Reeds are just a check valve. I've never bothered with the uber gimmiky reeds so I have no experience with them.
I have played with stock .vs boysen a few times years ago and never noticed a power increase large enough to justify the decrease in longevity.
That being said, with me being me, I used to cut off the stops or bend them back some trying to get some free HP. Don't really think it ever worked, but it was free and I was in my early 20s.
With reeds being nothing but a check valve, I've never thought there was any HP to be had there as long as the factory stuff was doing it's job. It is amazing how VERY LITTLE pitting it takes on the rubber to completely screw the tractability of the power curve though. My YSR50 with a YZ80 in it had such a hole that I honestly drove it for years and never realized I was shifting at a hole in the curve.
On weekend I was going from the pits at Road Atlanta to the infield and while going down the steep hill (facing an even steeper uphill at the turn 11 bridge) I powered through the hole and hit ''the powerband'' and damn near dropped my beer!
From that point on, I knew to wait for the second wind in first, then bang gears as fast as I could.
Moral of the story... good pipe, massage the ports, and jet the carb correctly. That's where the fun is.
