Aussie needs opinions on ec300

[wise old man]

Hello everyone I am an Aussie thinking of buying a 06-07 Gas Gas ec 300. As the bikes are only sold in reasonably small numbers over here it is hard to speak to any owners about the good or bad points of the bike, then I found this site and it seems to have a huge amout of information on the bikes. I am 43 years young and am looking at a new bike after a long break I did a lot of enduro riding years ago but am looking at this bike to do a small amount of racing but mainly trail riding. The Gas Gas has had good reviews in Aus and I have narrowed my choice to it or KTM 300exc my only concern with Ktm is the nervous front end. I saw a ec 300 06 for the first time yesterday and was very impressed with the overall finish of the bike. What I would like is any of your views on the bike and the comparison with the KTM also if anyone knows of any major upgrades in the new 07 ec 300 as it is not available here until October. Thanks for any assistance

Andrew.

[mattmax]

Hello Wise Old Man
I'm in the u.s. and I find myself in the same boat as yourself, with the same two bikes, except I had a very unpleasant experience that might make me a wee bit wiser than I was.I'll do my best to explain what I know about the two bikes. I just want to warn you, it's as long as a book. If you want just facts, I'll give them first, and you can read my horror story if you get bored. It's about a crooked dealer. It would be nice if the whole world would harass this guy after I get my money. I've never seen the Gas Gas, but I've done a lot of research. I actually own a 06 KTM 300xcw and I'm supposed to get my money back and am thinking of getting the Gas Gas, or possibly an 07 KTM xcw. I'm 41, and I, like yourself, had taken a very long break from motorcycle riding. I started at 13 and got very good at rebuilding, modifying, and riding until I went away to school at 18, and had a couple of bikes some dirt and some street until i got serious again when I was 37.

OK, here's what i know about the US versions. Your ec300's could be very different. There used to be different versions in the us before they changed the laws. I called dozens of dealers and most of them don't know anything, but a couple of guys did know something.This is what I could gather and I could be wrong too. Used to be that there was a regular(dc version) that had limited wiring, no ignition mapping switch(although it had the same dual ignition, you just had to do the switch yourself), had ohlins in the back and marzochis in the front, light flywheel, no cat conv. Then there was the dealer version, that had the dual ignition mapping switch on the handlebars(must have been the 05-it's on all 06's), cat conv, missing a serial number digit that prohibits competition bikes from being registered in the us in some states, ohlins forks, tight little out of the way plastic blinkers, heavy flywheel. 05 in the u.s. has a headlight,light flywheel-I think different weights are available starting with 14oz as lightest. 06 has no headlight, no spark arrestor, although it comes with it in a box. It has the mapping switch on the handlebar-just in case you don't know, the mapping switch is a dual ignition map, one for all out horsepower, the other for being in mud or slick situations. As far as i know, the 07's come with ohlins on the front.They're wired for headlight and have brakelight switch. Not sure about brakelight

OK, that's what I can put together on the Gas Gas, but I'm sure your's is probably different. Your 07 will probably have the headlight,tailight. The KTM exc I can't answer much about except it's got the non linkage rear wp shock with the extra long chain that never wears even and the shock puts lots of stress on the frame. Is the 300xc offered in Australia? The xc has the mapping just like the Gas Gas. Same unit. The 07 is like the 05 GG in that you have to add your own switch. From what I understand, the GG is just using the slow mapping for limiting wheelspin in mud, people on KTMtalk are saying that the fast map is the sx, which is motocross, and the slow ignition is exc for enduro. Who knows what the actual truth is. I didn't like the KTM at all. The soil in this part of texas is like deep soft windblown beach sand and the front end of the KTM is so squirrely. I think it's because they have that stupid frame configuation to accomadate that stupid long linkageless swingarm. I've been trying to figure out why they can't put the swingarm bolt closer to the sprocket so the chain wouldn't be so loose, but I think it would put too much stress on the frame. The bike is 2/3 swingarm. On the other hand, they are real easy to work on. I could do a top end in 30 min with just the tool kit.

