I red that too, but I had no problem removing mine. One foot on the rear brake, 2' breaker bar in hands, and off it went.

 

I have a 13/42 combination that I'm very happy with. It reads 70mph on the hi-way at about 7,500 RPM and plenty of low end.

 

Well, thank you, Scott, for the informative gearing response.

Yeah, when I tried the 13/47 setup, I kind of thought it might be too low...even for dirt. It wasn't. It's been perfect. I can cruise all day at 55mph, and honestly I could cruise at an even higher speed, but I don't want to waste the motor life on pavement any more than I have to.

Scott, I had to lower my lower rear chain guide, probably because I run my wheel fairly forward in the axle postion and chain length.

 

The 47 tooth is sounding good, if only for the fact that it might be relatively easy, compared to something bigger.

I hadn't considered tire size and chain guard/guide clearance. I was running a 120/100 Maxxis at the end of the season, but I just switched to a 100/100 Michelin AC10, to get the clearance I needed when I added the studs. Maybe in the spring, I should look into another 100/100 (for clearance and gear ratio reasons), rather than put the 120/100 back on.
Also, as bad as this may sound for someone that has owned as many as 8 bikes at one time, I don't have ANY experience with adding or removing chain links. It can't be that hard, is it?

 

You don't want to add only subtract. You can remove them pretty easy. All you need is a chain breaker. HF has one for $10 bucks.

 

13/48 works best for me. I took the information from probably deej and TNC and chose what I thought would get the best results for what I wanted to do. It works almost perfectly. Slow enough to navigate the riprap like a pseudo trials bike, good power to dig out of the mud and plenty fast for the logging roads in the Cascades and northern Idaho. Chain guard is no problem with 48 tooth although mine was a bit deformed and had to bend it over a little with a heat gun so it would clear the sprocket. I don't ride faster than 45 on suburban roads when I occasionally ride it to work so I have no concern for 50+ top end.

 

Are you running a 108 link chain? If so, that makes sense, because both the 49 with 110 and 45 with 108 put the axle back.

Now you have me thinking again.
Will the 47 work with a 15 front and 108 link? I really like having that versatility.

 

@ IDRDR - I have a 14/47 w/108 chain and the tire is fairly close to the front of the swingarm. Not saying it can't be done, just that another link or two would be nice.

 

^ thanks Maximus.

I think TNC said he likes to the axle forward because it makes the mike more responsive. And flickable, like a booger

 

You can cut a chain to shorten it without any special tools as long as you have either a bench grinder, angle grinder or dremel tool.

Just grind down the two pins on the side plate you want to remove until the head of the pin is gone. Then the side plate will pop right off with a screwdriver. Doesn't matter if you accidentally grind into that side plate since you are removing it anyway.

I've done several chains this way now, and with a bench grinder it takes maybe 1 minute max to do it...