while it's true that both the GW and the K16 are geared just slightly taller (8% and 1,5% respectively), there's a catch: they are both 35% bigger (in cc) than the C14's engine and 6-cyl engines, meaning even if they did the same rpm at a given speed, they still have 50% more strokes/explosions, so they could turn at 33% less revs to match the amount of explosions on the C14. It means that proportionally the C14 engine is actually turning VERY slow in top gear.
I'm not sure the number of strokes/explosions means much if the cylinder sizes are all different, however another way to measure it (more proportional) is to factor in the total displacement. This does change the rankings.
I'll admit that I might have screwed this up. I determined the distance traveled per rev. in feet, and then divided the displacement by that to get the number of cc needed to go one foot. (at least that's what I think I did)
@ 65 mph actual not indicated Tallest gear rank disp.cc/ft. per rev cc per ft. traveled Proportional Rank
C14 3166 RPM ('10) 3 1352/1.8066 = 748.3 1
FJR 3476 RPM ('10) 4 1298/1.6455 = 788.8 2
GW 2930 RPM ('12) 1 1832/ 1.9522 = 938.4 4
K1600 3120 RPM ('11) 2 1649/ 1.8333 = 899.4 3
My original issue however, was with the the earlier post which used the word "period" not "proportional", and I thought that made quite a bit of difference. However thinking proportionally that would work with the "longer legs" term used and I can see that now.
Well done Martin, your next task is to show me some references or logic that would explain an 18 mph difference in actual speed between a FJR and a C14 @ 4000rpm.
..but I'll settle for the 2016 C14 (C15, C16) color scheme and a list of any other changes. (just to stay on topic)