I do not mean any offense here..................
But I cannot imagine running a 12 tooth counter with a 52 tooth rear. To me, that would make the bike very hard to ride as it would make the power extremely abrupt in the lower gears. The stock 13/52 is a great all around gearing, all though a bit low for the more open spaces, as it seems that you are in 6th before you know it.
I have been running 13/50 in the desert and that is a great compromise IMHO, as first is still low enough to be a paddling gear in the really tight stuff, but, this creates a bit more of gap between the gears which is most noticeable to me between 2cnd and 3rd. However, there is plenty of top end on tap for the occasional dry lake bed or fast sand wash. It also makes the power more tractable in the loose stuff.
The 12 tooth makes the chain have to wrap a lot more as well, which, again, IMHO, creates excessive heat, chain wear, and really puts the chain on the swing arm, which affects how the suspension reacts as well.
Now having said all that, I have gone to a 13/53 combination for a couple of reasons. Reason one being that I am able to run a longer chain with the 53 tooth, and that gets the back tire away from the front of the swing arm and mud flap and extends the wheel base. It also helps keep the chain off the swing arm as well. This gearing is intended for single track and general purpose riding. Yet now I can just put a 14 tooth on the front and that will give just slightly higher gearing than the 13/50 that I have been running if I am going to be doing a lot of dual sport or fast dirt road work, or possibly even desert riding/racing.
When I originally tried the 14/52 set up, it was just too tall, and that hard acceleration that I wanted was not there, although it made the bike pull very smoothly. I found that the 13/50 gave me back some of that snap that I like, and needed for racing, to be able to just punch off and get around a 530 or 450.
So while the 13/53 maybe a little bit low for my desert riding, and I may find myself using 6th more and more, the dry lake bed and 100mph speeds are pretty rare, and I certainly wouldn't want to fall off at that speed! However, my thinking here is that it will tighten up the gaps just enough, and I will have great acceleration and enough top speed for 98% of my riding without buzzing the motor too hard.