GasGas granted 2 million Euros from Catalon government!

[celler]

So you mean a lower price point entry level bike? In the Sherco line we have the standard version with Sachs forks. On most models the Sachs bike is $600 less. I haven't had one person want to buy one. Don't you think the best entry level bike is a well maintained used bike?
I get your analogy with the street thing but I'm not sure it applies to the off road world. What can you take off of the off road bike? There isn't any ABS or traction control. In off road the thing that usually lowers price is suspension but suspension is such a major part of ride enjoyment that most guys don't seem to want to compromise there. Please don't think I'm telling you that you are wrong. I'm just telling you what I think I have found to be true so far. If I am missing a niche that others are missing, please tell me how to grab it! I'll steal any good idea!
There is one thing I strongly believe..... Enthusiasts come up with better ideas for their particular area of interest than any study by a bunch of egg heads who don't understand the sport! I hope I am always open to input from you guys. If I'm not, please tell me so (unless it is magazine bike tests!!!!) LOL!

I agree the best entry level bike is a good used bike. 8k for a new bike is way off for someone getting into it. I can afford it by I even find myself buying used. My last bikes I bought had 12 miles on it and the one before 200. I tend to really try to help anyone who gets into riding to help them buy a good used bike. If they have a good experience they will be riding for years. I wonder how many riders we lost who bought a 250f and blew it up.... I think a GasGas is a great used bike. The only issue is a new rider tends to want a shinny bike and the plastic is expensive. I always enjoy how often you see people announce they got a GasGas and it is a 2003.

Clay I agree the new bikes need good suspension. Personally WP over Sachs? I think this a parts /revalving thing. It's not like WP is viewed superior to Showa but they are known. Dam consumers.

What the market may need is a new KDX 175. Real dirt bike, a lot less than most, lower seat height, and last forever.

Clay you have a hard job

 

[Clay]

I think they're intimately tied together - the niche being a segment of the market that's either new or returning to the sport - who probably aren't up on all the latest trends, manufacturers, etc. Another might be folks who have a little knowledge, but don't have any desire to race - just want to go ride and have fun on the trails. They might know Honda, Yamaha, Husky, etc, make off-road bikes, but they don't have the depth of knowledge that a long-time rider does. I think this crowd needs the most "marketing", but you're right - not sure how to tackle it.

If anything I previously posted came across as critical of your business practices, please know that definitely wasn't the intent (or the case). I sit in an office most days as a product marketing manager and don't have experience in your world. I'd like to say I have a solution or know how to attack the dilemma, but I don't - at least not at the moment. What sold me on buying my 200 started with a suggestion from a fellow member; that led to my own research, lots of exchanges with that fellow member, and ultimately ended with a test ride and purchase.

I will think on ideas as I know it's impossible to give everyone a test ride. The forum has good reach, but it's not all encompassing, and throwing ads in trade magazines typically doesn't have a great ROI.

I didn't take anything you said negatively. I was just hoping you were going to give me the Holy Grail of offroad marketing! You let me down!!!!

 

[Clay]

I agree the best entry level bike is a good used bike. 8k for a new bike is way off for someone getting into it. I can afford it by I even find myself buying used. My last bikes I bought had 12 miles on it and the one before 200. I tend to really try to help anyone who gets into riding to help them buy a good used bike. If they have a good experience they will be riding for years. I wonder how many riders we lost who bought a 250f and blew it up.... I think a GasGas is a great used bike. The only issue is a new rider tends to want a shinny bike and the plastic is expensive. I always enjoy how often you see people announce they got a GasGas and it is a 2003.

Clay I agree the new bikes need good suspension. Personally WP over Sachs? I think this a parts /revalving thing. It's not like WP is viewed superior to Showa but they are known. Dam consumers.

What the market may need is a new KDX 175. Real dirt bike, a lot less than most, lower seat height, and last forever.

Clay you have a hard job

Lol! Thanks for the sympathy!

 

[Radbuster]

Hi guys,
1st post in a while.

Demo rides I think is the best bang for the buck. I have learned the hard way that magazines (well, except UK based Trailbike Magazine IMHO) only cloud the judgment.

I tried the '14 GGs here in Sweden recently and I decided my next bike will be a Gasser, but which one??!! I had an '07 EC300 that I loved and made me a better rider, but I dropped out because of the bad fitment. When I saw the new 12's I became hot for GG again.

At the time of the demo I wasn't in the market since I need to use my red husky WR125 some more, but now that KTM has messed up both Husaberg and Husqvarna, I want nothing to do with them and will be going back to GG after a love affair with a Sherco 4.5i and questionable experience with a Husaberg 70-deg (thanks to KTM).

Probably I'll go for a '14 or later EC200 Racing edition with an APT carb, among other things, because of the dependable low tech that is end-user field serviceable.

Sorry to just jump in unannounced like this.

