I got myself a 2018 Ec 300 testride
 

I got the opprtunity at my dealer to swing a leg over a brand new threehunner. Importer was out on a roadtrip to excite and engage the dealers, with a preproduction EC as the bait.

Oh my..

Unfortunately it was my lunch break, wearing office clothes, so it was very brief spin on the parking lot gravel.

Quick impressions:
* smooth power delivery with a good push at the end
* very narrow bike
* a saddle to sit on
* very good steering angle
* amazing breaks
* very flickable
* It really looks like quality assembly, I hope the looks lives up to its appearance.

Overall impression: I want of those

second that...
much better than in photos for sure

Does the riding position and ergonomics feel "KTMish" or when you sit down "you're at home" ? Is it a lot taller than a '11 ?

Good questions!

Spoke with my dealer today. He's getting a 300 demo, 300 for the floor, and a 200 for the floor. None of my favourite capacity, but can order them in.

All in the ADR (rego/EC) model.

I should have asked how much an XC250 would be.

Can't wait to read your opinion of the demo unit ! Do you have a date ? :D

It is very tall. I just barely got my toes down on both sides, and I am 180 cm , but with legs on the shorter side (30" inseam on jeans).

For me it felt right at home both standing up and sitting down. I don't ride many KTM's, so I cannot adress that reference

That's tall ! What about the suspension, what was your impression comparing to previous GG model ?

No date at this stage (I didn't ask, but generally they never know).

I'm only 175cm also with short legs. I've pretty much got used to not being able to touch the ground so well. Fortunately where we ride is hardly ever level and I just need to seek out the high side, or take a tumble.

Be interesting to see how the stock suspension valving is. Hopefully not super plush like Yamaha WRF, and somewhere more down the middle like their X series. Regardless though, it's easy stuff to work on and loads of info available.

Unfortunately I did not get to test it under proper conditions, just scooting about on a parking lot..

But what I can say is this: With me at 97 kg without gear and I still did not get a lot of sag(could barely reach the ground) it seems to sprung on the heavier side. Adding gear to it would suggest a 85-90 kg rider setup.

From the suspension action just jumping on the pegs, it felt "vigorous and progressive" - but hey ho, we'll see :)

The swedish importer told me their 95 kg Swedish championship testrider only managed to bottom out the suspension once on MX test track, never on the enduro loop. That was on the Spanish launch event. And they were assured that all test bikes was picked right off the production line, no special tuning was made.

2018 Gasser gp300
 

Road a 2018 gasser ec300, xc300 and a husq tx300. The tx is an awesome bike no doubt and gas gas has become a modern bike to be reckoned with.
Im looking for a bike to ride offroad and make some adjustments and ride track.
The husqy did great off road but i wasn't quite able to get it hard enough for the track.
Gasser with the new kyb setup i was able to bounce the rocks on trail and a few clicks and i had a decent track ride.
I'm a 175 lb averge rider and have riden dirt all my life ..50+
I had one other gasser, 2011 ec300 that had kyb retro forks. What a great handling and riding setup.
I was going to get the husqy but then gasser made all these great changes and what a ride. Way better than the 2011 with the same great tractor pulling motor. A very balance bike that corners well and doesnt knife under.
The hard part was to ec or xc....then i decide to get xc and add lights. But wait....then i found out there is the gp300 that brings both together with a really trick triple clamp with many other options that are awesome and fashioned after their race bike. Also there are only 50 coming in the US. Should be great resale market on them.
The final nit for me was when i was on the husky i felt like i had put on a nice glove that fit well.
When i ride the Gasser i feel like i had put on that glove that was a good friend i had broken in and had no bad spots.
So i decided to ride the friend that HAD all the RIGHT STUFF. Awaiting order.
More to come........
Colt
Ake! Kia Kaha