moto9
Silver Level Site Supporter
There must be a cheaper fix, since getting more oil to the plates is the objective.
clutch squeel
- Thread starter onegreyghost
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There must be a cheaper fix, since getting more oil to the plates is the objective.
I just went from 5W40 Rotella syn to 15W40 Delvac diesel dino and it took away 90% of the problem. It did want to creep (OK it took off like the clutch was out) when cold, but did fine warm and would still start in gear. The Mobil Delvac for diesel has no "Resource Conserving" rating (what used to be "Energy Conserving") so it should be OK for wet clutches and its cheap and at Wally World.
Since I have had not one issue with my 01. I don't think I would like a squeal and be told...that's how they are...GasGas is tough to sell used anyway plus I could hear all the guys at the club laughing about it. I have not picked up my new bike yet but I will shortly.
I don't want to be dooms dayish but if mine does that...not sure what I would do. Brand new bike, and I would be looking at a new basket or accept rest stop ridicule on my new ride sounding like a geico commercial. With all the KTM riders I ride with ... would be brutal. Told ya just to get an Orange bike.
I am sure there are some that will chime in saying better not buy it and attempt to humiliate me for wanting the impossible because some KTM's do it. That being said I have not heard one of them do it, and I ride with a BUNCH of KTM guys...that is why it is so important for my GasGas to shine. My 01 gets the "its not Orange but not bad" because it just does everything right and for a 10 year old bike...still pretty dang good. To me it would be like having a woman with a stupid hot body with a hairy mole on her cheek...yeah it will perform where you need it if you just overlook this "thing"...just really detracts from the overall package.
So there is my opinion on a soon to be owner.
I don't want to be dooms dayish but if mine does that...not sure what I would do. Brand new bike, and I would be looking at a new basket or accept rest stop ridicule on my new ride sounding like a geico commercial. With all the KTM riders I ride with ... would be brutal. Told ya just to get an Orange bike.
I am sure there are some that will chime in saying better not buy it and attempt to humiliate me for wanting the impossible because some KTM's do it. That being said I have not heard one of them do it, and I ride with a BUNCH of KTM guys...that is why it is so important for my GasGas to shine. My 01 gets the "its not Orange but not bad" because it just does everything right and for a 10 year old bike...still pretty dang good. To me it would be like having a woman with a stupid hot body with a hairy mole on her cheek...yeah it will perform where you need it if you just overlook this "thing"...just really detracts from the overall package.
So there is my opinion on a soon to be owner.
Bobt250
Platinum Level Site Supporter
I totally understand what you're saying. Seems to me like there is an acceptance of issues that may not be a big deal but no other bike has that issue so why GG?
My bike is exactly 6 weeks old and I've ridden it three times. My pipe is rusting badly and I was told that it was because I hauled it exposed to road salt on a trailer. It is true that I hauled it on a trailer on a snowy day and there was no doubt road salt sprayed on my bike but I've been riding for 40 years and never had this happen. I have a 6 year old Honda that has a perfect pipe on it and it's been hauled the same way many times.
I still think that my GG is awesome but I'm dismayed at the attitude I think I'm getting about some issues like "the seat is uncomfortable" the response is "Stand up"..... Think about that. My pipe is rusting after 6 weeks...... "don't trailer it in snow".
I'm a supporter but it's getting thin. All I want is someone to say "I get it, we'll work on it"
My bike is exactly 6 weeks old and I've ridden it three times. My pipe is rusting badly and I was told that it was because I hauled it exposed to road salt on a trailer. It is true that I hauled it on a trailer on a snowy day and there was no doubt road salt sprayed on my bike but I've been riding for 40 years and never had this happen. I have a 6 year old Honda that has a perfect pipe on it and it's been hauled the same way many times.
I still think that my GG is awesome but I'm dismayed at the attitude I think I'm getting about some issues like "the seat is uncomfortable" the response is "Stand up"..... Think about that. My pipe is rusting after 6 weeks...... "don't trailer it in snow".
