[Starpeve]

By the way, Cookie, you’ll note that I’ve done the DNA filter, BoosterPlug, exhaust already so , yes, I’m a tinkerer. It’s not broke, ahm just playing around with it. I like to personalise things.

[NVDucati]

"What makes you think that 1st gear is too short?" -Cookie

I could see someone who has to navigate city traffic, block to block wanting to be able to just leave it in 1st.

I may go up a tooth on the front but just to relax the motor on the highway by about 400 -500 RPM.

[twocoolgliders]

Whatever....I give up!


Cookie

2 posts earlier that jumped in while I was typing!
And I’m not Rain Man I can’t give you numbers but I know how I like to rev and shift and for my style of riding 2 nd  is the utility gear- good for everything. The Bike’s got such lovely lowdown torque that you can nearly use second as first. Why not spread it out? If I’m howling along through twisties at 85 km I like to sit in one gear if I can -so high 2nd or mid 3rd. Just a little short of that now. So , sprocket. Cheap experiment.

[olhogrider]

By the way, Cookie, you’ll note that I’ve done the DNA filter, BoosterPlug, exhaust already so , yes, I’m a tinkerer. It’s not broke, ahm just playing around with it. I like to personalise things.

Buy the front sprocket from Hitchcock's. One tooth is noticeable but just barely. You will be happy with it. I'm sure of it.

[gizzo]

2 nd  is the utility gear- good for everything. The Bike’s got such lovely lowdown torque that you can nearly use second as first.

Son in law's CX500 is like that. 1st is really short. I start off in 2nd when I ride that one. It's shaft drive so not much to be done about it.

[Starpeve]

I see you've got a 74 GT 750- YUM!!! One reason I love the Conti is that it's as nice to look at it as it is to ride. When I had my 900 bevel I spent hours with a beer in my hand just admiring the beauty of that L twin, slung under the frame as a stressed member. A truly gorgeous motor. The bevel drive tubes, two whopping 40 mm De'lorto pumpers, the triangular bevel drive covers. The fabulous finned header pipe clamps, etc etc. You lucky man😋
Correction- well that didn't work! This was supposed to be e response to NVDucati!😟

[Starpeve]

Whatever....I give up!


Cookie

Cookie, I've often short-shifted from 1st to 3rd, but that's not addressing what I perceive to be a shortcoming. I don't want to rev the nuts off it in 1st. I want to spread the power over a better lower gear range. And also I feel that , to refer to your point that there's only a 10 -15 km difference when you shift up to 2nd, there's no point in winding it up in 1st. I'd rather change up at 3-4000 (if that!). To me, 2nd is where it's all happening under throttle in traffic. Less snatchy , for starters.

[Starpeve]

I'm not doing well on these replies to individual posts am I ?😱

[twocoolgliders]

So, you consider 1st gear to be too low.

I consider it to be just right or slightly too high.  Go figure

I also consider 6th gear to be on the high side....but nice as an overdrive...its there if you need it...doesn't need to be any higher though..

If you change ratio by one tooth, the change will be slight....so slight so as to have a very minor effect.  Why bother?

If you change the ratio by several teeth...you will have a big change...and will have a negative effect on starting out in 1st.  Slow off the line if you will....

Most  discussion on forums concerning 1st gear ratio has to do with LOWERING the gear, to allow for quicker off the line, jack rabbit starts....makes sense, sort of..

Then when discussing higher gear ratios, most are concerned about high speed driving, like on a highway , in 6th, toget the revs down for long trips at high speed...sort of an over drive or cruise gear...this also makes sense, sort of.

But raising gear ratio, to "improve" 1st to 2nd gear shift, achieves neither of the above aims.....

you want to shift to 2nd at a higher speed, and / or a lower rpm.....but I don't see any need for this, much less any reason for this....

