Crf450 Gearing troubles

Hello, i have an 02 crf 450. It has a flywheel weight on it because i mostly ride trails. I also put a 52 tooth rear sprocket. The problem is this, when i put that bigger sproket on i also had to replace the chain with a longer one. When i sized up the chain, their is no prefect length, it is either way to long or way to short. When i left it long, the wheel base was far to large, and it was hard to turn, wheelie and i had little traction. Recently i cut the chain and tried to get it on, but it was to short for that size sproket. My question is, what is a good sproket selection. I feel that in the tight trails the 50 tooth is a little bit to steep, but other then that, i think it rides a lot better in the open trails. It feels more comfortable to short shift it, and i notice less engine braking. The 52 was better for the tight stuff, but felt too short for the open stuff, and i feel made it more difficult to shift. What would my best bet be? Should i mess with the front sprokets, or just start tearing into the motor, to get more low end. Although it has plenty of power. I would also like to keep the shorter wheel base, by moving the rear wheel closer, rather then further back.

I would like to hear how everyone else sets up their crf. Thanks for the help, Ryan Shaw

Thanks for the input. I will probably be leaving the 50 tooth on, rather then deal with the front sproket. Thanks