In V8 drag motors a short ram intake usually means shorter intake runners to make more low end torque.A High Ram Intake usually makes More HP in a higher rpm range. Just wondering if the same rule would apply to a tuned intake tube on a Trx250r?
My v8 testing has showed the opposite to your findings. Short tuned lengths favor higher RPMs where longer tuned lengths move the power to lower RPMs when the cams are optimized for a given tuned length.
The tuned length of a intake tract tunnel in a 4 stroke starts at the valve and ends slightly above the bell mouth of the ram tube. The optimum tunnel shape starts at the valve and ends at the bell mouth of the ram tube. The air flow does not really care if the intake tract tunnel is in the head or built into what we usually call the intake manifold. The engine is just wanting a certain cross-sectional port area vs length from the valve with as few bends as possible.
The old 4 barrel intake manifolds had intake tunnel lengths/tuned lengths that were way too short. These short tuned lengths were at an RPM that was out of reach of the breathing and mechanical limits of most engines. Then came the tunnel ram type of intake manifolds in the 1970s that had tuned tunnel lengths that were 6" or more longer than the 4 barrel manifolds. The tunnel ram manifolds typically made more power everywhere in the RPM range. Engineers found that making the runners real long could make a small block Chevy make big block type power in the mid range but there was not enough space under the hood for these carburetor type manifolds.
20 to 25 years later when fuel injection became the norm we could make the runners as long as we needed and feed the runners from a large plenum with the throttle body mounted at one end. Engine power started to escalate without the need for wild cam timings because the tuned length of the intakes were optimized for the cam and RPM range where the engine needed to operate. This group of intake systems were known as tuned port manifolds.
Engineers are often handcuffed and cannot do what they know will work well because of space confines or marketing will not allow them to introduce certain technologies because of the prejudices of the consumer.