I fired it up and we headed out. Things were happening a little fast for my taste and for the shakey hands of Girard as he snapped this shot.
It took a mile or two but I was able to come to terms with the bike. Loads of scary power, and I could only wonder what would happen when I found the hit. But there was no hit. It just kept producing power in a fairly linear way. Good for me.
Still, there was a lot of power to deal with. The first sections were all curvy flat track in first and second gear. I tamed the bike by riding in 2nd gear most of the time until I got accustomed. I thought that it would have difficulty pulling 2nd gear but the combination of the powerful motor, elevation, and the perfectly spaced six-speed tranny -- all was fine... even third gear was pulling well out of slow corners.
Part of the difference is that GG-Man put on a 52T rear sprocket which (I think) is 4 teeth bigger. It seemed perfect to me, from a pure ratio standpoint. But the power of the bike had me spinning the tire through the sand so much that I wondered if I could have ample control of this MX bike on a rocky hill climb.
Unfortunately, there would be no enduro 300 Gasser for me to test ride (the owner of that fine machine couldn't make it out of bed), so for now, I can only contemplate the behavior of a mellow CDI and a heavier flywheel (although the 275 modded bike I rode detailed below might give me a hint).
The 250MX bike did have the switchable CDI map on the bars, but I rode most of the time with it in "Rain" mode instead of "Sun" mode. I didn't notice the difference between the two settings and really didn't expect to since I rarely got a chance to take the bike through the entire rev range.
While I was figuring out the power issues I was having an interesting time with the handling. I assumed that it would turn as fast as a KTM200 (which turned too fast for me). In actuality, it turned somewhere in between the 200 and the '07 250SX/XC that I rode. Which was just perfect for me. I'm thinking that the lower seat height played a part in that as it allowed me to lean it in with more control.
As fast as it turned, I would have expected it to be unstable at speed, and/or wobbling through roots and rocks. On the contrary, it was paradoxically very stable and planted. When I began to get comfortable with the throttle I found some sections where I could go fast for three or four seconds over whoops (small and medium) as well as roots. Of course, with the MX suspension, the faster I went, the more it liked it. The interesting thing was that I felt no sensation of the back end shifting left and right. It felt railed over some challenging terrain. The closest I've come to that sensation was on an '07 Honda CRF450X (which still felt big and clunky) as well as AZNat's and Derik Staley's KTM250s. But the GasGas was better. I saw one nasty section coming ahead and I stopped, dialed down the Scotts steering dampener and took off. Straight and true with no deflections.
Here is the only straight section on the entire 20-mile loop. So starved for speed are these Houston riders that they fondly call this section "The Tramway."
I managed 4th gear:
During part of the ride, Girard was riding behind me, and although I didn't notice it, he decided the shock needed the compression reduced a tad and the rebound slowed. He was satisfied with that. I didn't care one way or the other.
I also noticed that my riding position on this bike was more aggressive than I've been on other bikes. I thought it was the frame layout, but Gerard pointed to the Pivot Pegs I had unknowingly been suspended upon. They only rotate about 15 degrees or so, but it made all the difference. When I was leaning forward, I wasn't on the edge of the pegs, I was on the pegs. The pegs felt larger than they were. Confidence inspiring.
The rear brake pedal had the same feeling. It felt as if it were the size of a half-dollar. I always found it with no fuss. Curious, I finally looked down to see why it felt the way it did. Nothing jumped out at me, but for some reason it worked well.
I also got to hop on the WEC version of the bike owned by Mister Boomhauer. This beauty had a 300 bottom end and a 250 top end with some sort of other mods that equated to a 275-ish bike. This bike *did* have enduro suspension and an engine that was perhaps somewhere in between a 250 and a 300, but I didn't ask what kind of porting or CDI it had. That bike rode well too, albiet somewhat differently in the behavior of the motor, jetting, and throttle. Everything else, down to the Pivot Pegs were the same.
At the end of the ride, I found myself drenched in sweat that can only be created by riding a dirt bike through twenty miles of turn course in 80% humidity next to a lake. I was completely soaked. I was more soaked than when we rode in the rain in Flagstaff. I was so soaked, that when I changed into my shorts to go eat pizza and drink beer, the waitress couldn't stop looking at my crotch. Turns out that the sweat from my undies had soaked through my shorts which made it look like I'd pottied myself.
Rick