Chain and sprockets

Ducati Forum

Help Support Ducati Forum:

Goot to know that the sp's come with 520, they all stretch at first but typically I only adjust the chain once or twice over its service life, most chain rated for the Pani is pretty good but maybe 520 needs more love? D.I.D. 520 ERV3 is quality chain... after 1200 the sprockets should be mint, if it was me Id just leave it stock.
 
Goot to know that the sp's come with 520, they all stretch at first but typically I only adjust the chain once or twice over its service life, most chain rated for the Pani is pretty good but maybe 520 needs more love? D.I.D. 520 ERV3 is quality chain... after 1200 the sprockets should be mint, if it was me Id just leave it stock.

1,200km on road to break it in and then 12 days (just shy of 2,000km) on track, which is the only place I will be riding it.

If I’m putting a new chain on then I figure I might as well change sprockets at the same time and why not go lighter.

My post was looking for thoughts on Sitta and if there are any other options I should consider, etc.
 
My bike is 520 stock…

That’s right since you‘re on an SP2. So basically zero weight savings. If anything throwing a Sitta quickchange makes things more complex.
I wish people would be a bit more careful making statements about certain things. A less informed individual would be susceptible to believe you know what you are talking about, when in fact the SP and SP2 come stock with a 520 setup.

My bad, I didn’t realize he was on an SP2. Next time I’ll file my post through you to vet it
 
Sitta seems ok, no bad reports, but at this point its bling. Are you sure the chain is worn that badly? Seems really low use, typically chains get rusty or a clogged up with gunk from too much chain lube, WD 40 is all you need for X ring.
 
@spooky How do you know the chain stretched too much? I know there ae go no-go tools for measuring chain stretch, and Ducati gives a measurement, but what method did you you use? I'm curious as I haven't considered chain stretch to be a thing on something low mileage.
 
So I would go with a sprocket carrier AEM, renthal or Sitta, and a selection of rear sprockets 41 42 43. they are all a much of a muchness but the AEM seems to be more available than the renthal.

You say you were going around Brno at 2.32 and want to improve. Clearly your bikes std gearing wasn't correct for that track and I doubt you even revved out in 5th let alone 6th. I was running a 42 rear and going around in 2.19 and not using all the revs in 6th on the front straight. My pal was going around in 2.12 and he was running a 43 rear.

Having the availability of sprockets to change gives you scope to alter which part of the rev range you are using, which gear the bike is running for which part of the track. It makes it so much better and easier with less gear changes up and down. So Brno out of the hairpin turn 3 1st, short shift 2nd 3rd up to turn 4 then you can use the revs all the way up to the limiter no more gear changes before braking for turn 5 left at the media centre. Of course sometimes you have to compromise a part of the track.

Of course you need a longer chain to accommodate the different sprockets so I would go with DID erv range although tsubaki are good but its a different tool to fit.

Running the new chain longer than the std length to be able to use the bigger sprockets also means your wheel base gets longer and your ride height will alter too......so to keep a constant you'll need something to alter or correct that back.......

also as I doubt there is much wrong with your original stuff when you remove it keep it all to then put it back on when you sell the bike you'll only need a new soft link!

still, its just bling...:rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
Why do you think this set up would be lighter? It’s the same size as stock for SP2.

I don’t think it would be lighter - I know it would be lighter.

The Sitta rear sprocket is over 700g lighter than the stock one on the SP2. The chain, sprocket and carrier should lose about 1kg (the chain is over 200g lighter than stock and I’m not sure about the Sitta sprocket carrier weight).

As an aside, I said I had the SP2 in my first post. I realise people are trying to be helpful but I think I’ve only had one response so far that actually addressed my questions (12th post).
 
I don’t think it would be lighter - I know it would be lighter.

The Sitta rear sprocket is over 700g lighter than the stock one on the SP2. The chain, sprocket and carrier should lose about 1kg (the chain is over 200g lighter than stock and I’m not sure about the Sitta sprocket carrier weight).

As an aside, I said I had the SP2 in my first post. I realise people are trying to be helpful but I think I’ve only had one response so far that actually addressed my questions (12th post).

and 27.....😃 which is a much more valid argument than saving 700g in weight which is less than a pasta lunch at the Brno restaurant!
 
@spooky How do you know the chain stretched too much? I know there ae go no-go tools for measuring chain stretch, and Ducati gives a measurement, but what method did you you use? I'm curious as I haven't considered chain stretch to be a thing on something low mileage.

I don’t know with certainty but even if it doesn’t need changing immediately it will obviously need changing at some point. My questions remain valid and having parts ready to fit rather than trying to figure it out and obtain the parts when they are at the point of needing to be changed immediately has no disadvantage.
 
Sitta seems ok, no bad reports, but at this point its bling. Are you sure the chain is worn that badly? Seems really low use, typically chains get rusty or a clogged up with gunk from too much chain lube, WD 40 is all you need for X ring.

I don’t think it’s just bling - it’s rather significant weight savings. Losing weight is something I am always interested in (other than myself of course).

