[jhendr3702]

Originally Posted by snoopjonnyjon

The FSE is definately the best handling bike in the woods that I own. Suspension is great for the woods and steers nice. I don't like jumping it. The starting on it seems pretty finicky when cold. It seems to want to crank a lot to get started right off the bat. Once it has been running, it starts great. As far as can tell, the kickstarter is impossible. No matter if hot or cold, I cannot start it with the kicker. I also haven't yet got the rear brake figured out as it has a bunch of mix matched parts. It sounds like Gasgas (member's name) on this site is willing to sell me the parts I need though. The engine is fantastic. It runs so smoothly at all rpms, lugs nice and has a nice top end hit too. Everything feels slow after riding a modded kx500, but its fun. Functionally I like the EFI, but it does concern me with heading too far offroad. To be honest, I wish it just had a flatslide carb... or better yet, an EC300 2 stroke. I really miss how easy it is to work on the KX500 when I start working on this bike. I can have the cases split on my KX in 3 hrs, and I am lucky to get the wiring disconnected to pull the subframe on this bike in that time. I'm not crazy about the shrouds just attaching to the tank with screws either. The KX has brass inserts in the tank that seems way less likely to pull out than the screws on the GG shrouds. And the last complaint is the plastics seem to be covered in
clearcoat. Not sure if this is original, or the previous owner wanted to shine it up. The first time I hit the pressure washer, half of it peeled off. Hopefully next time I wash it the rest peels.

Basically, I am not crazy about the complexity, but it is a joy to ride.

interesting... there is one of those bikes here local for sale that is brand new..02 or 03 fse that literally has less than 50 miles on it.. would love to have it and it gets cheaper every year...... I have a 01 300 which is as near to a perfect dirt bike to me as they come... and all of those years clear coat that i have seen is coming off too... mine is also..