What is your favorite GasGas engine size?

Select your favorite GasGas engine size

  • 125cc two stroke

    Votes: 9 2.3%
  • 200cc two stroke

    Votes: 45 11.3%
  • 250cc two stroke

    Votes: 105 26.3%
  • 300cc two stroke

    Votes: 220 55.1%
  • 450cc four stroke

    Votes: 20 5.0%

  • Total voters
    399
My last two stroke was a KTM 300. I loved that thing and thought the torque was magic. Then I got a KTM 525XCW (sill have it) which is awesome anywhere you can go really fast, but I missed the snap of weight of a two stroke in the woods so recently got a EC250 for a woods bike. I thought I wanted another 300, but to tell you the truth, I think I like the lack of bottom end better. I feel like it's a good compromise between a 200 and 300 because it's got plenty of go-fast power but the soft bottom end (compared to a 300) keeps me fresh longer and I don't get arm pump quite as much. I guess it's a case of less is more, or the porrige is not to hot or not too cold but is just right, something like that.
 
Rick,

Too bad they don't make the Pro model for the GG. Perhaps it would be worth a call to Rekluse, to see if the Pro basket for a Honda could be adapted to the GG gear.

Or, there is EMF on a GG300...

From 2004 --

http://www.woodsracer.com/portal/forums/showthread.php?t=4915&goto=nextnewest

just test rode a Gas Gas EC300 with a EMF Clutch installed at the LTR Enduro at Forest Hill, Louisiana. The bike belonged to Jack Schidmier of Semmens, Alabama. The clutch works great. It's almost like cheating. You can forget about grabbing the clutch lever. I rode 60 miles and never went so fast in the woods. We are planning on buying two 300s and installing the EMF on both.

I already e-mailed them and they still do GG.

http://www.efmautoclutch.com/dirt.shtml
 
Besides the ability to eaisly go back to a standard clutch, the Rekluse has a distinct advantage in that there is limited lockup torque, just like a standard clutch. Youngworth is a sharp guy. The EFM locks up harder with RPM, with no limit, and can be a potential problem if your not carefull on the asphalt or hard high traction terrain. Broken gears have been associated with this, on all bikes.
 
Hi guys ,

Ive ridden / owned several 2-stroke enduro bikes in last 20 years . Mainly 250 2 strokes , Japs & Euros . Original enduros & cross bikes to work in enduro/woods . My last 3 bikes has been GGs ( 300 & 200 ECs ). The latest 200 -06 seems to be the best bike I owned ( so far ) . With correct carb re-tuning ( jetting ) added with PW - cover & splitstream its engine becomes something else what it is with factory settings , way more torque with clean running from down to top . 200cc is light , fast and easy to ride because of its more usable powercurve . Just re-sprung it for your weight and revalve the fork & shock how you want it to behave and the package is ready for race or hobby riding.
 
The 250 is easier to ride aggressively in the tight woods. The extra torque of the 300 makes traction more "touchy" while hard on the gas at lower rpms, expecially in rocky off-camber turns.

OMT: While the Rekluse is great in most situations, I can go faster in the tight single track, and climb hills better with the absolute clutch control that the lever gives me. The stock clutch lets me moderate power to the ground by using the clutch.

I did R&D work for Rekluse with my 2006 DE300 for 2.5 years. I liked the auto clutch a lot. Wheelie turns on 2' wide trail were a snap. When working trail, not having to deal with the clutch while stopping to staple an arrow to a tree, was a definite plus.

However, using a trials tire in the rugged Ouachita and Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, I had to drop my gearing to 12/48 (13/52) to be able to climb as well as I could with the stock clutch and 13/49 gearing. (I could climb hills better with Joshua's 250 with manual clutch, than I could with my 300.)

This would manifest itself the most when I had to stop in the middle of a steep hill climb, due to a mistake of mine, or of someone just ahead of me. With the 13/49 gearing that I like so well, and the absolute traction of a trials tire, the engagement of the Rekluse would result in an instant wheelie; not a good thing when one is already on a 45 degree angle.
I found that I could remedy this by dropping the gearing so that the forward speed at the time of the Rekluse's engagement would allow me to "crawl" up the mountain, keeping the front wheel on the ground.

I am now back to the original GasGas clutch set-up. I'm enjoying the extra control and flexibility of the manual clutch. (I'm also enjoying the ability to bump start the bike when taking off downhill.) High speed 180 degree turns (in tight terrain) are made faster and easier with a little fanning of the clutch.

The Rekluse and a trials rear tire are the ultimate set-up for "go anywhere" riding. You will get forward traction with little or no fuss.
However, for me in most conditions, it is faster and more fun with a manual clutch and a knobby tire.

Currently, I am preparing the parts to put a 250 top end on my 300. It's not a permanent thing, but just something I want to do for a while.

Good Riding and Best Regards!

Jim

**************************
 
The 250 is a great do it all bike. Enough power to climb the monster hills up in Hancock and not too much for the tight woods in NJ. I can have only one bike so the 250 is it.

IMO, the trials tire is worth more in the hellish rocks than the auto clutch.
 
The 250 is a great do it all bike. Enough power to climb the monster hills up in Hancock and not too much for the tight woods in NJ. I can have only one bike so the 250 is it.

IMO, the trials tire is worth more in the hellish rocks than the auto clutch.

+1, though the auto clutch is really, really handy. I'm going to put 10-15 tungsten balls in to get it to lock up harder and then it should be near perfect (perfect once I get a Rekluse Pro).
 
+1, though the auto clutch is really, really handy. I'm going to put 10-15 tungsten balls in to get it to lock up harder and then it should be near perfect (perfect once I get a Rekluse Pro).

