It could be a tiny stone or something !!!!! how many times have you seen bits of crap round a spark plug ? and when you take it out the crap falls in to the combustion chamber
yeah, the B12 is very slightly longer but not much. i found that out when i put a B12 swinger in a B6 as the chain was to short enough but I put a smaller rear sprocket on to get a bit more top end and use the chain it had on it.
in theory yes, ive seen them run for years with teeth missing with no problems, but if it was mine i wouldn't be able to sleep at night worrying about it