[FFRDave]

[SIZE="5"]First, I want to say that I love my Gas gasses.


Now for the hard question.

Did I say I love my Gassers ?? Ok Here goes... Why do I have to buy a LTR PV cover, and carb jet kit? Why do I need to improve on the bike by buying real chain guards? Why do I have to modify my kickstand retraction spring? Why do I have to have the squishband adjusted with every bike?

The real question is... Why doesnt Gas gas just engineer a bigger PV cover and make it a stock componet of the machine? Why dont they just change the pivot point of the kickstand? Why dont the people at Gas gas experiment with jet needles until they get something that does what the LTR needle does? Why not make the heads with a tighter squishband clearences?

Another thing that I am wondering about (which may answer my question) is do other manufacturers bikes have to get similar (or different) mods just to become acceptable. A case in point is that the stock pipe and silencer from my Honda CR 250 has been hanging in my garage brand new since I bought the bike in 99. The suspension has been totaly replaced by Race Tech componets. Still, I have never bought a larger PV cover for my Honda or had to modify the squishband. Does KTM have a whole list of instantly desirable upgrades?

I dont really mind the upgrades I have to add, but it has been something I have wondered. I am glad we have RBD and LTR and the rest. These aftermarket people who inovate new improvements to an already superior machine are a great help to we who want just a little more. I think that this websight and Smackover have really raised the awairness of what could really be done to these bikes.