Yep. First, try 10 tungsten balls with 20 steel balls, before you go with 13 or more tungsten balls. Ten was the ideal set-up I worked out with my 300, before I was happy with the Rekluse.

Ten tungsten balls will give you full clutch lockup pressure at the low rpms that the GasGas 300 engine really starts producing it's considerable torque.
That set-up will also let it work compatibly with the "no-slip" forward traction of the trials tire.

Good Riding!

Jim
 
I ride an 06 DE300. My son has an 03 EC250, the 250 feels totally different than my 300. If you are a roost/full lock up/roost and repeat rider the 250 might be better. The 300 is a lot easier to ride slow, but still will rock and roll when needed. The set up I am riding now is the 300 with a trials tire. Its funny, I am riding now with a guy on a KTM 450EXC w/ knobbie, races GNCC, and he takes off like a bat outa hell, ripping and tearing, and here I come "ping....ping.....ping" but totally in control. He looks worlds faster, until he is picking his bike up dragging it back up the hill and I have to stop and wait on him. I am old enough to be his dad, BTW.

There is this one little off camber hill that seems like I am the only one that can get up. I can't even ride my sons 250 up it, it spins out. I took my KTM friend over it last weekend and I looked back and he was pushing his up it. I just creep up it, barley fast enough to keep from stalling, and it goes right on every time. He has commented how he can't believe how I can lug the bike down to nothing and keep on going, where we ride (rough single track that is just ridden by a couple of people) that can be a huge advantage. I swear I have heard the 300 go totally silent before and then it take right back off going UP a nasty rutted and rocky hill.

Bottom line, if the trails you ride keep you in 3rd and 4th gear, get the 250. If you ride in 1st and 2nd, get the 300. If you ride in 5th and 6th get an XR650R!!!!
 
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I have ridden a GG 250 2 stroke, a GG 250 4 stroke and i own a GG Halley 450 (fsr 450 engine, shorter suspension (seat height 89 cm), lesser quality brake components). To be quite honest the 250 2 stroke scared the shit out of me :eek:. The 250 4 stroke was an easy ride for me but didn't have enough torque at low rpm to really enjoy myself. I love my 450 Halley because it has a strong and very torquey engine and because it's a good bike for a shortie like me who would otherwise had to buy something like a Beta Alp 4.0, kawasaki KLX 250, yamaha XT 500... Since i have had 2 1000cc +140 hp road bikes something with less then 0,3 hp per kg doesn't excite me anymore. In the future i want to test a GG 200 2 stroke because i think that would be my ideal 2 stroke engine size.
 
1999 xc250

Been riding for the better part of 40 years and the gas gas is the funnest,has the highest grin factor of any bike I have ever rode.
 
I swear I have heard the 300 go totally silent before and then it take right back off going UP a nasty rutted and rocky hill.!

WHAT HE SAID!!! If that quote's not a script for a gas gas commercial - I dont know what is!
BTW I ride a 05' 300 and just bought my son a "as new" 02 250cx
 
I've ridden Yamaha's since 2000, owning a YZ426, a WR250F, a WR450 and two YZ250's. The safest bike I've ever ridden was the 250F. I'd wear out front tires faster than backs and never had the out of control type of crashes. The 426 and 450 were animals, I'll never own a big bore 4 stroke again. The 250 2 stk's were weapons, super reliable, tough and extremely low on maintenance.

With my last YZ250 being flat out worn out, I decided to try out a true European Off Road Bike, a GG 300EC. I've only got roughly 5 hrs on the bike so far, but the motor is what has impressed me most. You can climb hills at 1/4 throttle. I could do this on my YZ too, at 1/2 throttle giving the clutch a work out but this 300 is amazing. So far I'm less than impressed with the suspension. I find it deflects like a bouncy ball in a pin ball alley, but perhaps its still breaking in. Time will tell and hopefully I don't have to invest too much into the suspension, but motor wise, I think I'm in love.

BTW, I'm a 215lb in street clothes midpack AA rider.
 
From the factory, the gassers' suspension is generally set up for 170# riders.
At 215#, you will need to at least put in new springs to match your weight.
(Ask someone else who is a better suspension tuner, but probably .44 rate fork springs and 5.4 shock spring. You might even need one rate stiffer springs.)
On my 2006 DE300, I think that I have .46 and 5.6 springs, front and rear. The rear was that stiff, stock, because I have the MX rear shock.

Good Luck and Good Riding!

Jim
 
How about more people chime in on this one. I'm in the market for a 2012 GG and cannot decide on the 250 or the 300. I have not ridden the 250, but did ride a few sections on a 2011 300.

I'm 5'5", 155 pounds, and ride/race expert. The area where we ride is mostly 1-3rd gear, roots, rocks, and steep elevation changes.

I'm a lugger, rarely getting on the pipe. I like to run a gear high and steer with the foot pegs through the trees.

I currently ride a KTM 200 and a YZ250 2T.
 
I'm a lugger, rarely getting on the pipe. I like to run a gear high and steer with the foot pegs through the trees.

That right there says it all...get a 300 cuz they're a tractor down low but can still rip pretty good.
 
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Agreed.

I had an EC250 and now a DE300.

The EC250 is an awesome bike, but it is a goin' machine! It has a good amount of get up and go, but it a lot of fun. It revs quicker than the 300.

The 300 is somewhat of a "docile" machine, if that is possible with a 300cc 2-stroke. It has so much great, useable bottom end and the delivery is linear with no surprises.

I find the 300 easier to ride in technical terrain and if you ride a gear high, there is no better bike IMO.

BTW, I also have had a Yamaha WR250f and WR450f and agree with Tlineman that I will never go with a 450 thumper again. I acutally liked the 250 thumper, but the Gasser 300 is just plain awesome!
 
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