El Burro question

[64fairlane]

I'm helping my buddy fix up an El Burro "Torque 5". The original tires are shot, so we are going to fab axles and hubs to run standard rims and bearings. We will also need to come up with a rear sprocket (ours is bent). Here's my question; if the original size sprocket can't be found, should we get one that is smaller or larger. We have never ridden this bike, so we don't have a clue. The tires will be as close to the original size as possible, and my pal is around 220lbs. We don't need it to be a hill climber, although it will see trail duty. We just want to make sure it's not too slow on pavement.
Does anybody know how fast a stock Torque 5 is on pavement?

Thanks! Tim

 

[kbs8ball]

The hubs are strange on those bikes. im sure one of the burro experts will chime in.

 

[Motra]

A larger rear sprocket is a lower gear ratio which will give you more pulling power and better acceleration but you'll have less top speed. A smaller rear sprocket is a higher gear ratio so your results will be the exact opposite. Usually lower gearing works better for trail riding. If you use a higher horsepower engine you can gear it higher and still have plenty of pulling power and better top speed.