Changing sprocket ratios only effects starting out in 1st, and cruising in 6th.....(yet some will argue that every ratio is different for 1,2,3,4,5,6....but really it only changes the shift points...not overall change in "performance")(this is an arguement we can have at a later time)

Stock, you can now shift from 1st to second at any speed you choose form 0 to 45 MPH!  That is quite a wide range IMHO.  My lower powered bikes, can only go 15 or 20 mph in 1st....

Of course a high powered, high revving bike can go anywhere between 0 and 90 MPH is 1st.!!


Based on power available, and red line at 7500, I think RE got the gearing just right, for all around driving!


Change your ratios...try it out....won't hurt anything, except possible drivability...who cares?...go for it...have fun...see if you like it....please yourself!

But keep in mind....changing something should be for a good reason...changing for the sake of changing is pointless...

Bigger is not always better (contrary to the "American" philosophy)....better is better..


Cookie

I'm not doing well on these replies to individual posts am I ?😱

[gizzo]

I see you've got a 74 GT 750- YUM!!! One reason I love the Conti is that it's as nice to look at it as it is to ride. When I had my 900 bevel I spent hours with a beer in my hand just admiring the beauty of that L twin, slung under the frame as a stressed member. A truly gorgeous motor. The bevel drive tubes, two whopping 40 mm De'lorto pumpers, the triangular bevel drive covers. The fabulous finned header pipe clamps, etc etc. You lucky man😋
Correction- well that didn't work! This was supposed to be e response to NVDucati!😟

750 Sport round case. Most Beautiful Bike of All Time. So says me. I'd have one.

[NVDucati]

750 Sport round case. Most Beautiful Bike of All Time. So says me. I'd have one.

I see you've got a 74 GT 750- YUM!!! One reason I love the Conti is that it's as nice to look at it as it is to ride. When I had my 900 bevel I spent hours with a beer in my hand just admiring the beauty of that L twin, slung under the frame as a stressed member. A truly gorgeous motor. The bevel drive tubes, two whopping 40 mm De'lorto pumpers, the triangular bevel drive covers. The fabulous finned header pipe clamps, etc etc. You lucky man😋
Correction- well that didn't work! This was supposed to be e response to NVDucati!😟

Yeah, obviously I agree about the Ducati "round case" bikes. They struck a certain chord, then and now. They represented a combined passion of esthetic and performance engineering much like our Royal Enfield 650 twins.
The funny and somewhat informative difference is that back then they were not nostalgic. They were just plain weird and jarring. At the time I had a small wooden motorcycle repair shop in Massachusetts. The first one I saw went thundering past me from the opposite direction so I turned around and chased it down. Turns out that when the rider took off his helmet, it was a guy I knew. I became a dealer.
Also at that time, you couldn't sell one with a court order. That year the Kawasaki Z1 came out and the Honda CB750 was well established. My opinion remains that the Ducati 750 was better than either of them in every way except the 1/4 mile ET. By a show of hands _ who here is surprised that I would end up with a Royal Enfield twin?

[Bilgemaster]

[...Snip!]

But keep in mind....changing something should be for a good reason...changing for the sake of changing is pointless...

[Snip!...]

I'm sort of lazily in Twocoolglider's camp. The thought of replacing that perfectly good sprocket would fill my fat ass with transuranic inertia. Sure, if it were worn out I might bump up the new one a tooth or three. I did that with my "scrambles-geared" Norton Desert Sled, changing it from something like an 18 or 19 tooth to 21 or 22 (I no longer remember), but it was well overdue for a replacement anyhow. Turned out it proved FAR more comfortable on the roadways. Still, I'd be far more likely to replace something when really needed than just for the hell of it, largely for much the same reason as explains why I'm laying about typing this though the lawn could probably use a good mowing.

[Starpeve]

So, you consider 1st gear to be too low.

I consider it to be just right or slightly too high.  Go figure

I also consider 6th gear to be on the high side....but nice as an overdrive...its there if you need it...doesn't need to be any higher though..

If you change ratio by one tooth, the change will be slight....so slight so as to have a very minor effect.  Why bother?

If you change the ratio by several teeth...you will have a big change...and will have a negative effect on starting out in 1st.  Slow off the line if you will....

