Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > 998 / 996 / 916 / 748 > rear sprockets?

[hawkati]

howdit? got a 2000 996 - lurching off to On Yer Bike after work, with a view to getting new front sprocket - old one had 5 teeth chewed off it when chain broke the other day (first time in 20 years, but my fault for persisting with it, despite a tight spot i thought i'd ironed out)

Anyway, standard rear is 36 teeth, but i'm contemplating a 38, mainly in an attempt to smooth bike out at low speeds - if i'm doing 30 in 3rd, it's coughing and spluttering all over, and a few more revs might just sort it.

Am i right in this line of thought? and also that a 38 is standard on a 748, so i should ask for one of those?
knowledge is a useful thing, cheers!

[skidlids]

A 748 usually have a 520 chain where as the 996 should have a 525 chain.
I think its worth going for slightly shorter gearing either by going down to a 14T on the front or up to a 38 on the rear, my 996 was better to ride after i had done the swap

[hawkati]

cheers for that - didn't know about the chain difference - saves me blithely wandering in and buying the wrong sprocket! thanks, j

[antonye]

Buy your chain and sprockets from www.bandcexpress.co.uk
Fantastic service and will cost you half the price of a dealer for the same kit!

[injected]

Originally Posted by hawkati

....when chain broke the other day...

Did you have a crankcase saver fitted? If not you were lucky to get away without a major repair! They're cheap to buy and take a few minutes to fit.



I've got a Renthal QC carrier if you'd like to buy that instead - looks cool even if you don't change sprockets that often! Let me know, I'm just rouns the corner from OYB.

[Shazaam!]

In stock form, the 996 gearing is the tallest of any model Ducati, absurdly tall, completely unusable in the higher gears on the street or track in my opinion. Except for the 916, all the other Ducati models use the close ratio gearbox, consequently no other model uses a 1.84 primary ratio with a standard gearbox like the 996. I guess they needed it to meet exhaust emissions and noise limits.

The need here is to bring the higher gears into play because they are more closely spaced than the lower gears and therefore more usable. So unless you plan mostly high speed usage, any 996 needs a sprocket change.

The most popular change is to 15/43 98-link or the equivalent 14/40 96-link. You probably won't be happy with anything less.

[hawkati]

cheers muchly for information.....will start rummaging around for 40 tooth sprockets, and see what happens next!
where would i be able to buy a crankcase saver? i'm presuming not summat i'd get from a standard dealer?
thanks again, j

[Gobert23]

You'll get a crankcase saver on Fleabay, no worries at all.

As has been mentioned, it's a two minute job to get it fitted and gives, that all important, peace of mind...

G

[Paul James]

Always better to go bigger back sprocket than dropping front.

[hawkati]

agreed - less stress on chain.....rummaging through fleabay at mo for casesaver and sprocket, unless any of your good selves have bits available?