Is there an appreciable difference in doing this conversion? I'm more concerned with service intervals, than I am about a more responsive drivetrain. Will remaining 530 extend the service life of the chain/sprockets? What's a typical service interval for the stock chain/sprockets? I'll be keeping the gearing factory. I don't want to deal with adding a speedo healer, and I like the 40mpg the bike currently gets.
Track or road? For the road there is no notable difference, but for track there is. I doubt you'll find service intervals though as racers run with new chains, and with trackday bikes you pretty much wing it. My track RR6 was definitely keener than my road RR5 due to the lower rotating mass on the 520 chain compared to the 530 on the road bike.
I'm a recovering track junkie. I lost interest in riding after I went full track with my cbr600rr. I have a 520 -1/+2 conversion on that bike, but since it has so many mods -all done at once- its tough to say how much of a difference it made. I'll be using the fireblade as a street/canyon bike that will eventually see fast B/slow A group pace.