Most  discussion on forums concerning 1st gear ratio has to do with LOWERING the gear, to allow for quicker off the line, jack rabbit starts....makes sense, sort of..

Then when discussing higher gear ratios, most are concerned about high speed driving, like on a highway , in 6th, toget the revs down for long trips at high speed...sort of an over drive or cruise gear...this also makes sense, sort of.

But raising gear ratio, to "improve" 1st to 2nd gear shift, achieves neither of the above aims.....

you want to shift to 2nd at a higher speed, and / or a lower rpm.....but I don't see any need for this, much less any reason for this....

Changing sprocket ratios only effects starting out in 1st, and cruising in 6th.....(yet some will argue that every ratio is different for 1,2,3,4,5,6....but really it only changes the shift points...not overall change in "performance")(this is an arguement we can have at a later time)

Stock, you can now shift from 1st to second at any speed you choose form 0 to 45 MPH!  That is quite a wide range IMHO.  My lower powered bikes, can only go 15 or 20 mph in 1st....

Of course a high powered, high revving bike can go anywhere between 0 and 90 MPH is 1st.!!


Based on power available, and red line at 7500, I think RE got the gearing just right, for all around driving!


Change your ratios...try it out....won't hurt anything, except possible drivability...who cares?...go for it...have fun...see if you like it....please yourself!

But keep in mind....changing something should be for a good reason...changing for the sake of changing is pointless...

Bigger is not always better (contrary to the "American" philosophy)....better is better..


Cookie
Cookie, you touched on something there that was basically what I was on about- the shift point change throughout the range. Which is what I desire. I’m not ALL about the short 1’st- I think I’d like the entire range moved up a little. And as we’re talking comparative ratios, each gear up moves up just that little bit more. 1 tooth may not be enough for my aimed result, which is why I’d prefer rear sprocket swaps, smaller increments of change. 2 teeth rear may be where I’d like it. The motor is clearly up to the task, and I certainly don’t want to go high enough to bog it down in 1st. Personally I can see absolutely NO reason to go shorter. I don’t hate how it is now, I just think I can make a beautifully tractable bike better use its abilities.
For how I like to ride.

[Starpeve]

750 Sport round case. Most Beautiful Bike of All Time. So says me. I'd have one.

Me too. Up there with Vincent Black Shadow.
Almost too lovely to ride!

[Starpeve]

Yeah, obviously I agree about the Ducati "round case" bikes. They struck a certain chord, then and now. They represented a combined passion of esthetic and performance engineering much like our Royal Enfield 650 twins.
The funny and somewhat informative difference is that back then they were not nostalgic. They were just plain weird and jarring. At the time I had a small wooden motorcycle repair shop in Massachusetts. The first one I saw went thundering past me from the opposite direction so I turned around and chased it down. Turns out that when the rider took off his helmet, it was a guy I knew. I became a dealer.
Also at that time, you couldn't sell one with a court order. That year the Kawasaki Z1 came out and the Honda CB750 was well established. My opinion remains that the Ducati 750 was better than either of them in every way except the 1/4 mile ET. By a show of hands _ who here is surprised that I would end up with a Royal Enfield twin?

Not me!! I see the same attraction as you for the RE in it’s similar ethos to the Duke. I think you’ll see that in my Conti’s presentation. As a matter of fact I’ve got a photo of my heavily personalised S2 from a similar angle ( which I’ll upload when I find it) and the similarities are striking.
I had no real intention of getting another bike 20 years after relinquishing my Duke then on the last day of  2 weeks holidays I saw the Continental on display(Friday) Bought it unridden on Monday. Touched a spot in me that I thought had gone.
I think having said all this that you ( NVDucati ) will understand my gearing quest.
Also, my camp at the time also all were mad for the Z1’s and 750 Hondas. I yearned for the beauty of the Ducati which I agree has proven itself over time to be the superior machine in all but 1/4 mile speeds. Remember it was the Duke that won that Imola too!