07 GG 300 WEC Edition First Ride

[Boomhauer]

Well I finally got out of the house and took the new bike for a spin.

The first thing I noticed was how snappy the bike was. I would crack the throttle and the front tire would come off of the ground. I have never ridden a bike that was this snappy. So I give it a 10 for the grin factor! Right now the bike is geared 12/48 and it seems to be just about right. We rode at the National Forest and it is not really tight so I will have to find some tight stuff to see how this gearing will work.

Now most you don't know but this bike is a 300 with the 250 cylinder on it. This is something the french guys do so I guess it would be safe to say that the bikes power is similar to that of a 250. It still lugs around like the 300 but snaps up like a 250. The power is just plain incredible. The power is very smooth and clean with no hesitation or bogs. The bike does not buzz the pegs like the older bikes and it idles!

The suspension needs a little work as it felt like it had to much compression on the front. The forks have the 08 valving and I was told that I should not have to do much to them to get them right for me. I will wait for Girard to ride it and tell me what he thinks. The rear will need adjusting also it seems a bit harsh to me.

The handling to me is just a little better than my 04 IMO. Now the one thing that I will brag highly on is how light the bike feels. This seems to make the bike easier to flick around.

I like the seat on the 07! It seems that it is narrower than my 04 and this aids me while standing. I feel that I can grip the bike better and stand more now. The FIM tires that came on the bike suck! They seem very hard and harsh and I had to end my day early due to a pinch flat on the rear!

The pivot pegz seemed to help my knees in the whoop sections. My knees have been shot for many years and was told the pivot pegz would help which they did. I also noticed shifting was easier while hauling butt thru the woods because of them.

I did notice the change in power delivery when going from the "Sunny" setting to the "Rain" setting today. While in the "Rain" mode the bike seemed to bog just a bit. I double checked this while at camp. In the "Rain" mode I would whack the throttle wide open and it would bog just for a split second and then clean up. The same test was done in the "Sunny" mode and no hesitation was noticed. The jetting on the bike also seemed to be spot on. I will pull the plug today and see what color the plug is and go from there.

So all in all I am very pleased with my purchase. If any of you have thought about buying one of these left over bikes before but were hesitant about doing so I would tell you to do it. Yeah there are a few bumps & scratches on the bike but is was worth it to me. You get an awesome bike for a discounted price. Plus with the scratched up bike you won't cry as much when it hits the ground!

A few things I learned today.
1. Renthal Fat Bars still suck!
2. I now really appreciate my steering Dampner. I rode without it today because it is still on my old bike and had my bars jerked out of my hands several times due to some nasty roots!
3. The FIM tires suck!
4. I need to adjust the throttle on my bike. It is a little to sensitive almost causing me to launch the bike into some trees several times. There is zero free play with the throttle and I have to adjust it!

Once again thanks to the awesome guys at GoFasters! This bike is everything they told me it would be and more!

Robby

[SpeedyManiac]

Originally Posted by Boomhauer

3. The FIM tires suck!

Welcome to my world. FIM tires are absolutely brutal. The one saving grace is they're very easy to change. I can force one side over the rim by hand (using a tire stand, though the front doesn't even need a tire stand to get it on the rim).

[GMP]

Actually they work pretty decent in the rocks at <= 10 PSI, due to the large footprint. If it rains they show their weakness, the short knobs don't dig and they don't have the pure adhesion of a trials tire.

The VE33 doesn't have the straight line drive in sand the S12 or similar wide block knob tires do. Feels like its spinning more or letting the rear walk from side to side a bit under power.

[widebear]

I dont understand. I thought that the 250's and 300's shared the same bottom ends and 72mm stroke. Has something changed in the design,crankcase volume via stuffers perhaps?

[Berkyboy]

Boomhauers engine (Christophe Nambotin's bike) started life as a 300EC and ended up as a 250EC. The bottom end of both engines is identical.

The French take that motor and completely take it apart and spec everything.

One of the things they do is check the intake tolerances to make sure the power reeds are able to flex without interference. This is very important espcially with the V-force reeds.

They also build up the cases with weld and remachine certain areas to improve the flow of the air/fuel mix. In the end they do not increase volume they just alter the flow.

They do have a different approach to the 300s versus the 250s as once they are done the topends are no longer interchangeable as a stock GasGas motor is.

One of their objectives is to make an engine with very smooth power delivery that will put power to the ground in extremely slippery conditions.

The bike still runs on 95 to 98 octane but the power delivery is magic.

[kim]

The French take that motor and completely take it apart and spec everything.

One of the things they do is check the intake tolerances to make sure the power reeds are able to flex without interference. This is very important especially with the V-force reeds.

Is someone able to do a write-up on how to do this ?

Kim

[Berkyboy]

I'll speak to Nambotine's mechanic at Six Days and see if he can give me the details.

[SpeedyManiac]

Can I get an introduction to the GasGas dudes while I'm down there?

[jlk_250]

Originally Posted by Berkyboy

Boomhauers engine (Christophe Nambotin's bike) started life as a 300EC and ended up as a 250EC. The bottom end of both engines is identical.

What is the advantage of starting with a 300EC if the end result is a 250? Seems like you need a cylinder for a 250cc so you would want to start with a 250EC.

Jon

[gasgasman]

'cause the 250 has crank stuffers and the 300 doesn't.
But, then again the cases are already split to do the other mods. They could just put stuffers on the 300 crank.....................Hmmmm.

OK, I give up.