I finally bit the bullet and got an MC250.
A friend of mine was looking for a new bike, he rode my 2001 SE 250 and loved it. So we started talking and he ordered an EC300 and I got the MC 250. The shipping worked out cheaper with two bikes shipped to his Honda car dealership.
The bikes came in two crates, all we had to do was put the handle bars and front wheel on.
The bikes arrived on April 31st.
As faith would have it, we had to leave for a vacation trip on June 1st. Which meant I could not prep the bike for another week.
When we got back I put the bark busters on-which took 3 hours. I had to do some bending to make them fit properly. I used the Atek inserts for the bar ends.
Mounted the enduro computer and the Scotts dampner. All the clamps etc. came right off my 2001 SE 250.
Put on new M1 Spider grips-big mistake! More on that.
Adjusted the front forks equally-they were off.
Did not mess with the shock at all.
Took the bike out on Saturday to do some minor breaking in.
Bike ran spot on with no jetting changes.
Fuel tank easier to fill.
Did a shake down run Sunday, all out riding.
Very dry and hot conditions, lots of sandy corners.
The suspension worked flawlessly. It soaked up whoops and roots with no sharp spikes to the handle bars. I could double some of the whoops.
This bike weighs about 20lbs (guess) less than my '01 and it feels it while riding.
The handling is the same as my '01.
Which means-surgical precision.
Had to swap the front pads half way thru the ride. The metal pads had too much of a on-off feel.
Power suits my riding style perfectly-snaps out of corners like a bullet. If the power falls off, a quick blip of the clutch and throttle picks it back up.
Could not tell any difference with the map switch.
Motor is buttery smooth, trans shifting is just the same.
Motor almost has no vibrations while riding, my '01 buzzed the pegs.
Longer kick starter is very Yamaha like.
The new air box makes standing up a lot easier. My boots would grip the air box side covers and provide support.
After riding about 30 miles my palms looked like I ran them across a cheese grater. This was caused by the new M1 Spider grips. I'll be going back to the enduro style Spider grips, which I've never had a problem with. But you know how that goes- wanna change stuff up.
Misses:
The seat is very hard, so I was standing more often.
Clutch seems a little stiffer. Not by much though.
Front fender hits front wheel on G-outs.
Shift lever too low, if adjusted would be too high.
No brake pedal height adjustment.
Rear tire seems too narrow-120/80 19 Michelin.
MC vs EC:
The MC has a few differences than the EC.
MC has:
50mm forks (zokes)
Excel rims- 19" rear
No fork lock assembly
No coolant over flow bottle.
No lighting coil/related wiring
MX style chain guide
Non O-ring chain
Billet triple clamps
No rear fender tail light mount
Michelin M12s front and rear.
No spark arrestor
Shameless plug:
Thanks to GoFasters for making my buying experience a pleasure.
I'm totally happy with the bike and feel like I made the right decision.
Fine print.
I'm very biased towards Gas Gas'.
So my ride report may reflect this.
