Hatchling

Finally had a chance to take er out on the trails this past weekend. Normally I fully prep my bikes with all the goodies & mods before I even start them, but I just haven't had time. The weather has been way too nice & I just couldn't wait any longer. I took it for a spin on some dry sandy loam single track that I knew wouldn't cause too much harm to a bike with zero armour on it.

After an hour of ride time here is my initial verdict-

This bike is almost too good.

Everything seems intuitive with this one; think about turning- it's around the corner. Want the the front up? just think about it and it's done. Want to be a lazy rider? just take it easy, leave it in 3rd & relax.....Want to rip it? Just hammer down.......

Suspension is obviously a bit stiff out of the box but felt quite good so far (for a stock bike) & I haven't even set the sag, nor played with anything.
Jetting is probably a bit rich, so I'll have to adjust that. The bike still has that compact feel I liked on other Gassers I've rode, even with a bit higher seat height- (I'm comparing to a Husky TXC310)

Looking forward to getting this one set up.
 
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Top review beejay. Almost the exact same way I felt when I rode my first Gas Gas. It was like there was no real getting to know eachother period. We just worked together. Since then things have only got better.
 
Awesome bike the new 250. Now get it armored up before you break it! There is a LOT more midrange power to be found with better jetting. The bike likes fuel in the right places. The suspension is stiff but gets better and does not deflect. You find yourself going faster than on a set of Zoke 45s.

After owning 4 GG250s for the last 12 years, I'd say this bike is very different, more like a completely different bike with some GasGas traits, rather than an evolution of the previous platform.
 
Had a chance to look at the Jetting this evening. Dropped the needle 1 position and took it out for a spin on my test track. Temps were about 4 degrees celcius cooler than last Sat when I rode it last. Stock, the clip was on the 2nd slot from the top.
Between the cooler temp and the lower needle, it's pretty good now. Not perfect, but quite good. Once warm, It idles well, and pulls very strong all the way thru without much fuss other than a little bit of throat clearing during warmup. I'm going for another ride on the same trails as last week tomorrow.
If it runs good tommorow, I'll likely just leave the jetting as is for the remainder of the season as I really don't like fussing with that stuff too much.
 
I now have about 4.3 hrs on the bike and the suspension is breaking in nicely. As others have noted, it's very good out of the box, once it has a few hours on it. I haven't rec'd my manual yet and am wondering which is the compression and rebound clickers on the fork? Also, I'm assuming the rebound on the shock is the small allen head bolt at the base of the shock?
 
3beejay3 said:
I now have about 4.3 hrs on the bike and the suspension is breaking in nicely. As others have noted, it's very good out of the box, once it has a few hours on it. I haven't rec'd my manual yet and am wondering which is the compression and rebound clickers on the fork? Also, I'm assuming the rebound on the shock is the small allen head bolt at the base of the shock?
Click to expand...

The manuals are available online. www.gasgasmotos.es They don't have much info in them though.

Closed Cart forks will be compression on top, rebound on the bottom. The shock is the same and you're assumption is correct. Rebound is the small allen head.

Keep the updates coming! Show us some action shots!
 
Here are some more initial thoughts/impressions:

I'll have to get used to spending a bunch more time talking with folks rather than riding, as this bike is attracting appreciative gawkers like a naked supermodel. People can't help themselves.....It was like that when I bought my first Husky in 07.
I may have to start charging admission.....

(PS Clay & Scott - I may be able to sell a bunch of these......., er, um, cough, clearing throat, a certain amount of cash appreciation may be in order....:D )

I can't believe how much confidence the front end provides. I was purposely trying to get it to deflect on root nests, rocks etc. nope it always went where pointed - always. How much is due to the Metzeler tire and how much is due to the forks/chassis is unknown to me, but the fork does have a good feel to it.
I still don't have any hand guards on and rode semi-tight woods yesterday. I'm normally used to leaning on trees with the hand guard/barkbuster and having the scotts damper clean things up. Because the front is so precise, I could ride at a good pace (for me) without worry of squashed digits...Just pick your line between trees and go. I will get my guards on soon though.

There are lots of little thought out things such as the adjustable foot pad on the rear brake.

I personally would like to have an axle pull on the rear, like on the front.

Front fender/headlight makes a bit of racket over the rough stuff at speed.

Don't care for some of the fasteners with small allen heads.

I think I may only have to dial in a little rebound at each end and my suspension will be good. Nice not having to spend another $5-800 having that all revalved etc.
PS I weigh about 185-190 fully geared.

The clutch and motor run so well, especially off idle, I often found myself forgetting to drop to first when we stopped. I just eased off from a stop in 2nd or 3rd with no issue or complaint whatsoever.
I only stalled it once all day, which is odd for me as I'm Rekluse spoiled & normally stall (non Reklused)2ts like a newbie.....The clutch pull/action is the best I've ever used.

The stock gearing worked very well for what I was riding yesterday. I'd mostly leave it in 3rd and that took care of 90% of the trails I rode.

The stock metzelers work very well on our sandy loam(dry conditions). We'll see how they hold up.

The stock exhaust is nice and quiet. Really complements my lazy riding style. I could probably plonk around in a city forest and nobody'd ever hear me.

I only used about 5-6 litres of fuel for about 75 km of riding. I ride kinda lazy and the bike just purred like a kitten all day.

The frame looks to be very robust.

Ground clearance is about 1.5 inches more than my TXC(with skid plate)

I really can't seem to stop thinking about how good this bike is(for what I do). I've probably ridden over 50 different bikes in the last 5 years & this one is the best by far.
Once it has a Rekluse and Scotts on it..........boy!

