f600 honda rear gear

[randy tidwell]

I have a direct drive f600 with a Honda cbr600rr motor I am running a 38 tooth rear sprocket and a 16 up front my Q.... it seems to be geared way to low I am allways in 5 th or 6th gear what is the right gear set for my car should I go with a 32 tooth or 28 or 35 ????

[Chris Ross]

Gearing is very track dependent and is also dependent on the power band on the motor. High speed tracks, a good starting spot is to target your gearing based on hitting top speed at your peak power rpm. Slower tracks with lots of corners will typically benefit from using a little bit lower gearing and letting the top speed be closer to redline in your top gear instead of being at the power peak. On the flip side of looking at your gearing and top speed, you need to watch what your gearing does to your need for 1st gear. With neutral between 1st and 2nd, your want to try and not use 1st gear except for the start. So if you find yourself bogging in slow corners when staying in 2nd gear, you might want to consider changing your gearing to help increase the RPM's a little bit.

Road Atlanta is a great example of this. The slowest corner leads onto the fastest straight. Adjusting your gearing for peak power at top speed can push your gearing up high enough that you can bog some coming off the slow corner in 2nd. If your in a race against a two stroke car, he is going blow by you coming off the corner. Then you have to hope you have enough at the top end to try and catch back up. If you gear lower, you will come off the corner better without having to grab first, but you will probably suffer a bit at the top end. It is a balancing act and part of the decision will depend on who you are racing against and the strengths and weaknesses of their cars.

Or you can do what Clint does, put the car into a power slide so the rear tires are slipping and that keeps the RPM's up!

[George Bugg]

Hi Randy.

Check your PMs.