steph1000 Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 why change the gearing from stock?? for instance if someone is geared and im not ,going down one gear lower in a corner than the geared bike,will it be the same result and why not??? Quote
Derek Sauder Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 I believe one reason people change gearing is so that they can use all the horsepower that the bike has. For instance, if you are at a track w/ no real long straights and don't use every gear you have, then you would change accordingling. So that you get to sixth gear on the straight. It gives you more power at the bottom end for the corners. How good is top end power if you never get to use it? Quote
stuman Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Well there are a number of different reasons to change your gearing when riding on the track. Sometimes you might use a very low gearing if you want to avoid having to use first gear. Some tracks with very tight corners require you to use first gear and the shift from first to second gear coming off these corners is always very harsh. In this case you might gear your bike so that you can use second gear for these slow corners and avoid the harsh shift. I do this on my ZX10 for The Streets of Willow. Sometimes you might gear your bike so that you are close to red line in 6th at the end of the fastest section of track so that you can use all the available hp. Sometimes you might gear your bike for an important corner. You might want to have the bike right in the meat of the power band coming off a particular corner. Going a gear lower is not always the same. Shifting down a gear might put you in an RPM range that is very close to red line, where a bike that is geared correctly might be right in the meat of the power band a gear higher. Quote
steph1000 Posted January 22, 2009 Author Report Posted January 22, 2009 thanks and it makes more sense to me now...does that usually equates to faster lap times??? Quote
Kevin Kane Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Well there are a number of different reasons to change your gearing when riding on the track. Sometimes you might use a very low gearing if you want to avoid having to use first gear. Some tracks with very tight corners require you to use first gear and the shift from first to second gear coming off these corners is always very harsh. In this case you might gear your bike so that you can use second gear for these slow corners and avoid the harsh shift. I do this on my ZX10 for The Streets of Willow. Sometimes you might gear your bike so that you are close to red line in 6th at the end of the fastest section of track so that you can use all the available hp. Sometimes you might gear your bike for an important corner. You might want to have the bike right in the meat of the power band coming off a particular corner. Going a gear lower is not always the same. Shifting down a gear might put you in an RPM range that is very close to red line, where a bike that is geared correctly might be right in the meat of the power band a gear higher. Stu; Can you clarify what you mean by gearing? IIRC, most sanctioning bodies will not allow you to change the internals, just the drive and rear sprockets. Is this what you mean by gear(ing) your bike? Kevin Quote
Cobie Fair Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 There are a few pieces to this for sure, and Stu has covered a few. One thing (you'd think it was obvious, but...) is to make sure you don't have to shift in the middle of the turn. Another is if you can reduce the amount of times you have to shift, that will save time too. I think I've heard that each shift costs a tenth of a second. C Quote
stuman Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Yes correct gearing for the track can equate to lower lap times for sure. Gearing it typically the first step to setting a bike up for a given track and is of primary importance. Kev - I mean changing the counter and rear sprockets only. I know some change the gears in the tranny, but that is not all that common in club level racing. Quote
acebobby Posted January 25, 2009 Report Posted January 25, 2009 My current chain and sprockets are in need of replacement soon on my cbr600rr and someone has recommended that I go 1 tooth down on the front and 1 tooth up on the rear, from what I can figure out this will sacrifice a little top end speed for better acceleration, my bike is a road bike, tourer, trackday toy it does it all! What do you guys think of doing this, sensible modification or would I be better going for standard gearing? Quote
stuman Posted January 26, 2009 Report Posted January 26, 2009 I'd stick with the stock gearing if it is a street bike. No sense in spinning the heck out of the motor while riding down the freeway. Quote