 

[desertgasser300]

Demos are a nice way to get guys on bikes, but its nice for the guys on the east side. GasGas has no presence as far as demos on the west side. The only presence gasgas has is GasGas 360......and that guy is a TOOL!!!! The riders are nice guys, but that self centered Australian douche bag can take a flying leap. No offense to the guys on here in Australia. If he was the only person that connected him and GasGas I would stay far away from the bikes. I know Clay did a demo in Flagstaff, but he was already on his way back home from Vegas.

Sent from my SGH-T999L using Tapatalk

 

[Mick]

Very simply stated, the trail rider or rider who participates in the occasional poker run or hare scramble, but isn't a hard core enduro racer...

The gap or niche if you want to call it...seems like the choices are a heavy Honda air cooled CRF, or a full tilt race bike. Not much in between, even with the Sherco detuned Sachs...it is still a race bike. There are those in-between niche for the Euro market...like 50-125cc 2T/4T play bikes. Not too much here in the States. Maybe the Ossa Explorer and the Sherco X-Ride.

Say for a rider like my girlfriend...it is a either pipey KX100 or a heavy CRF 230. Really think the KTM Freeride would be perfect for her...can't get them here though.


Honda HM of Italy has a nice line of entry/mid level level bikes.

This is pretty cool 125cc water cooled e-start 4 stroke....21" 18" wheels.

 

[liv2day]

I was just hoping you were going to give me the Holy Grail of offroad marketing! You let me down!!!!

LOL...I wish I could send something like that your way, but I market printers and MFPs - somewhat of a different beast than off-road bikes

I'm still hoping to make a transition at some point, need to do some research into what the best approach(es) are

 

[sfiegen]

Government loan etc..

I have been reading all of the responses to the Loan issue, starter bikes,and how do we spread the word about the quality and how good Gas Gas bikes really are. I do agree with Clay as to the slam GG took in the magazines recently when we can all agree things were not done exactly on the up and up out west. I first got involved with GG when Steve from Gofasters got my son riding a 200 GG instead of a Honda. We have since owned several of them and they are great. I have been riding and racing with Steve for 25 years and when he and Mark took on GG I feel they were basically responsible for GG staying in the US when things were very bleak. As far as the Government loan and the recent aquisition of Husky technology it shows GG is moving foreward. As far as the entry level bike issue goes,I would agree with Clay, a good high quality used bike is how most new GG riders will get started. There are several ways to get new riders on GG and one of the ways is to have demo rides at several races. Another way to get the word out is to LOAN your bike to someone you trust who will ride it and not thrash it. Once we started riding GG we were hooked. I have since got other friends riding the bikes and they are sold. When I have been asked about GG I dont down KTM or other brands but when they start getting serious I just push the good points of GG, let em ride it and let them know they wont be dissappointed with the bikes. In 04 there was a comparison of a GG 200 and a KTM 200. GG won several of the comparison issue and KTM won several others. One of the last statements made in the magazine was to mention the up and coming GG company and where KTM was 15 years ago. GG is definitely on the right track and we as GG riders need to help spread the word and be involved in the grass roots effort to get more people involved in the brand. Several years ago at the Wyoming round of the national enduro series my son and I were the ONLY riders on GG, the next year us and Fred Hoess. Since then GG has slowly increased their numbers with several riders supplied by Roscoes out or Rapid City. I met Clay out there and told him I was friends with Mark and Steve from Gofasters and obviously the jokes started. I have to say with the grass roots effort of Steve and Mark from Gofasters and the dedication Clay has put forth in the past several years GG is on the way up. You may disagree with some of my points in this article but some are opinion some are fact. I know most will not agree with this last item but I still think the sidevalve motor has a place in off road. As I get older, the slower the bike I ride at an enduro etc.... the better my results. Clay get me one of those motors and I will make it work HA HA.

 

[Vindicator]

Right now, the new best thing (after KTM) in Portugal is Sherco. Why ? Because it uses a lot of KTMish components and have improved visibility on the Offroad scene with the good performance at the Dakar rally , new WEC team with a very solid base and they really hit the jackpot when they hired the Knighter for Extreme Enduro. Everyone is talking how good the bike must be due to Knight's performance on the Superenduro series.
Sherco is trailing the exact same path as KTM did a few years ago, I have no doubt they will succeed if money isn't short.
Beta is trying to do the same . Their WEC team has improved with the addition of 2 time WEC champion Johnny Aubert and Coddy Web on the US & Extreme enduro scene .

This is the type of recognition that helps selling bikes to "30 year old adolescents" although I have to say I rather have the possibility to test them first before making a decision .

 

[Moto7man]

We've had some new people join our riding group. None of them have ever seen a Gasser up close. I've let a few of them take a spin on my 300, they always come back happy and surprised. If you ride one you are hooked.....