Brad's 2012 300 kick

[Racing616]

Well, my bike arrived at MotoAdventure today! The shop is doing the pdi for me, and I will be picking it up tomorrow

I've never seen a better looking dirt bike in my life! To say I am happy is an understatement. I will be bolting some hard parts to her tomorrow and racing it this weekend in one of our local hare scrambles. Pictures and results to follow!

 

[Dave]

Congrats on the new ride. Good luck this weekend.

 

[LukeDuke25]

Congrats! They are truly great bikes.

 

[john01]

Sweet! Congrats on your new bike; enjoy.

 

[bukwheat]

There is nothing better than a new bike....well....there is something better but it doesn't last near as long.....

 

[MotoAdventure GasGas]

Well, the first 2012 300 is assembled, fueled up, and ready to ride! Lucky guy, that Brad! Let me tell you, a guy can tell that GG paid attention on this redesign. WAY easier to access the air filter, (but kept the same part number as the 2011- whoo hoo!) brake lever looks great, new kickstand bracket is stout enough for a fat guy (that's me, Christopher, by the way) and plastics look fantastic! The new subframe also seems pretty stout. And last but not least, who can say no to that grab handle under the rear fender? GasGas has a winner on their hands!

 

[Racing616]

Work in progress....

Well, took the bike apart a little bit last night and I am glad to say this bike is VERY easy to work on. Lots of similar hardware and everything is easily accessible, except maybe the fuel line to the petcock, which faces towards the pipe....

Anyhow, removed the lighting equipment and the wiring harness came off the bike very easily. It appears as if this bike was built by logical people who thought they might have to take it apart themselves. I am definitely NOT banging my head into my palm, which FWIW I did all the time when I had my Husky 300.

Fit and finish is great. My small concerns so far are focused on the very soft radiator shrouds. Even without gear on I can flex the plastic A LOT. Whether or not it can be felt when ridden is up in the air. Also, as noted elsewhere, the shrouds have rubber bungs where they push into the radiator. It does take a really good pull to get the shroud out, but I imagine these will need to be checked after each test.

The air filter is very easy to remove. Seat and tank very easy to remove with one bolt each. I am not so sure whether you need to run that battery box, but since I do filters before my races and not during them, removing the 4 bolts is a 30 second ordeal.

 

[Racing616]

 

[GMP]

Nice, wiring is really cleaned up. The older bikes were somewhat of a mess especially the ECs with the full harness.

I'm going to mod the shroud mounts to bolt ons, I just know that the snap in grommet design is no match for south jersey.

 

[twowheels]

Nice, wiring is really cleaned up. The older bikes were somewhat of a mess especially the ECs with the full harness.

I'm going to mod the shroud mounts to bolt ons, I just know that the snap in grommet design is no match for south jersey.

There is an awful lot of harness stuffed behind the headlight, but the CDI and coil are much cleaner than before. Nice that the brakelight/taillight is already plumbed AND mounted.

The push-pin/grommet mounting on the shrouds is surprisingly tight, at least when new. Without braces backing them up you're almost more apt to bend the soft side of the radiator where the grommet seats than pop the pin out of the hole .

 

[GMP]

Yeah, '07+ rads are a joke without braces. In the past, I've had briars and brush on very tight trails catch the shrouds, break the zip tie I had at the top mount, and tear the bolt head through the plastic on the bottom. Not just once but several times. This new setup won't stand a chance. I'll have to look at whats possible but its similar to a Husky at the top.

What does the harness consist of? Is it all the unused Euro wiring?

 

[AZRickD]

Brad, did you check all your bearings to see if the GG factory lubed them sufficiently?

How has GG been on bearing prep on new bikes previously?

 

[Clay]

i rode the GA National Enduro which had some pretty tight stuff and had no problems with the rad shrouds coming out. Don't assume there's a problem with that before you even get your hands on a bike. The fit is very tight in the grommets.

 

[djroggen]

Brad, did you check all your bearings to see if the GG factory lubed them sufficiently?

How has GG been on bearing prep on new bikes previously?

On my 2011 I have probably 150 hours on my original piston and tore the bearings all down to find they are all still nicely lubed. I also pressure wash my bike at least every other ride.

With that said I would bet that that piston would last another 100 hours if not more, had i not switched to the S3 race setup.

Wheel bearings I have yet to replace also.

That is just my experience.

S3 Cylinder

S3 Stars Head

 

[Jakobi]

My 2010 came well lubed from new too.

djroggen - any pics of the piston and jug you pulled out? Actually shoot me a pm re your s3 parts. I'm having an ideas moment.. Haha

Going on to around 160hrs now I'm about to drop my second top end in. Probably doesn't need it but cheap insurance.

In this time I've only had one bearing let go in the front hub.

 

[GMP]

GGs have always come well greased, but I'd check anyway.

Clay,

Sorry, did not want to sound negative but its just my intuition as an engineer looking at the setup for the first time. It is what it is and will all prove out in the end.

 

[Racing616]

Bearings etc.

Yup, everything is nicely lubricated, but not overly so. I tend to over grease everything so we did that.

I added radiator braces and rear brake caliper carrier/rock fin from Enduro Engineering. The braces stiffen up the mounting for the radiators A LOT! It has also made it possible to squeeze with the knees and not feel as if you are going to fold a radiator off the machine The swingarm looks identical to last years and the carrier fit just right. This is my first year using EE products, and I am REALLY impressed. Great quality.

A note for everyone who will be removing the lighting stuff. When you put it back together, insure that every wire coming from the CDI has a home. When we put it back together there was a lone male spade on a black/white wire that had been connected in the lighting harness. We left it unplugged and there is no spark in the bike. Simply create a mini harness (female spade, wire and a circular ground piece) run it to the coil ground location and your bike will run as intended. This did catch me by surprise as I kicked, kicked, kicked, kicked.......

The weather is looking great out here for the weekends race, so I should have a full race report and hopefully some pictures after this sunday. I will also try and ride this monday at a favorite sand track of mine. I will try and get some video uploaded from there.

Let me know if there is anything else you want me to check for your information and curiosities or if there is something you think I have missed that I should be doing.

 

[barkbustin]

Glad to see the 2012s are arriving

I've been waiting for the dealer to call me when the new models hit the floor. I am happy to see that you got yours. Can't wait to hear how it handles and runs. The pics are awesome.

 

[nato]

Well how was it? The suspense is killing me!

 

[shark4465]

got my 300 saturday rode yesturday the motor is amazing handles great i'm glad i got the gasgas instead of a ktm