chain adjustment and effect on wheelbase

[repoe3]

chain? what chain...the R11/12S' don't have chains. yes, i am aware. this is a question for the countless other motorcycles out there running a chain.

while at the last track day, one of our group noticed the rear tire on the tuono was rather close to the inside of the swingarm, at the peak of the tire profile. nothing too close or anything to worry about. that was further discussed as a topic, as i needed to recently remove the rear hugger when i went to the diablo super corsa's. seemed the profile was a tad taller and rubbed the hugger.

so a couple facts, the front sprocket is a 16T from the stock 17T, the rear spocket is not a tooth or two bigger than stock. that seems to work great for the tracks we run. though the thought og adding another tooth to the rear has been tossed around. that said, i realize a new chain would be needed for the sake of getting the length needed or the tire would probably hit the inside of the swingarm.

that all said, how much of an effect on handling does the minor change in wheelbase as a result of gearing changes? i see you could change the wheelbase up to about an 1" or so. does this make a significant change in feel, mid-corner stability, etc.

thinking about getting a new chain, making it a couple links longer, running the same gearing, but hoping to have the length needed if i went to a larger rear sprocket.

as always, thanks for the input.

repoe3

[Skippy]

You would proabably notice it. Bike probably becomes slightly harder to wheely or easier to keep the front down and the turn in would be a bit slower but stability improved. All probable realy minimal though and maybe even hard to notice. Racers do use this trick though on wheely prone bikes when racing on the Isle of Man for instance where they need to keep the front down as mutch as possible on all the bumps.

[repoe3]

was thinking the change would be minimal and in fact the slight changes might be something i like. right now, she likes to lift her front end when you really get on it, especially when making uphill passes right before turn-in. makes for passing fun to have the front off the ground a bit and then have to push down hard and tip it in. talk about committing to the front end sticking. and since the thought of adding a tooth to the rear sprocket woudl only increase the likelihood. having a tad more mid-corner stability would not be so bad.

repoe3