Quote:
Originally Posted by trixter
It lowers the RPM for a given speed (increases fuel economy), helps the bike go a little faster because um well it lowers the RPM for a given speed. This is not "free" though, if you add to the top end you generally take away from the bottom end. So if you do a lot of city driving you may not want that because of the torque loss but if you do a lot of highway driving then it may be a good thing.
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This is not really true. Yes it lowers your rpm's, but it also gives you less torque, which means you, on average, will have more throttle input, so the mileage increase has been somewhat debated. Personally, I geared down for a little more acceleration out of turns instead of gearing up for nicer highway manners.
As for the terminal speed argument, Terminal Velocity is affected by 2 variables; the force propelling the object (the hp of the engine @ that rpm @ that speed), and the force resisting movement of the object (friction, drag forces etc). The ninja only puts out about 30 horse without major engine modifications. Changing the gearing does nothing for this, except put the power band in a different speed range. Even then, there won't be a noticeable difference. A bore job and port job, along with opened intake and exhaust and proper jetting (and likely advanced timing and cams with different profiles as well) will make a significant enough difference in power to see a noticeable increase in top speed. Changing sprockets then will take advantage of the new power by getting the power band lined up with the speed you want it at. But simply changing sprockets won't make a noticeable difference in top speed, just make you take longer to get there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_velocity