I'm a supporter but it's getting thin. All I want is someone to say "I get it, we'll work on it"
Bobt250
Platinum Level Site Supporter
Rusted pipe after 6 weeks is an "idiosyncrasy"?
Squeeling clutch that makes everyone ask what's wrong with my new bike is an "idiosyncrasy"?
I'm willing to accept an ugly pipe and a noisy clutch on my brand new bike but many people will not. I love my bike and hope it will beat KTM but it will NOT if people keep saying "that's the way it is"
Whatever .....what started this for me was that smug KTM owners will rejoice at these "idiosyncrasies"
Is that OK with you?
P.S. KTM's are Euro and don't have these "idiosyncrasies"
Squeeling clutch that makes everyone ask what's wrong with my new bike is an "idiosyncrasy"?
I'm willing to accept an ugly pipe and a noisy clutch on my brand new bike but many people will not. I love my bike and hope it will beat KTM but it will NOT if people keep saying "that's the way it is"
Whatever .....what started this for me was that smug KTM owners will rejoice at these "idiosyncrasies"
Is that OK with you?
P.S. KTM's are Euro and don't have these "idiosyncrasies"
I'm just saying every bike has it's quirks.
KTM brakes have squeeled forever.Yamahas would break the flywheel key ways, etc. Rust on a pipe can be prevented with some basic maintenance.
Bike ownership should be an experience, you get to make it your own. No bike made fits it owners 100% right off the show room floor.
KTM brakes have squeeled forever.Yamahas would break the flywheel key ways, etc. Rust on a pipe can be prevented with some basic maintenance.
Bike ownership should be an experience, you get to make it your own. No bike made fits it owners 100% right off the show room floor.
twowheels
New member
My XC250 clutch squawked when the bike was pulling my water-logged butt through miles of hub-deep mud ... and I was OK with that. It sounded just a little like a KTM rear brake 
I never lost a drop of coolant, and the clutch never lost feel or hook-up. When the trail opened up a little and the clutch cooled it was back to whisper quiet .... but those darned KTMs kept squawking.
About your pipe - pick up some ScotchBrite. I'm not sure what kind of crap is on the road these days, but I completely pooched a YZ rotor with one trip home from a winter supercross. I washed the bike, but come spring it looked like the surface of the moon.
I never lost a drop of coolant, and the clutch never lost feel or hook-up. When the trail opened up a little and the clutch cooled it was back to whisper quiet .... but those darned KTMs kept squawking.
About your pipe - pick up some ScotchBrite. I'm not sure what kind of crap is on the road these days, but I completely pooched a YZ rotor with one trip home from a winter supercross. I washed the bike, but come spring it looked like the surface of the moon.
moto9
Silver Level Site Supporter
I am taking a break from riding for a month or so and I have decided to pull the clutch apart to see if I had the up-dated basket...which I do.
While apart, I did some drilling to see if I can increase oil flow...I didn't plan to post anything until I could get a couple of rides in to see how it performs.
I'll post the results after I get a chance to ride the bike...still waiting on a clutch cover gasket.
Here's what I did,
On the pressure plate I enlarged the oil feed holes by about 2mm
The inner hub I added a row of three holes per channel between the stock hole arrangement which had a spread of 5 or so...I just spread the pattern out equally.
On the basket I drilled a 2mm angled hole on each finger (mid-point)...angled the same direction as the holes in the pressure plate to aid in scooping up additional oil.
I have no idea if it will work or be a total failure... but that's me, I'm not afraid to experiment....it's part of the fun!
While apart, I did some drilling to see if I can increase oil flow...I didn't plan to post anything until I could get a couple of rides in to see how it performs.
I'll post the results after I get a chance to ride the bike...still waiting on a clutch cover gasket.
Here's what I did,
On the pressure plate I enlarged the oil feed holes by about 2mm
The inner hub I added a row of three holes per channel between the stock hole arrangement which had a spread of 5 or so...I just spread the pattern out equally.
