GasGas helps celebrate Earth Day (race report)

[Berkyboy]

Congratulations need to go to one of our local GasGas riders who dominated the opening round of one of our local Harescramble series last weekend.

Brian Hasslen rode his GasGas 300EC/MC hybrid to a decisive victory during the opening round of the 2007 SVCC (Sioux Falls, SD) Harescramble series to score one of the the most loopsided victory in the series' 20+ year history. Hasslen beat the second fastest rider by 10 minutes and 30 seconds and lapped all but one other rider of the 100+ rider field on the 5 mile course.

Hasslen, the 26 year-old A rider from Ortonville, MN, took the holeshot and never looked back dominating the entire 2 hour race which was hampered by a steady rain for most of the event.

Hasslen's GasGas, a 300EC with MC suspension, was set up for the muddy event when earlier in the week forecasters predicted heavy rains for the upper Mid-west. Hasslen said, "When they started talking rain (for Sunday's race) we made a few adjustments to our set up anticipating the predicted slippery and muddy conditions.

"We went with a Rekluse auto clutch, a Trelleborg Ten-Master rear tire (along with a Michelin S-12 front) and set the suspension sag for the anticipated muddy conditions."

"During the parade lap I knew I had made the right choice when the trail conditions where already slippery. I knew getting the holeshot was going to play a factor as the first 1/4 mile of the course was a low lying section that already had standing water in some of it and following anybody through that quagmire would've sucked."

When the flag dropped on the dead engine start Hasslen's bike immidiately came to life and he easily le d going into the first corner beating the 10-rider Pro-class field who were riding mostly Japanese 450 four-stroke motocross bikes.

Hasslen said, "From there I never looked back and never had any pressure from any other rider. When I came in for gas (at the 1 hour mark) I was surprised when they told me I already had a 6 minute lead on the next rider. From there I just rode a smart race."

Congratulations Brian

 

[Boomhauer]

That is great!

Thanks for the info Steve.

 

[gasgasman]

Thanks for the report Steve.

Boomhauer got a 1st place in his class at the Great Piney Woods enduro yesterday.

 

[Boomhauer]

Thanks for the report Steve.

Boomhauer got a 1st place in his class at the Great Piney Woods enduro yesterday.

Thanks to you for helping me improve my riding skills.

Thanks G.!!!! For all of your help.

 

[Berkyboy]

Atta boy Boomhauer!!!! How does the saying go...."Even a blind dog finds a bone every now and then Just kidding good job.

I had semi-success during the SVCC mudfest myself were Hasslen did so well........until I overheated and decided to DNF instead of risking blowing up the motor

To mix things up a bit I've decided to ride a FSE450 this year. Other then the FSE racing wiring harness the bike is stock complete with the Kreiger exhaust.

I was a little nervous before the dead engine start last weekend wondering how I was going to know if the bike was running while I was lined up at the gate with 22 other completely uncorked (read loud) Japanese Four-strokers waiting for the flag to drop.

I had mixed success getting the hole shot since I had to hold the electric start button a little longer then I probably needed to to make sure the bike was running due to the noisey four-strokes coming to life around me.Entering turn one where I managed a 6th place start mostly due to that fact that I couldn't hear if the bike was running. The Gasser hooked up perfectly charging through the first couple of mud holes (and I mean mud like you find in a peat bog) that I easily moved into first within the first couple of miles.

The biggest advantage was probably a fresh set of Michelin s-12's and the bikes smooth power delivery. I built up a pretty good lead until I high sided going down a hill when I hit a cross rut and augered in landing on my right shoulder.

For those of you who know me this is basically the same type of crash that resulted in a torn right rotater cuff two years ago. I laid in the mud along side the FSE for a couple of moments making sure that everything worked.

To my surprise I actually felt pretty good the shoulder seemed to be intact, the problem was going to how how to lift the FSE up out of the mud with a shoulder that's still a little weak.

With a little wrestling I managed to get the bike upright and with a quick stab of the e-start buttonI was off. The bars were a little tweaked and the tires lugs were packed with mud. At this point I was still in first but I was completely out of breath.

Eventually I found a fence post and was able to "untweak" the forks. After a couple of fast straightaways I was able to get the tire lugs cleaned out and was able to catch my breath enough to go backI to work on taking back the lead. I made it up to second and could see first (in class) but I overshot a corner that forced me down into a ravine.

While trying to get myself out of the ravine I overheated the bike to the point that the radiator blew off enough coolant that I figured I better call it quits before I ruined the engine.

After the race the bike looked a mess. Mud covered the bike from top to bottom (after the race we tried to weigh the bike and it maxed out our 400lb shipping scale!!!! If I had to guess the bike weighed approx. 425lbs)

The FSE actually surprised me. True to its GasGas heritage the bike handled great, especially in the mud. Other then its weight, which it actually carries pretty well, it only lacks a strong hit, which for me was actually a plus in the mud.

The slipper clutch was the next best thing going as the rear wheel would stay in line when throttle control was all I had to keep myself upright on some tricky of chamber side hills.

I've raced this Hare Scramble series, which consists of mostly grass track, off chambers and side hills, for over 20 years and have most of my experience there on 4-strokes. Most recenlty I've competed on Husabergs, KTM and Yamaha 4-strokes and I'd have to say the FSE handled somewhere between a Husaberg (my first choice as a stock motorcycle) and Yamaha (now my third choice) but definately better then any stock KTM (my last choice even after spending at least a $1000 on setup for handling.)

As for power delivery I'll have to see what happens. The motor is definately smooth. On tap with a Thumper racing DRZ440 I had for a couple of years. Ironically that bike was a dream on any grass track. Just don't try and motocross it or ride it in the mud for very long. I've also spent a lot of time there on two-strokes and my bike of choice would be a EC300.

As the year goes on I'll try and review the FSE and who knows I maight get a chance to lead the four-stroke class again

Sorry for the long race report but the FSE was a lot of fun to ride

 

[Boomhauer]

Good job Steve and a darn good write up.

 

[lukachuki]

Yeah I enjoyed both write ups. Thanks


-Tim
'01 XCO250

 

[GMP]

Good job Steve. Wow, you keep riding that thing and you'll get strong shoulders back.

You need a visual indicator the motor is running, like an LED that lights over a certain RPM. Maybe there is a usable signal on the ECU. Have you ever tried the Evans NPGR coolant in a 4-stroke? It works great.

 

[DaveJ]

Nice to see the GasGas out front, and a 2 stroker to boot. Congrats.

... and set the suspension sag for the anticipated muddy conditions."

I'm not all that suspension savvy, can any of you suspension guru's explain which way to go with the sag for muddy conditions. It's going to rain everyday until the weekend and I have my first Enduro of the season on Saturday...probably going to be muddy.

 

[jeffd]

Nice to see the GasGas out front, and a 2 stroker to boot. Congrats.

I'm not all that suspension savvy, can any of you suspension guru's explain which way to go with the sag for muddy conditions. It's going to rain everyday until the weekend and I have my first Enduro of the season on Saturday...probably going to be muddy.

You make the assumption that the bike will be carrying extra weight due to the mud accumulation on the bike. Set your sag at a lower amount than usual to compensate. For example, if you normally have it set at 105 - set it at 100mm, etc.

jeff