gearing

[nothing]

I was wondering what you guys gear you 9xx series bikes? IE. front and rear sprocket. Thanks in advance, dan

[Shazaam!]

Here you go ...

[rearviewmirror]

15/43 for a 996? Is that right? I need to upgrade mine... Right now I am running 14/36, but the gear is still too tall. I assume running that 98 link change will extend the rear wheel out a bit on the eccentric requiring a ride height change.

[Capt. Home Slice]

Originally Posted by nothing

I was wondering what you guys gear you 9xx series bikes? IE. front and rear sprocket. Thanks in advance, dan

That depends entirely what you'll be using the bike for and where.

[acruhl]

I'm at 14/39 on the 996 for the tight tracks out here. Still feels tall to me. I don't ride it on the street so I have no idea if this is even close to being right.

Likes to yank the front up all the time though. (well, when it's running that is)

[Capt. Home Slice]

I'm at 14/39 on my 996 as well with a basically stock engine. It runs fine on the highway unless you are doing prolonged runs at 100+ which I don't do. It's still pretty tall for Grattan which has a long straight and I'm not topping out.

[hank]

I run 14/42 on my 1999 748. Stock was 14/38.

For short track work I might even put on a 43 next time...

Shaz - your post was very informative (as usual), it just didn't list the humble 748... any ideas about using the 14/43 set-up on short tracks?

[Section8superbike]

It depends on what bike you have. I suggest 15/39 for 916, 996's and 998's for the street and 14/41 for 748's for the street.

[Shazaam!]

Notice from the table that 996's are geared unusually high, probably the highest of any Ducati model. The high gearing is the result of using the unique combination of the standard gearbox plus the 1:84 primary gear ratio. So sprockets that work well for 916's and 998's are still too high for 996's.

Hank: the first recommendation (14/40) in the table applies to 748's.

You are correct to expect to need different gearing for different tracks. The problem is that people here will suggest sprocket sizes to you that can only be used as a starting point. Gear selection is very dependent upon your style of riding.

In general, you would like to have a final drive gearing that allows you to hit the peak horsepower rpm at least one place on a given track. Otherwise, you’re not using all the gears in your transmission and aren’t taking advantage of the closer-spacing between the higher gears. (Daytona is an obvious exception because gearing for the high speed oval section will result in overgearing for the infield sections. This also illustrates the need to select a compromise gearing that doesn’t permit the maximum top speed but gives better drive out of the corners.)

So, you also need to find a final drive gear ratio that will minimize your number of gear changes and still place you at engine speeds that give you the best drive out of the corners. You need to build power quickly, sometimes at the slight expense of outright top speed in the straights. The fastest lap times are not so much controlled by top speed as they are by getting from one corner to the next as quickly as possible.

Lower gearing usually means more gear changes that lower your lap times. Sometimes you just can’t shift mid-corner, so you go in slower in a lower gear which allows you to come out harder. It is always a trade-off between gear selection and riding technique.

Any final drive ratio represents a trade-off between acceleration and gear range: the lower the ratio, the quicker the acceleration and the narrower the range of speed for any one gear. Consequently, a lower final-drive ratio means that while the bike scats aggressively in any gear, it requires a more shifting because the gear range is so narrow. Add to that a closely-spaced set of transmission gears and you have a bike that requires more fiddling with gear selection to stay on the torque curve.

[Section8superbike]

Originally Posted by Shazaam!

Notice from the table that 996's are geared unusually high, probably the highest of any Ducati model. The high gearing is the result of using the unique combination of the standard gearbox plus the 1:84 primary gear ratio. So sprockets that work well for 916's and 998's are still too high for 996's.

Hank: the first recommendation (14/40) in the table applies to 748's.

You are correct to expect to need different gearing for different tracks. The problem is that people here will suggest sprocket sizes to you that can only be used as a starting point. Gear selection is very dependent upon your style of riding.

In general, you would like to have a final drive gearing that allows you to hit the peak horsepower rpm at least one place on a given track. Otherwise, you’re not using all the gears in your transmission and aren’t taking advantage of the closer-spacing between the higher gears. (Daytona is an obvious exception because gearing for the high speed oval section will result in overgearing for the infield sections. This also illustrates the need to select a compromise gearing that doesn’t permit the maximum top speed but gives better drive out of the corners.)

So, you also need to find a final drive gear ratio that will minimize your number of gear changes and still place you at engine speeds that give you the best drive out of the corners. You need to build power quickly, sometimes at the slight expense of outright top speed in the straights. The fastest lap times are not so much controlled by top speed as they are by getting from one corner to the next as quickly as possible.

Lower gearing usually means more gear changes that lower your lap times. Sometimes you just can’t shift mid-corner, so you go in slower in a lower gear which allows you to come out harder. It is always a trade-off between gear selection and riding technique.

Any final drive ratio represents a trade-off between acceleration and gear range: the lower the ratio, the quicker the acceleration and the narrower the range of speed for any one gear. Consequently, a lower final-drive ratio means that while the bike scats aggressively in any gear, it requires a more shifting because the gear range is so narrow. Add to that a closely-spaced set of transmission gears and you have a bike that requires more fiddling with gear selection to stay on the torque curve.

Well said. Most track riders have the misconception that you gear your bike to top out on the fastest straight, which isn't always the best way of doing it. I tend to try and gear my bike for the lest ammount of shifts even if it means "lugging" it off of apexes in a few corners (this is easier to get away with on a Duck )

I have found the best thing to gear for is the exit of the corner leading on to the fastest straight. If you can do this in half of the corners you are lookin good

[JeffKoch]

Yep, depends where you ride and where you like your RPMs. I ran my 996 with 14/41-42 before swapping in a 748 tranny and primary gear (I'll probably wind up with something like 14/39 now) and I still never used 6th at local tracks - the stock gearing was ridiculously tall. But iff I rode at Willow Springs all the time, I'd need much taller gearing. For street riding, again, depends, but Shazaam's chart is a good start (I run 14/41 on my 748 instead of 14/40, but it doesn't make much difference).

[nothing]

Thanks For the info. I run a basically stock 916 for mostly trackdays with a 14/40 setup and was just wonding what everyone else trys. I appreciate it.

[130gunner]

Thanks For the info. I run a basically stock 916 for mostly trackdays with a 14/40 setup and was just wonding what everyone else trys. I appreciate it.

Translation: "Jeeeeezus, all I wanted was a couple of numbers!!!!!!!!!"

[nothing]

lol actually I liked all of the info but that was amusing