GasGas EC200 2011 first ride

[FDB]

Took my 2011 EC200 for a spin with the boys.
The gearing was all wrong for the technical riding (13/48) but the bike behaved very well.
Doing some tweaks to it this week and will then take her out again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSOBZgNFDfw
(I have no idea how to embed youtube clip to the page

 

[kyton]

nice one. Is that in Gauteng area?

 

[FDB]

Yes.
Wild-West close to Pretoria.
That clip is the river section.
They have a small hill called the "koppie" there too that the guys took us up later that day.
It was absolute torture.

 

[kyton]

Nice man. Those newer 200's look real nice. I got a 04 200. I'm looking into rather getting a 250 if I can get mine sold.

 

[FDB]

Yours the yellow one on the rocks on Gumtree?
250's are great bikes, but look at the 300's too. Not such a big price difference.

 

[kyton]

Nope. Yellow, haha, it is not a suzuki. Mine is red and black. It is also pending on e-dirt for some reason.

 

[FDB]

Thought it was this one:

 

[kyton]

Def not. It is this one. Dam s3 mini and crap camera quality.

I see old yella has the old style forks. looks very similar to the crf230 forks

 

[liv2day]

That majority of that looks like it would have been perfect for a trials bike...lol. All those rocks and roots in the creek make it tough to get into any kind of rhythm.

I've never ridden an event like that, do you have to stay within a set boundary and just pick whatever line works for you, or do you have to follow a trail? I saw the tape marking one side, wasn't sure how that worked.

I have my 200 geared at 12/50 and it's perfect for 95% of the riding I do - lots of tight, technical stuff with plenty of elevation challenges. It isn't as good when we head to the open desert area, but it's still plenty fast to get me into trouble. After coming off a 300, as well as riding my brother-in-law's 250, I think the 200 2-stroke is the perfect bike.

Looks like a great day out on the bike

 

[hamilton]

Looks like some challenging trail. That 200 would be a lot easier to ride if you tweaked the jetting some.

 

[FDB]

Hi liv2day
That section is a bit rough yes, but not as bad as the hills and stuff around there. Huge inclines with big slippery rocks. I had a proper flip on the one climb and just as the bike went past the 12 o'clock mark, an overhanging branch stopped it. Was quite a thing to see.
That video was not from a race. It was a practice day i used to test the 200 out. I bought it that same week.
But at races, they do mark with tape yes and you have to stay between them, or, you may not deviate from the path much. But you chose your own line. Not always easy as a lot of guys get stuck in front of you on the "better" lines and you have to make a plan on the tougher lines to pass them.

My gearing there was 13/48. Totally wrong for that terrain. I fitted a 12 up front last night and will see how that goes this weekend.

But yes. It was a great day out.

Hamilton
This past week was spent setting the squish, polishing the head, fitting a new piston kit, and doing general maintenance on the bike like wheel bearings, oil, etc. I fitted the Tubliss on the bike with fresh rubber (Mitas C18 red stripe in the rear, and Mitas EF07 yellow stripe in the front). The traction should be a lot better too.
I'll run it in before the weekend with the jets it has in now (42/172), and then play with the brass to see what would work best.
I bought a 40 pilot and 170 main. I'm at 1400m above sea level, so i should in theory go a bit leaner.

This is the first lap we did for the day. i followed a team mate of mine. You can see the terrain a bit better in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMbik8K_ujE

 

[kyton]

Nice stuff FDB. Im running 175/ 42 at sea level. 13/50 gearing but i still can't get my bike up the steep hills here. Even the more experienced riders can't do it on my 200. They all trying to convince me to go Orange.

Will try find a 250 gasser in my price range.

 

[FDB]

Orange?
Oh hell no.
My scoot before my YZ was a 200 Cone.
Gasser is waaay better.

Your 200 should go anywhere a 250 goes. Something must be up.
Maybe traction?
Does it spin a lot?

 

[kyton]

Yip. Rear tire just digs holes for its sell. Got a Michelin AC10 on the rear. Even with the new needle an jets, it still seems to not have enough low down torque. The hills here are steep like maybe 70 degree climbs and about 200m distance was the one we tried on Saterday at the Winterberg Enduro area. My inexperience also does not help.

 

[FDB]

ah ok.
Yes. it sounds like a traction/momentum issue.


We have a sand climb here in johannesburg. You really need to gun the daylights out of the bike. 4th gear flat taps before you hit the dune to make it to the top.
The 450 4T bikes makes it a bit easier.

 

[kyton]

Must be that the bike also struggles with my 95kg without kit. Still nice bikes.

 

[FDB]

Yea that might play a role.
I would look at the EC300 if i were you. Those are fantastic bikes. Plenty low down torque and still goes like hell if you turn it's ear.

 

[Jakobi]

70 degrees is what most would call vertical. Realistically, as you approach 45 degrees things are getting pretty serial, and even then more power isn't always a help - usually just spins more, or pulls the front up sooner. Momentum is the key, but in saying that, some hills on my 250 are enough that once the momentum is lost and the bike is off song its done, where a 300 has enough spread to get back into the meat.

 

[kyton]

Maybe 70 is a bit of an exaggeration, but even trying to walk up it was tedious. Felt like I need someone to attach a rope around my waist and pull me up. All I know is that it was flippen steep with loose stones and rocks. Problem with that is the run up to the hill is short and then you hit a 90 deg left turn straight onto the foot of the hill.

 

[Jakobi]

I hear you! We have some like that here. Some are unridable depending on certain days simply due to a lack of traction.