Ok, I was toying with the idea of putting a 44 on the rear before I take the bike to spain in the spring, with the thought maybe that it would drop the revs slightly for big roads and motorways.
My concern was that I would have a fairly well laiden bike 2up, and spain has hills. Would I be doing the right thing? would 1 tooth at the rear make enough difference to make hills an issue with a loaded bike?

one more... and does fuel consumption change with different sprocket ratios?
When I think of how a pushbike works, higher gear might be less revs on the pedals, but it is harder work on the legs! So does 1 balance out the other keeping fuel economy pretty much the same, or would my 1 tooth less save a bit of fuel?

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PCV REPLACEMENT ECU WITH 04 WIRING LOOM STAGE1&2DNA GEL SEAT INSERT LOWERED 20mm FRONT+REAR CLUTCH ARM MOD
FORKSPRING SPACERS TALLER SCREEN THROTTLE GRIP CAM MOD DISTANZIAS 46TOOTH REAR SPRKT
SPEEDO HEALER 30MM HANDLEBAR RISERS TOPBOX MOUNT 08 XTX SORTED, ALMOST.
...SHEEPSKIN - Because a pain at the rear is not just a moany pillion.

When I got my xt the front sprocket was a 16 so a close ratio to what you're considering. I've now swopped it for a 15 and the acceleration is better. Theres not a massive amount of difference and the fuel consumption is no worse. I'd say it wasn't worth it.

Fijjitt, I was looking at fitting a 44T rear on the Tenere (-1T) and worked out the difference using a gearing calculator, see my post here (clicky I went with the stock 15/45 in the end as it was easy to get the sprockets, and I considered that with a strong headwind and two up it would be best.

I fitted a 14 tooth front sprocket last year and haven't bothered swapping back to the 15 as standard. This gearing really suits me and acceleration up to an indicated 90mph (GPS) is quite rapid. Went out tonight for a spin and made a conscious attempt to see how the seedo compares to the GPS and the difference is very close to 10mph at 60mph. This means that at an indicated 60mph on the bikes speedo I am actually travelling at 50mph.
Makes trail riding easier as you can use 2nd gear a bit more and 50mph on the bikes' speedo in top gear is 3000rpm, just nice for decent acceleration without shifting down.

Hope this helps.

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If I'm not working, I'll be

You will be fine with a 44 rear. One tooth on the front is = to 3 on the rear.

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Mods that I have done to my XTX's

My 04 XTX
Stage 1 & 2 DNA filters / Kev fuel mod / snorkel mod / Drilled air box mod / Engine breather mod / Fork Spacer mod / 15w fork oil /
[
My 07 XTX
Raptor 700 cylinder 102mm / Modified Crank Case to take a 105mm Raptor Cylinder / 11:1 102mm JE Raptor piston / Stage 1 Raptor Hot Cam / Ported head / Colder Spark Plug / +2mm Throttle body / DNA stage 1 & 2 filters / Modified Air Box / Snorkel removed / Worry Brothers stage 2 filter cover / 6mm & 8mm Bolts Replaced with Titanium Bolts / Recovered seat in Black / O2 Eliminator /

My 09 XTX
59HP at the rear wheel / Stage 2 Raptor Hot Cam / DNA stage 3 Air Box / Carbon Can Exhausts / Modified Exhaust Link Pipes / PCIII With Custom Fuel Map / Wideband Commander O2 Data logger / LCD100 Dyno Jet display & fuel adjuster / 2500 OHM HT lead instead of a 10K OHM XT lead / Extra Coolant Cooler / Protaper Fat Bars / Tail Tidy With LED Tail Light / OKE Protection Knobs / LED indicators / AIS blocked / Modified rear sprocket rubbers / Rear Foot Pegs removed / 09 ECU With 02 Sensor Changed To A 06 ECU / Complete wiring harnes Changed from 09 to 04 / Home made LED resistor flasher / Hole drilled in the fuel tank filler neck to allow quicker filling / Modified Bar End Weights / Progressive front fork springs, 15W fork oil, forks lowered 25mm, used XTR rear links lowering the rear 20mm, rear spring one click stiffer / Changed front & rear guards from blue to black / 47T rear sprocket / Speedo Healer V4.0 / Kev throttle cam mod / Throttle grip mod / The new 2010 O2 sensor mod is out, works a treat, The new 2012 O2 Controller is out, PM me for details

Now ride a 2018 MT09SP ABS + TCS

My KTM 990 SMR Mod book. http://www.ktmsmt.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=4946

Thanks for ya help peeps.

__________________
PCV REPLACEMENT ECU WITH 04 WIRING LOOM STAGE1&2DNA GEL SEAT INSERT LOWERED 20mm FRONT+REAR CLUTCH ARM MOD
FORKSPRING SPACERS TALLER SCREEN THROTTLE GRIP CAM MOD DISTANZIAS 46TOOTH REAR SPRKT
SPEEDO HEALER 30MM HANDLEBAR RISERS TOPBOX MOUNT 08 XTX SORTED, ALMOST.
...SHEEPSKIN - Because a pain at the rear is not just a moany pillion.