Welcome on board mate.
Don't see any reason why the XTR should make a decent long distance trail bike. So no, your not mad!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Desert Racer
I would favour making the rear sprocket bigger as the no healer needed
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Bigger rear, or smaller front - same difference. They will both lower the gearing and will both affect the speedo reading in the same way. It is the net overall final drive ratio that is the influencing factor.
Down side of smaller front is increased (front) sprocket wear and as you mention, the chain is closer to the swingarm, which is vulnerable to wear when rear suspension is loaded. Upside is it's cheap to do.
Going for a bigger rear is indeed the more complete solution, but is more costly to do.