On the basket I drilled a 2mm angled hole on each finger (mid-point)...angled the same direction as the holes in the pressure plate to aid in scooping up additional oil.
I have no idea if it will work or be a total failure... but that's me, I'm not afraid to experiment....it's part of the fun!
Like others have said, there are going to be issues with anything, especially bikes. I think I own three of the most reliable bikes ever made, a 2006 GG, a 2006 Triumph Tiger, and a 2000 XR650R. They all have had minor issues. The Tigers break little plastic elbows in the coolant system, and so did mine plus mine eats rear brakes. Its really hard to keep the XR footpegs on unless you do some mods, overheats in tight woods, and many had clutch bushing issues and every owner knows it. My GG is a pain to keep jetted and the clutch is sometimes noisy, but you have to keep in mind that these bikes are designed to push the limits of what a bike can do. What finally sold me on GG was when someone told me they preformed as well as a KTM and were as reliable as an XR.
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Clay
Banned
I don't remember if I said it in this thread but I have said it in at least one other.....I have taken notes on all of these issues and will bring them up to the factory. If and when they will be addressed has yet to be determined. Give me some time to work on it, ok? Bob T...will you email me pics of your pipe, please? Clay@ggor.us
Clay
Clay
Bobt250
Platinum Level Site Supporter
Clay, you have been accessible and responsive to our concerns and that is awesome. My comments weren't directed at you. I'm sure you spend way too much time on this forum listening to idiots like me whine. You have said you are taking a list of concerns to the factory and I expect that they will listen to you.
I'll go back to what Forgiven said. I ride with guys on Orange bikes and they told me not to buy the GG, specifically they said they are junk. I think the bike is awesome but it's hard to argue with them when it's brand new and the clutch is squawking and the pipe is turning a burnt orange color. I desperately want to prove them wrong. Some Orange Kool-aid drinkers will never stop saying anything but Orange is junk but I don't want to give them any ammunition.
My bike is nice and the clutch noise doesn't bother me at all but what Forgiven said says it all.
Thanks Clay
I'll go back to what Forgiven said. I ride with guys on Orange bikes and they told me not to buy the GG, specifically they said they are junk. I think the bike is awesome but it's hard to argue with them when it's brand new and the clutch is squawking and the pipe is turning a burnt orange color. I desperately want to prove them wrong. Some Orange Kool-aid drinkers will never stop saying anything but Orange is junk but I don't want to give them any ammunition.
My bike is nice and the clutch noise doesn't bother me at all but what Forgiven said says it all.
Thanks Clay
twowheels
New member
Given the love for all things orange, you'd think your riding buddies would LOOOOOVE your bike.
Hey Bob sorry to hear about your problems with your new GG. Can't say much on the clutch except our's will squack a little if we abuse it drag racing LOL. On the pipe clean it with some ScotchBrite then after each wash as dry give it a light coat of WD-40 or other such spray and it should remain like new; our's does after many many rides and washings. I've done this on all my bikes over the years. I also wash them and dry them after every ride. Most of my riding buddies think I'm nuts by the way!
Troy F collins
New member
I'm just like you John
lately magnesium chloride and calcium chloride mixed with a binder are being used up here for snow removal....its way more corrosive than road salt...its amazing what it does to my trailer and vehicles
sqawk on
i kinda like the wounded goose noise my clutch makes when i abuse it. reminds me to pay attention, scares the bejesus out of those guys stuck halfway up the hill as i'm climbing past them, and adds a note of "character" to the bike.
junk? i dunno. i hear your concerns over the noise and the pipe, and i see what some people say about the rad shrouds catching knee braces, or about the seat being uncomfortable, but this is pretty much par for the course with bikes in general regardless of brand - there is always something to deal with.
for years, honda and yamaha seemed to make their handlebars and footpegs out of butter.
the decals came off the tank on my aprilia before it got home on the back of the truck, brand new. to say nothing of the other character traits that labeled those bikes one of the more spectacularly unreliable bikes ever made.
