how about this line of thought
a stock 500RE can burble along at 55 mph all day. open up the exhaust and upgrade the carb add a 18 tooth sproket and at the same rpm the bike is now doing 58.5 mph
add a 535kit a high velosity oil pump and performance cams doing the same rpm the bike is now going 61.4 mph with a19 tooth sproket no sweat youve doubeled the horsepower. yes this takes a lot of
money. for a 6mph gain in base speed. heres the math
55 OVER 17 DIVIDED BY18=58.5 55OVER 17 DIVIDED BY19= 61.4
I dont think the relyability would be adversly affected if a person mainly kept to these speeds.
now to do the math on the prices
bob bezin
Or..........another line of thought.
Upgrade the exhaust, jet the stock carb, put a 19 tooth sprocket on it and ride it at 60/65 emph.
Take the extra money that you saved on all the upgrades and buy gas for it.
Turn gas into road smiles.
No effect on reliability but you'll have to pass on the burn-out pits
CJ