Rieju & GasGas Legacy Riders Club Forum

Posted on TT by some guy named motoxgiant ;)

I won't bore anybody with the details of that little old supercross race that went on last night - let's get straight to the bikes. The ride consisted of roughly 3 miles of desert single track up near Anza, and due to the sun, rain, sun, hail, rain, and wind (in that order) we got to evaluate all of the 2013 Beta models in a variety of traction conditions. The decomposing granite/stone that creates the sandy soil up there got slick and greasy in spots later in the day putting a premium on throttle and brake control on the off-camber corners, switchbacks and downhills.

The lines were longest to ride the new 2 strokes and the 350 and 400 four strokes, but there were also 450 RR and 498RR and 450 and 520RS models to sample, along with a passel of trials bikes. If you've never ridden a trials bike you should. You may not like it, but it's definitely a unique experience.

First off, let me saw that the 498RR is likely the fastest off-road bike I have ever ridden. Really fast. Intoxicatingly fast. 'I shouldn't but I really want to' fast. Great ergos, compliant suspension ... did I mention it was fast? Way too much bike for the woods back home, this thing was a rocket. Twist it and go. Slow down to more sane speeds then twist it again - he he!

The 450RR was a slightly tamer version of the 498 - generally the same feel, just less boost. For a bigger guy or more open trail this would be an easy bike to live with. The forks and shock really kept the bike level, the brakes were fantastic, and the layout was very clean. One thing I noticed about the four-strokes was that the peg to seat distance felt shorter than on the 2Ts, with a taller bar sensation. All of the handlebars were in the middle position , but I didn't not if the off-center clamp was biased forward or back.

I didn't ride the 350RR, but other riders said it felt like a big 250X motorwise. Extrapolating then, the 400RR felt like an even bigger 250X. Guys said they were both easier to ride than their bigger/badder brothers, with good traction even in the slop, and a lighter overall feel due to reduced engine gyro. I can attest to that on the 400 - pleasant, and likely fast on a clock, but not as exciting as the larger thumpers or the two-strokes.

And now the news you've been waiting for ...

The new 250 and 300RR 2 strokes are great bikes to ride, but not nearly as different from each other as I would have expected. Apparently the big hit that had been reported on the 300 was evident when the bike was being prepped, but a quick power-valve adjustment took care of that.

The 250 was really fun because you could clutch it and drive out of corners and really twist the throttle - the 300 demanded more respect as it had more juice everywhere, and seemed to move through the rev range quickly. Where the 250 would rail through switchback turns and tight corner ruts the 300 needed slightly more attention when you turned the fun-handle. Jetting on the 250 was spot-on out of the box for the roughly 45F day at 3000 feet of elevation; the 300 started out rich off the bottom but responded well to air screw adjustments and might have done even better with a clip position change or pilot swap. Once adjusted, there were no hitches or big hits in the powerbands and both pulled smoothly from idle into the upper rev-range. A bigger guy or more experienced rider might crave the 300cc power, but the 250 acquitted itself well in volume and feel as well. Very competitive on both counts. Both will definitely haul the mail - the 300 simply more so than the 250.

The two-strokes share all of their body work with the thumpers, so they were easy to move back and forth on, and extremely easy to flick side to side. Nothing caught my boots or pants but I did feel the leading edge of the right side cover (where it clears the shock reservoir) on the back of my calf when standing and gripping the bikes with my legs. The seats are firm with well defined edges to let your butt know how far you've leaned over, and even with Michelin Six Days tires they were able to carve just about any arc I wanted. The seat height and generous steering lock will make this a fantastic tight-woods bike. On the straights they were perhaps less accurate than a modern GasGas as the front ends have a light feel. Overall the 2Ts feel nimble like KTM200s in terms of length and weight without being disjointed front to rear. The latest GasGas' are more planted, seem longer (they are just barely) and have a more "substantial" feel which the scales will agree with.

It will take more time to arrive at a final answer on the suspension because all of the bikes were essentially crate fresh when the day started, but the forks on the 4 strokes were noticeably plusher than those on the two-strokes despite having stiffer spring rates. There was a little of the choppiness noted in the Italian press reports, particularly on downhills with long stretches of braking bumps, and the 2T front ends weren't as settled as those on the 4Ts. We've had success tuning similar behavior out of Sachs forks before, or you could install a an Ohlins TTX kit and call it good, or select a set of 48mm Marzocchi closed chamber forks from the catalog and work from there. More time to adjust clickers, on more familiar terrain, will give me a fuller picture. Nothing really to report on the shocks - a little fine-tuning would be in order once break-in is complete, but traction was excellent and they soaked up all manner of trail irregularities.

E-start is a wonderful thing, even on 2Ts, and I've stopped fighting it. The two-strokes both fire up easily with the button or kick lever, as did the 400 I rode, but the bigger four-strokes would require more time and attention (and leg) than I cared to give ... just push the little button and go! I managed to stall the 450 in the slop and brought it back to life easily with zero drama thanks to good carburetion and my electric friend.