I'm not up on R1 gearing, but someone else may be able to contribute. www.gearingcommander.com is a great resource for fine tuning gearing vs RPM tho.
As far as coolant goes, the offending ingredient according to the latest MOMS is Glycol. So, any non-Glycol based coolant should be acceptable.
Personally I do fine with demineralised water. As long as I'm not at Wakey in the dead of winter, freezing isn't really an issue!!