Best TBR7 Performance Upgrade For Under $20.

A couple of things, I have done several upgrades to my TaoTao TBR7( TaoTao TBR7 Upgrades To Do List ), almost all based on information I learned from others who posted their upgrades stories for the clone China Dual Sport motorcycles (“Chondas“). The Hawk 250’s, the Brozz 250’s, Raven 250, etc. 

There is much Hawk 250 performance upgrade information on the web, dated and poorly documented, and even less performance upgrade information for the TBR7 motorcycle.

I wanted to take the information I found for the other Chonda motorcycles, upgrade my TBR7 motorcycle and write about my adventure doing so.

Now that time has gone by, I feel it’s time to start doing reviews of the best upgrades I did for my TaoTao TBR7 motorcycle.

Today, I will cover the “Best TBR7 Performance Upgrade For Under $20!” Now, this is based on my opinion, and others might complain there are so many other upgrades that can be done to the TBR7 motorcycle. However, I have restricted this post to just performance upgrades, and performance upgrades less than $20.  

Oh, this upgrade has to work and stay installed on my bike. I had items on my motorcycle that didn’t work, and I later took them off, or they broke off. These will be later posts.

Ok, drum roll, please!!!!

The winner of the “Best TBR7 Performance Upgrade For Under $20” is…

The 17 Tooth Front Sprocket Upgrade!

You can read about my post about my adventures doing the front sprocket upgrade here: TBR7 Front Sprocket Change.

Why Did I Upgrade the Front Sprocket In The First Place?

Out of the box/crate, the TBR7 is geared low. Which makes sense since the TaoTao TBR7(like the RPS Hawk 250, Raven 250, etc.) are dual-sport motorcycles. People typically buy dual-sports for dirt bike riding with the ability to ride on the street legally. 

Yes, dual-sports are nothing more than dirt bikes that are street legal. It took me a while to realize this; there is nothing special about them, just the street legal part. I am a new motorcyclist.

So, back to my point. The TBR7, a dual-sport motorcycle, needs to have good torque for driving the rider and bike up hills and through dense material like mud and sand. The TBR7 has very little torque and horsepower. To effectively deliver the torque, the TBR7 motorcycle is geared very low. 

The stock gearing is a 15 tooth front sprocket and a 46 tooth rear sprocket. This combination maximizes the ability to deliver torque and climb hills but improves the top speed of the TBR7 motorcycle when reaching RPM limits.

I bought the motorcycle as my first motorcycle to be my cheap street motorcycle. I went with the dual-sport design since it modeled the shape and size of the type of regular pedal bike I have been using for decades, the mountain bike.

So…. although the TBR7 is a dual-sport, like the Hawk 250( a very popular “Chonda”), I picked the TBR7 over the Hawk 250 because of the more street-favored characteristics( Read: Hawk 250 vs. TBR7).

So…… my goal was to enhance the TBR7’s street characteristics. A larger front sprocket helped. ( Read: TBR7 Front Sprocket Upgrade). 

With the original 15 tooth front sprocket, the 1st gear range was very limited. I would find I had to almost shift out of 1st gear into 2nd gear immediately. This behavior was expected since the first gear is so low it maximizes engine torque transferred to the rear wheel versus speed.

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Why Did I Pick The Front Sprocket Upgrade As Performance Upgrade For Under $20?

1. This TBR7 motorcycle upgrade is under $20.
   I paid for the 17th tooth front sprocket out of my pocket and would do so again if I bought a new TBR7 or Hawk 250(or another “Chonda”). Check for latest prices: Front Sprocket Price
2. This TBR7 performance upgrade is easy and fits!
   Weird, I would say this, but the 17 tooth front sprocket is the most significant tooth sprocket upgrade I could do without modifying the front sprocket housing. It’s tight, but the clearances are good. I just had to put the chain on the front sprocket before installing the sprocket. ( Read: TBR7 Upgrade: Front Sprocket Change. )
3. This TBR7 motorcycle upgrade works!
   Yes, the new front sprocket does precisely what I wanted. It increased the usable range of the 1st gear, slowed down the need to shift immediately on acceleration. It increased the overall top speed of the motorcycle at the max engine RPM limit.
   
   It’s well documented that this upgrade is one of the well-known Hawk 250 performance upgrades everyone recommends as soon as they assemble their bike. So only makes sense this upgrade should be advised to all TBR7 motorcycle owners if they want better performance out of their bike.
4. This TBR7 upgrade minimal impacts torque.
   I didn’t increase the engine torque or horsepower characteristics, and I just changed how it’s delivered to the rear wheel. The rear wheel of the motorcycle will spin faster, but the bike is geared higher. Meaning less torque is being transferred to the rear wheel. I felt almost no impact to changing the front sprocket, and again, I am focused on street riding, not climbing Mount Everest.

Would I Do This Performance Upgrade Again?

I was going to cover again how the front sprocket upgrade improves my TaoTao TBR7’s top speed and shifting smoothness. I’m sure I beat this into you already in the post. Yes, I would do it again if I pick up and other TBR7 motorcycle or ever get around to buying a Hawk 250 motorcycle. ( Read: Hawk 250 vs. TBR7 )

What I am going to cover is the whole purpose of this post. It’s a cheap performance upgrade for the TBR7 motorcycle. Again, it was easy to do a DIY project that keeps the cost down, and it works!

You can read about more of my upgrades here( Read: My TaoTao TBR7 Upgrades To Do List. ) I place to post my options about if the upgrades were worth it or not. Since, like many “Chonda” owners, we pride ourselves on being frugal without upgrade costs, I plan on making more posts that are limited to dollar categories. If you have suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

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TBR7 Upgrades

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