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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.
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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
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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