every ktm i have ever owned or ridden has had a seat that could charitably be described as an upholstered 2x4. and their clutches spring leaks. and their starters don't seem to have a whole lot of longevity. and their rear suspension sucks. the kickstand bolt on my 200 snapped one day just sitting there, on a bike that had never once in its life had a rider try to sit on the bike with the kickstand down.
the clutch on my ducati is amazingly bad. don't care what people say about the romance of a dry clutch - it is grabby and weird and defies attempts to work otherwise.
the right footpeg on my xr650 was known to snap off unless modified. the kickstand was made of pig iron. the gearbox felt like there was something rubbery between the shift forks. the fork oil was this green sludge and the damper rods came rusted from the factory.
wanna talk about sketchy quality? i had a VOR. this, in the 21st century, a bike with a kickstart that worked in the wrong direction on a bike that couldn't be kicked over when the engine was in gear (haven't seen that since the 1960s), that handled with a vagueness that was downright terrifying, and a bolt together frame that cracked in three separate places in less than a year. but hey, it had an ohlins shock - that was valved for an angry dwarf from another planet.
maybe it is the rose colored rose colored glasses that came with my 300, and as the bike gets ridden into decrepitude, i will start to like it less, but right now, the more the bike breaks in, the more i like it. i need to fiddle with the rear brake lever to get it "just right", and i wish the grab handles at the rear of the seat were designed for someone other than E.T, but for the kind of woodsy riding that i love, this is one of the most sorted out of the box bikes i have ever ridden.
sure, there are flies in the ointment. always will be. look at all the fun stuff this gives us to talk about!
i kinda like the wounded goose noise my clutch makes when i abuse it. reminds me to pay attention, scares the bejesus out of those guys stuck halfway up the hill as i'm climbing past them, and adds a note of "character" to the bike.
junk? i dunno. i hear your concerns over the noise and the pipe, and i see what some people say about the rad shrouds catching knee braces, or about the seat being uncomfortable, but this is pretty much par for the course with bikes in general regardless of brand - there is always something to deal with.
for years, honda and yamaha seemed to make their handlebars and footpegs out of butter.
the decals came off the tank on my aprilia before it got home on the back of the truck, brand new. to say nothing of the other character traits that labeled those bikes one of the more spectacularly unreliable bikes ever made.
every ktm i have ever owned or ridden has had a seat that could charitably be described as an upholstered 2x4. and their clutches spring leaks. and their starters don't seem to have a whole lot of longevity. and their rear suspension sucks. the kickstand bolt on my 200 snapped one day just sitting there, on a bike that had never once in its life had a rider try to sit on the bike with the kickstand down.
the clutch on my ducati is amazingly bad. don't care what people say about the romance of a dry clutch - it is grabby and weird and defies attempts to work otherwise.
the right footpeg on my xr650 was known to snap off unless modified. the kickstand was made of pig iron. the gearbox felt like there was something rubbery between the shift forks. the fork oil was this green sludge and the damper rods came rusted from the factory.
wanna talk about sketchy quality? i had a VOR. this, in the 21st century, a bike with a kickstart that worked in the wrong direction on a bike that couldn't be kicked over when the engine was in gear (haven't seen that since the 1960s), that handled with a vagueness that was downright terrifying, and a bolt together frame that cracked in three separate places in less than a year. but hey, it had an ohlins shock - that was valved for an angry dwarf from another planet.
maybe it is the rose colored rose colored glasses that came with my 300, and as the bike gets ridden into decrepitude, i will start to like it less, but right now, the more the bike breaks in, the more i like it. i need to fiddle with the rear brake lever to get it "just right", and i wish the grab handles at the rear of the seat were designed for someone other than E.T, but for the kind of woodsy riding that i love, this is one of the most sorted out of the box bikes i have ever ridden.
sure, there are flies in the ointment. always will be. look at all the fun stuff this gives us to talk about!
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