the 1st gear of the 700r4 is too steep for me
I know what you mean, the stock 1st gear of my Sportster is way too steep for me, too "nervous", across the intersection and shift, so I "de-tuned" it by raising the axle.
If you never use it in traffic most people are happy with a close ratio box, since the biggest compromise is less 1st gear torque multiplication - and you don't see it frequently enough to be annoying. I drove an L6 250 4 speed Camaro back and forth from Long Island to upstate New York every week (450 miles R/T), and it was a pleasure on Route 80 but a misery in town, swapped it out for a TH350 (I got rid of the A833 in my Belvedere in favor of a 727 for the same reason): if you get stuck in George Washington Bridge traffic on Labor Day even once (10 miles uphill at 1 mph, stopping and starting every 5 feet) you'll wish you had compound low so your left foot could take a break.
