Quick question, replaced the chain and sprockets and took the opportunity to go up 2 teeth at the back but left the front sprocket alone. I like it! used a chain with 1 extra link in it and all is well with the world. Now, if i drop a tooth at the front will i take a good thing too far and will the chain i have on it need to be altered at all? if i cant do it without splitting the chain then i cant be arsed tbh.
http://www.gearingcommander.com Have look at this very useful gearing calculator. Input your make model and year then input your std, current and custom sprocket sizes and it will give you all you need to know. Regarding you chain length. It depends on how much adjustment range you have??? ie is the wheel spindle close to the front of the slots??
If you've added two teeth at the back but only one link, does that mean the spindle is further forward now? If so, dropping a tooth at the front will take the spindle backwards again, so should work. Front teeth count for more than back teeth though, so it might be rather buzzy.
That's a great calc. interesting that going up a couple on the back only has a small effect in comparison to dropping one on the front (obvious now i think of it). So, my current setup the tensioners are about where i would expect with a new chain in standard gearing as i went up a link, if i drop one tooth at the front the chain will need tightening but all should still be good. Cheers monkey appreciated.
Yup, being a lazy cheapskate, I went down one at the front and the difference is really noticeable. The bike went back to feeling as scary as when I first got it for a while. The sprocket nut was an issue. It was on super-tight and even @motojohn 's compressor driven rattle-gun wouldn't touch it. It needed a really long bit of steel tube for leverage to eventually get it undone.
Upping teeth on the rear is considered to be more mechanically "sympathetic" in terms of wear & tear, stressing the drive shaft, etc.
Yep, also read this quite a bit. The theory being that the tighter radius of the chain under load can stress the output bearing but haven't seen massive proof and Ducati have them in their accessory catalogues. I'm going to go +2 on my 899 I think just to make it even easier at low speed
I'm currently running 13 / 43 on the 749. Which still slightly over geared for most uk circuits. I'll have to see how it fares with the 924 motor. But I would consider going back to 14t if it's running out of rpm on the longer straights.
I found going up up and up still with the gearing resulted in having to short shift in long corners....13/43 sounds well buzzy to me. If it works for you then fab and groovy!
