dumb newbie question about gearing

my friend-builder tells me the stock gearing is perfect for a basiclly stock 77 650(but i have 26mm carbs,pods,dyna ingition and a wide open vance and hines pipe)is he right or should i bump it up a bit? i drive city most of the time. i am always looking for that little edge and am still trying to find the right jetting for this combo. still kinda new to this sight so please show mercy, i'm new!

if you want it to be quicker off the line (stop light to stop light) then go with a smaller front sprocket or larger rear. you might end up needing a longer chain depending on how far you go. i went from a 35 rear to a 45 on my old 900 and loved it. :woohoo:

The stock gearing is pretty good for all around use. If you want to change it, you first need to decide if you want to increase your low end acceleration, or alternatively if you want to increase your comfort level (and maybe your max speed) by lowering rpms at highway cruising speeds. On my KZ750H I have increased the # of teeth on the front sprocket by 1 from 13 to 14, giving me slightly less punch off the line, but dropping my 60-70 mph cruising rpms by about 400-500, and making it so I don't run out of RPMs before I get to a ton. On my KZ750E, I have left the gearing stock, so it can burst off the line, but it does get a little buzzy at 70 MPH. If I were building a 1/8 mile drag bike, I would either drop a tooth or more in front (or raise by 2-3 or more teeth in the rear) so I would have even more punch off the line.

you can go down in the front but it will kill ur top end. u will use the motor up real quick. i suggest going up in the back and in the front. the key is to improve ur wheel speed without useing up the motor. going to a smaller rim like a 18 or 17 will give you a little more wheel speed but not a graet deal but with the right gearing you can come out of the hole quick and still be able to cruse along at 100-130mph with out the rpms being to high.

on my 77 streetfighter i have a 17x5.5 back wheel and am running a 16 front sprocket and a 46 in the rear.