Jaybird180 Posted January 26, 2009 Report Posted January 26, 2009 My current chain and sprockets are in need of replacement soon on my cbr600rr and someone has recommended that I go 1 tooth down on the front and 1 tooth up on the rear, from what I can figure out this will sacrifice a little top end speed for better acceleration, my bike is a road bike, tourer, trackday toy it does it all! What do you guys think of doing this, sensible modification or would I be better going for standard gearing? I went -1 +2 on my F4i based on recommendation. It was fun at first, but I plan to change it back. I use it street/ trackday. Quote
acebobby Posted January 27, 2009 Report Posted January 27, 2009 I think that you guys are probably right! I will keep it set standard, it could end up more hasstle than its worth taking into consideration the speedo reading out and the extra fuel required wheever I go touring! Why are you changing yours back to standard jay? Quote
Jaybird180 Posted January 27, 2009 Report Posted January 27, 2009 I think that you guys are probably right! I will keep it set standard, it could end up more hasstle than its worth taking into consideration the speedo reading out and the extra fuel required wheever I go touring! Why are you changing yours back to standard jay? I'm bumping the rev limiter in 6th Quote
acebobby Posted January 28, 2009 Report Posted January 28, 2009 I think that you guys are probably right! I will keep it set standard, it could end up more hasstle than its worth taking into consideration the speedo reading out and the extra fuel required wheever I go touring! Why are you changing yours back to standard jay? I'm bumping the rev limiter in 6th What speed are you doing when you hit the rev limiter in 6th, I only ever hit the limiter in top gear on massive straights or on the German autobahn! My bike tops out at 168 mph on the clock, thats why I considered changing my gearing as I felt I could sacrifice some top end speed for a little bit more acceleration as on the roads 168 mph is very illegal! Quote
Jaybird180 Posted January 28, 2009 Report Posted January 28, 2009 I think that you guys are probably right! I will keep it set standard, it could end up more hasstle than its worth taking into consideration the speedo reading out and the extra fuel required wheever I go touring! Why are you changing yours back to standard jay? I'm bumping the rev limiter in 6th What speed are you doing when you hit the rev limiter in 6th, I only ever hit the limiter in top gear on massive straights or on the German autobahn! My bike tops out at 168 mph on the clock, thats why I considered changing my gearing as I felt I could sacrifice some top end speed for a little bit more acceleration as on the roads 168 mph is very illegal! I plead the 5th Sir. Quote
Cobie Fair Posted January 28, 2009 Report Posted January 28, 2009 Hey Jaybird, Ace might not know what that means, being in the UK, want to esplain it to him? C Quote
Jaybird180 Posted January 28, 2009 Report Posted January 28, 2009 Hey Jaybird, Ace might not know what that means, being in the UK, want to esplain it to him? C The fifth Amendment to the US Constitution (of the 10 Bill of Rights) grants a citizen the right to refuse to answer a question, if by answering that question he is implicating himself in a crime. It is also used jovially. It is often used by a husband as a retort to a wife who asks, "Did you......?" Quote
acebobby Posted January 29, 2009 Report Posted January 29, 2009 Hey Jaybird, Ace might not know what that means, being in the UK, want to esplain it to him? C The fifth Amendment to the US Constitution (of the 10 Bill of Rights) grants a citizen the right to refuse to answer a question, if by answering that question he is implicating himself in a crime. It is also used jovially. It is often used by a husband as a retort to a wife who asks, "Did you......?" lol, I get it! Over here we have "the right to remain silent" which is probably a similar thing but it does not really work with traffic offences! If you do over 100 mph you get banned from driving, It has been known for people to get sent to prison for going ridiculously fast, like 140 mph or so Quote
chopperbill Posted January 30, 2009 Report Posted January 30, 2009 Some bikes are geared too high from the factory so they can pass the drive by sound requirements. That is the case on most Ducati's. The first thing most Ducati riders do is go down one tooth on the front,(with the exception of the 1098). I race a 749r and it was geared too high for 3 turns at Sears and 4 turns at Thunderhill. My bike has a flat spot in the power band around 7000 rpm, so I like to be at 7500-8000 when I start to power out of the turns. Because my bike is a twin downshifting one gear would put me too close to red line, (11,000 rpm). So I went one tooth down on the front and two teeth up on the back. At the tracks I ride there is no way I could hit red line in 6th on the straights, (Sears Point doesn't really have a straight). Quote
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