I only use WD-40 on the chain.
 
So I would go with a sprocket carrier AEM, renthal or Sitta, and a selection of rear sprockets 41 42 43. they are all a much of a muchness but the AEM seems to be more available than the renthal.

You say you were going around Brno at 2.32 and want to improve. Clearly your bikes std gearing wasn't correct for that track and I doubt you even revved out in 5th let alone 6th. I was running a 42 rear and going around in 2.19 and not using all the revs in 6th on the front straight. My pal was going around in 2.12 and he was running a 43 rear.

Having the availability of sprockets to change gives you scope to alter which part of the rev range you are using, which gear the bike is running for which part of the track. It makes it so much better and easier with less gear changes up and down. So Brno out of the hairpin turn 3 1st, short shift 2nd 3rd up to turn 4 then you can use the revs all the way up to the limiter no more gear changes before braking for turn 5 left at the media centre. Of course sometimes you have to compromise a part of the track.

Of course you need a longer chain to accommodate the different sprockets so I would go with DID erv range although tsubaki are good but its a different tool to fit.

Running the new chain longer than the std length to be able to use the bigger sprockets also means your wheel base gets longer and your ride height will alter too......so to keep a constant you'll need something to alter or correct that back.......

also as I doubt there is much wrong with your original stuff when you remove it keep it all to then put it back on when you sell the bike you'll only need a new soft link!

still, its just bling...:rolleyes:

Those are decent times at Brno. Keep in mind that I’ve only gone on track for the first time this year at the age of 53 and I hadn’t ridden any bikes for at least 25 years prior to getting the SP2 (my first three days at Brno I didn’t even use the front brakes - just getting used to the bike and engine braking, under advice from the instructor I had for those three days). I seem to be making decent improvements each time I go out but improvements get harder as you get better of course (although I am still at the stage where I can significantly drop lap times simply by getting braver with use of full throttle (getting it fully open asap and keeping it there longer, along with changing gear with the light and ignoring the sound). My corner speeds are reasonable based on what I see faster riders doing in the twisty bits but there’s plenty of room to improve there as well without having to push the bike.

I think it’s turn 7 you are referring to - the first gear corner that’s after a short downhill bit? Short-shift to second into the chicane at turns 8 and 9, then a bit of a straight that gets up to fourth gear?

I think I am happy with the standard gearing for the time being. I’ve seen people doing 2:08 on S1000RRs with standard gearing. I saw some pretty good times at Most from people on the same bikes.

I was thinking exactly the same thing about keeping the original stuff for when the bike gets sold eventually. 🤣

Oh, and it’s not just bling - it’s lighter. 🤪
 
but the beauty of using a carrier is you can keep std gearing............. and then experiment at a later date for a minimal cost...

Fair point.

So you think it’s worth going the QC route then. I noticed that the QC sprockets were cheaper but I did wonder about the additional failure points that exist due to fixing the sprocket to the carrier rather than the sprocket being one piece. I guess it’s probably not something to be concerned about. Most of my riding is at Brno and Most, although I’d like to try some other tracks if it’s practical to do so.
 
Fair point.

So you think it’s worth going the QC route then. I noticed that the QC sprockets were cheaper but I did wonder about the additional failure points that exist due to fixing the sprocket to the carrier rather than the sprocket being one piece. I guess it’s probably not something to be concerned about. Most of my riding is at Brno and Most, although I’d like to try some other tracks if it’s practical to do so.

ive got and have used renthal QR stuff for years its good quality but sometimes can be unavailable for ages. Ive also got the AEM which looks good quality..
 
Fair point.

So you think it’s worth going the QC route then. I noticed that the QC sprockets were cheaper but I did wonder about the additional failure points that exist due to fixing the sprocket to the carrier rather than the sprocket being one piece. I guess it’s probably not something to be concerned about. Most of my riding is at Brno and Most, although I’d like to try some other tracks if it’s practical to do so.

in a senior moment I was describing Portimao.. re the gearing change..but the theory is the same.
 
in a senior moment I was describing Portimao.. re the gearing change..but the theory is the same.

You did have me a bit confused there…

This is the current steel sprocket.

1695634863183.jpeg


The OEM chain is a Regina. The DID is a little bit lighter. Not sure about tensile strength but I believe Regina are supposed to be ok (although I’ll still go for the DID that I mentioned).
 
I don’t think it would be lighter - I know it would be lighter.

The Sitta rear sprocket is over 700g lighter than the stock one on the SP2. The chain, sprocket and carrier should lose about 1kg (the chain is over 200g lighter than stock and I’m not sure about the Sitta sprocket carrier weight).

As an aside, I said I had the SP2 in my first post. I realise people are trying to be helpful but I think I’ve only had one response so far that actually addressed my questions (12th post).

My bad, I’m not Benoit Blanc and looking for obscure clues in posts. That 700g weight saving is probably equivalent to the .... you’d take that morning after a latte
 

Register CTA

Register on Ducati Forum! This sidebar will go away, and you will see fewer ads.

Recent Discussions

Back
Top