One of my buddies (currently on a KTM & angling towards a new 200XCW) is buying a new bike in the next year. I told him to try this one before he buys. Seriously. I even offered it to him yesterday, but he was scared to ride it without handguards, despite my protestation that he didn't need them....

Brian
 
3beejay3 said:
Here are some more initial thoughts/impressions:

I'll have to get used to spending a bunch more time talking with folks rather than riding, as this bike is attracting appreciative gawkers like a naked supermodel. People can't help themselves.....It was like that when I bought my first Husky in 07.
I may have to start charging admission.....

(PS Clay & Scott - I may be able to sell a bunch of these......., er, um, cough, clearing throat, a certain amount of cash appreciation may be in order....:D )

I can't believe how much confidence the front end provides. I was purposely trying to get it to deflect on root nests, rocks etc. nope it always went where pointed - always. How much is due to the Metzeler tire and how much is due to the forks/chassis is unknown to me, but the fork does have a good feel to it.
I still don't have any hand guards on and rode semi-tight woods yesterday. I'm normally used to leaning on trees with the hand guard/barkbuster and having the scotts damper clean things up. Because the front is so precise, I could ride at a good pace (for me) without worry of squashed digits...Just pick your line between trees and go. I will get my guards on soon though.

There are lots of little thought out things such as the adjustable foot pad on the rear brake.

I personally would like to have an axle pull on the rear, like on the front.

Front fender/headlight makes a bit of racket over the rough stuff at speed.

Don't care for some of the fasteners with small allen heads.

I think I may only have to dial in a little rebound at each end and my suspension will be good. Nice not having to spend another $5-800 having that all revalved etc.
PS I weigh about 185-190 fully geared.

The clutch and motor run so well, especially off idle, I often found myself forgetting to drop to first when we stopped. I just eased off from a stop in 2nd or 3rd with no issue or complaint whatsoever.
I only stalled it once all day, which is odd for me as I'm Rekluse spoiled & normally stall (non Reklused)2ts like a newbie.....The clutch pull/action is the best I've ever used.

The stock gearing worked very well for what I was riding yesterday. I'd mostly leave it in 3rd and that took care of 90% of the trails I rode.

The stock metzelers work very well on our sandy loam(dry conditions). We'll see how they hold up.

The stock exhaust is nice and quiet. Really complements my lazy riding style. I could probably plonk around in a city forest and nobody'd ever hear me.

I only used about 5-6 litres of fuel for about 75 km of riding. I ride kinda lazy and the bike just purred like a kitten all day.

The frame looks to be very robust.

Ground clearance is about 1.5 inches more than my TXC(with skid plate)

I really can't seem to stop thinking about how good this bike is(for what I do). I've probably ridden over 50 different bikes in the last 5 years & this one is the best by far.
Once it has a Rekluse and Scotts on it..........boy!

One of my buddies (currently on a KTM & angling towards a new 200XCW) is buying a new bike in the next year. I told him to try this one before he buys. Seriously. I even offered it to him yesterday, but he was scared to ride it without handguards, despite my protestation that he didn't need them....

Brian
Click to expand...

Another love found! Its consistant reviews like this that keep blowing me away and make me proud to own a gasser. I bought mine pre ordered without every riding one after 10minutes on an 06 250 exc. Never looked back!
 
Interesting that you mention the scotts damper I have had all the mountings fitted to my bike since January but am still to actually fit the damper, just feel like there is no rush to fit it
 
I can't believe this is the first bike I've had that I'm not rushing out for a revalve. Its better than it should be in the rocks, amazing for a stock setup. I have about 20 hrs on mine now, and between the fork, the Flexbars, and the Tubliss, its really sweet. No deflection at all. I did smash the linkage really hard today on a big rock like I figured would happen sooner or later. Need one of those skids as soon as more are available. I'm about 176 lbs in shorts, and the stock springs seem fine.

I don't think the bike really needs a damper, although I always run a Scotts. I have the low speed full out and the high speed very sensitive. It has not engaged yet as far as I can tell.
 
3beejay3 said:
Which mounts did you use?
Click to expand...
I have the scotts tower and the fastways bar clamp hand guard combo. I also have the scotts top clamp but it only works with the bars in the rear holes. The fastways is adjustable and I like that the handguards don't clamp on the bars.

I have heatd the scotts tower is not great on the gg, GMP on the forum will be able to advise which is the best one
 
The Scotts tower for the 62mm neck(pre '10 and '12+) is crap, IMO a design flaw based on their standard length damper arm which does not allow an adequately rigid post attachment. The "B" frame tower (same as KTM) may be better as the smaller neck will allow a more robust post attachment, but I just don't know for sure. I too use the Fastway adjustable mount, but without the handguard mounts. PMB/Fastway had a '12 in house and a nice two piece clamp on tower in in the works, they told me likely September.
 
Got my handguards on now. I had a set of Cycras that came off my TE250 Husky that I sold 6 months ago. The inner mounts were for 7/8" bars but a bit of adjustment with a die grinder got them to the right size for the 1-1/8 Renthals. The inner mounts are the U shaped ones that clear all the hoses etc.

I used pieces of 5/16" trans oil hose for the bar end mounts(squeezed & expanded as you tighten the bolt), as the Renthals are a lot bigger dia. inside than most fat bars.
 
Went out for a spin with a couple buddies yesterday. Both of them took my bike for a spin in the single track and each time came back with the same response; "ridiculous. That bike is waaay too easy to ride. Clutch, suspension, power delivery, etc. etc." They nattered on and on about it the rest of the day.
One of them had an 07 EC300, which I took out for about 15-20 minutes & compared. Verdict? The 12's are light years from where they were even 5 years ago; chassis, suspension, handling, clutch etc.

These new Gassers (with some armour plating & water proofing) would be perfect for the Cord Enduro.
 
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