First ride on my 05 200ec
 

So I finally got a chance to ride my new to me 200ec and all I can say is I am very impressed with it. When I bought it I had to put fork seals and front brake pads on the bike. Sense finishing it up yesterday my boy & I loaded them up and went for a 3 hour ride in the woods today. I have rode Yamaha IT200's for years and this was just the suspension upgrade I was looking for. It soaks up all the little bumps and handles the big bumps great. It also handles that sugar sand 10 times better than the IT ever will. After the first 1/2 hour of riding in the woods my boy told me I am defiantly faster on the GasGas. I was skeptical to buy a newer bike but I am all so glad I did.:D

Now its time to get the old IT cleaned up, And up for sale. Then put a few extra $$$ into the GasGas getting it set up with all those little extra features I want.

That is great to hear!!! No you can get one for your son. Or pick up a GG250 for yourself and give him the 200. ;-)

The GG parts interchange between bikes and years is AWESOME!!!

That's how I feel about my '01 XC 200. I had it out for a 14 mi mostly single track ride yesterday here in Florida. Love this bike.

Good to hear you're happy with the EC 200.

Are you near Lewiston? My grandson & I rode the trails up that way last Oct with friends . The trail system in Mich is amazing.

RB

Great minds think a like as I had that thought yesterday when riding.;)

The boy and I swapped bikes for about a 1/2 hour. He is riding a 99 YZ250 that has a lot of work done to it setting it up for woods riding. He agreed the GG was a better woods bike even with all his mods.

I have a cabin about 25 miles from Lewiston. Yesterday we were riding the Evart trail which is a pretty technical trail compared to most trails in the lower part of Michigan.

The boys YZ is great on faster & less technical trails but when it gets technical there is no comparison. The GG wins hands down.

I may sell 2 or 3 of my IT's now and get another GasGas as I like the GG that much.

Get rid of stock needle and head mod and it will be a realm of bitterness again. Much thread reading will show the way.

My 200 was so much better than my kdx.

Then I rode the 300.

I'm happy to hear that you are enjoying the EC! I'm pretty sure that the jetting is not stock, but my memory isn't good enough to tell you exactly what it is. When I wasn't happy with the power (which I now know was because of the PV) I played around with the jetting, using recommendations from this site.

Nice man :cool:

The GG 200s are fantastic bikes, I've enjoyed the hell out of my '11 200. I have ~170 hours on her so far and don't have a single complaint; been a rock solid platform and simply outstanding in the woods.

+1 to F5's comment about the head mod, I had RB Designs to mine and made the mistake of waiting ~40 hours before doing so. When we picked up a 2nd GG 200 for my wife, it was the first thing I did upon receiving it - made jetting so much easier and improved gas mileage a ton.

Keep the ride reports coming! And add some pics...lol.

Damn autocorrect. Apparently betterness isn't a real word and bitterness is a better replacement.:confused:

Agree with all sentiments on the 200. Fantastic bike!

Jetting, PV cover and head mod make fairly significant changes to power delivery characteristics.

I miss mine, but still have my sons '99 EC200 in the shop. I sneak it out from time to time:D. It still rips and is a top performer in the woods and it's 17 years old! Gasgas got it right with these bikes.

Thanks Guys. I will looking into the jetting and a head mod. I just ordered a new set of bars and new rear tire for it today. I can wait to get back into the woods again but for now I am riding it most days at home on our 4 acre track though our woods at home. Im sure my neighbors are just loving me right now. :D I will have to get some pics and post.