MXA TEAM TESTED: SPROCKET STUFF COUNTERSHAFT SPROCKET TOOL

WHAT IS IT? Sprocket Stuff makes a very special tool that allows you to easily remove your bike’s countershaft sprocket without having to stand on the rear brake or shove rags into the engine cases.

WHAT’S IT COST? $19.99.

CONTACT? www.sprocketstuff.com.

WHAT STANDS OUT? Here’s a list of things that stand out with the Sprocket Stuff countershaft sprocket tool.

(1) Design. If you want to replace a worn-out countershaft sprocket or change your gearing, removing the old countershaft sprocket can be a hassle. It is typically corroded in place, and when you try to turn the sprocket, you typically turn the engine over (and the sprocket doesn’t budge). Sprocket Stuff’s countershaft sprocket tool is designed to lock your bike’s countershaft sprocket to the swingarm so that it can’t spin. The MXA wrecking crew has used this tool for years, but last week we were at the KTM Factory race shop and every mechanic had a Sprocket Stuff countershaft tool in his toolbox

(2) Updates. The original Sprocket Stuff tool had to be ordered in teeth sizes. For example, if you wanted to remove a 13-tooth countershaft sprocket, you needed the 13-tooth tool. That’s all well and good, unless you were adding a 14-tooth sprocket in place of the 13; then you needed a 14-tooth tool to install it (or remove it when it was time to replace it). The new design now fits on 13- 14- and 15-tooth sprockets. All you have to do is move the pins that slip into the grooves between the sprocket teeth. Additionally, the new design is more compact, so you don’t have to remove your engine’s case saver.

(3) Directions. In step one, you have to remove the chain. Why? Because the pins of the Sprocket Stuff tool have to fit into the teeth of the countershaft sprocket, and they can’t do this if the chain is on the sprocket. At the KTM race shop, they often work on engines that are out of the frame, and the Sprocket Stuff tool is the best way to remove a countershaft on the workbench. Step two is to bend the locking tab away from the countershaft nut. Step three is to slip the Sprocket Stuff countershaft sprocket tool onto the sprocket with the two elongated arms positioned above and below the swingarm pivot. The arms lessen side load on the countershaft bearing. The final step is to put the proper size socket on the nut and turn it with a ratchet or breaker bar. Sprocket Stuff does not recommend using an air impact wrench for this job. To install a new countershaft sprocket, you simply reverse the direction of your motion. You can hand-crank it into place or, if you are smart, use a torque wrench to set it at the proper torque setting (found in your owner’s manual).

WHAT’S THE SQUAWK? There are other homegrown ways to remove and install a countershaft sprocket that don’t require a $20 tool, but most mechanics are tool junkies, and if a tool exists to do a job, they want it.

MXA RATING: If you don’t work on engines, this is a tool that will mystify you, but for anyone who has struggled to split cases or get a frozen countershaft sprocket off, the Sprocket Stuff’s countershaft tool is a must-have. We use this tool.