There's another benefit of lower gearing re: trailriding, it limits the ability of the bike to run away from you on steep descents i.e. even in first, the higher first gear can allow the bike to pick up more speed than you'd like, leading to increased brake application and brake wear which in turn can lead to overheating the brake fluid and loosing the brake entirely until it cools down.
If you've ever "smoked" a rear caliper on a big trail bike when descending a steep slope, you'll know what I mean.
I've lowered the gearing on both my 400EXC and 950SE, the minor drop in fuel economy is outweighed by the increased tractability, the 3rd gear wheelies @ 70mph are an added bonus.
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