Well I had another day to track test the Modified Ninja RO1. Performance was good, but it is not the fastest engine that I have. The mods made the engine really wake up, but it is not as fast as my modified Novarossi +35 yet. I am still trying to play with gearing keep the engine in it's powerband. I noticed with the Ninja that the bottom end is good, and the top is good, but where the +35 pulled hard at the beginning of second gear the Ninja is bogging (Midrange). I need to try 16, 19 pinions. I am sure that this will make the engine happier. My test team also ran a mod Ninja with 16-20 pinions, and the engine was in the powerband more than mine. We ended up adding .3mm worth of head shims to get optimal performance for the day. Please remember what we are comparing here. Novarossi +35 has a 14.5mm crank, ceramic bearing, balanced crankshaft, 9 port sleeve, and it cost $550. The Ninja does not have a balanced crankshaft, does not have ceramic bearing, 14mm crank, and a 7 port sleeve, and it cost $ 375. We are talking about almost $200 difference here. I think the Ninja is an excellent value.
