and rivet the new one, this comes highly recommended.

Gearing & Performance

Now things get interesting :) Old vrs New.

So there we have it, less rotating mass equals less stress on the engine giving you more available power to the rear wheel thus actually increasing acceleration.

Finally we need to touch up on gearing.

When manufactures release bikes for sale to the public, there are at a set gearing ratio which they feel is suitable for all situations, top speed, fuel consumption and so on, in my bikes case standard gearing is 16/43, however for those who are waiting greater acceleration at the cost of a few miles per hour of the top speed, one can increase the size of the rear sprocket or lower the size of the front sprocket to achieve a different final drive ratio which can make a massive difference to the bikes power delivery and acceleration

As the choice of gear ratios are vast this topic is debated within the forum along with a gearing calculator for download so you can choose which ratio best serves your needs.

The Road Test

Having come from standard gearing and now running 2 teeth more at the rear, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I first took the bike out, so I headed off to a testing ground to see how the bike would perform with the shorter gearing.

I heads off down the tarmac, 1st gear, I keep it going in first until the front goes light and then short shift into 2nd gear, same thing again, I hold the revs as long as I can until I feel the front threatening to lift in 2nd so I shift into 3rd, head behind the screen leaning right over the tank with the throttle back to the stopper, I tried to hit the limiter in 3rd while the bike was screaming and I see 10,000rpm flash by and 139mph on the digital speedo and I am still not at the limiter, yet I have to change up again as the bike threatens to go skyward once more, I immediately changed up the box into top gear and sat upright to slow me down and I pulled to a stop.

WOW ! this bike has been transformed from a standard R1 to a road going missile I kid you not, as I sit and contemplate what feels like a new bike, I couldn't help thinking of the ferocious power band at 10,000rpm in 3rd gear where it felt like it wanted to wheelie again, if this is what 2 teeth up at the rear feels like, I can only imagine how insane the power delivery would be with a smaller front sprocket to match.

My ride home was steady amongst traffic, the shorter gearing hasn't changed town riding at all, all it seams to have done is speed up the process of accelerating towards the limiter which is never a bad thing.

All in all my bike now feels like the R1 is should have always been, they say you lose a couple of miles per hour off the top speed, but with this gearing you will gain something like a 9% increase in acceleration, so I don't mind losing a bit of top speed and having a bike still capable of 170+mph.

Conclusion

Well the first thing to say is that my previous chain clatter was instantly gone when I changed to a new chain and sprockets, I feel the road test above explains it all really, working with Talon Engineering I have to say their customer service has been second to none, and the quality of there products well deserves its 5-Star rating.

Whether you are thinking about replacing your chain and sprockets as a matter of maintenance or are interested in the performance benefits in re-gearing Talon Engineering can take care of all of your needs and you can have confidence that you are dealing with the best.

Editors Note : Obviously neither WWW.YZF1000-R1.CO.UK nor Talon Engineering condone speeding on a public highway, please ride with caution.

Talon Engineering have been good enough to offer VIP GOLD MEMBERS a discount on all Talon and Braking Road/Race products - please see the forum Discounts section for further details.