First, I want to tell you why I'm getting my money back. I'm not sure if it reflects on the KTM or the scum that shouldn't be allowed to breath our air. Last Oct., I was told i had an illness, so I moved to Houston Texas where they have a famous treatment center. I have a 95 CR500 and missed riding. My dad offered to buy me any new bike. I went to a KTM dealer. One of his first questions was if i was from Texas, and I told him no and I was just there for cancer treatment, so I guess he or his boss assumed the bike would be leaving or I was too sick or stupid to figure anything out. I was 30 lbs underweight and really messed up on painkillers.
I get the bike and notice it has a couple miles on it,sprockets have wear, and the rear wheel looks crooked and the chain is wearing crooked, and it won't adjust out. I took it back to have them look at it. They treated me like I was stupid and didn't really look at it. Finally, after I put it back on the trailor,the salesman that sold it to me looked at it and agreed the chain wear was uneven and bring it back the next day. I put it back in storage, and when i got home, I looked at the title where they had whited out a previous name and had a notorized sheet saying it was a clerical error. I held it to the light and got an address and did a reverse search and called the guy and said i had his name on some of my paper work and wanted to make sure I didn't make some kind of mistake. He said,"boy do I feel silly, I bought that bike and brought it home and adjusted everything and drained the tank and the gas was clear and I took the bike back screaming and yelling and Frank Reeves said,'There's nothing wrong with it. Take the other bike', and it had clear gas to, and I called down there and asked them if they used clear premix oil. I took the pipe off and the piston had no scuffs on it, like brand new." That was the kicker for me. We made plans to ride the next day, and I went straight to where my bike ws stored and took off the pipe, saw a brand new piston, and some scratches in the cylinder wall on the other side. I looked at the head bolts and saw tool marks, so the head came off, and i saw scratches and scuffs on the cylinder and some hone marks that didn't line up with the rest, and there were no marks on the piston to correspond with the marks on the wall. The base gasket was new because it stuck outside the cylinder like it wasn't original like other bikes I'd seen.

On my way home, the original owner called me back with a new tone of voice, and told me this story about how all these plans had changed, and said I was now univited in a rude tone and was about to hang up when I said "I was going to call and tell you I couldn't go because the bike was apart right now." his tone changed real quick. I couln't get him off the phone. he kept asking what i was doing to it, and I just made stuff up. I should have told him the truth and got answers abot the piston because he did it. I called KTM, and the owner(or manager) called me and screamed and yelled and called me all these names. I told him about all the scratches and tool marks, he talked down to me. i told him I split the cases on my first bike when i was 13 and new more about bikes than anyone in his whole dealership.
He wanted me to bring it in so he could look at it. we called a news reporter and I guess he doesn't like TV and he says he'll give the money back. He said to my mother"I guess he can't ride by now". I really fooled them, but it worked against me. My cancer is stable and looking good and i'm 190 and muscle and straight instead of 160 and wasted on pain drugs. I was so buzzed on cancer drugs I don't remember him or how big he is. I'm not a strong 190 right now, but I can stomp some ass, and I know that's what he needs.
Matt

[LandRover]

Same as yourself...42 yrs old....been riding all year after buying an 05 300.....side cover for air filter works its way loose and can fall off....i just put a small bit of duct tape between it and the number plate everytime...does`nt annoy me.....had to file the brake pedal teeth down as it ate my sole...i have sidi crossfire boots which are really light and i have just replaced the sole(screw off and screw a new one on...great idea...no trip to the cobblers required!!!)engine has eaten 2 sets of reed valves....maybe its me revving too much or maybe fibre reeds just don`t last and are classed as a servicable item after checking periodically...so i short shift nowadays.....and the engine can take it for sure....again do other 2 strokes nowadays eat them the same...I`d guess so as the engine designs are inherrently the same....in retrospect I did`nt do too badly with mine as this happened at about 9 months old(?)...with a lot of riding hours on the motor......all this to say when i was looking for a bike i checked everything out....married with a family the main reason was cost to maintain...cheap for breakables....I`ve had a new rear subframe which is notoriously bendy....but again in retrospect I had dropped the bike many times in woods and wet trails so i guess it got bent once too much...it took the hits and bent rather than braking striaght away.....i have ohlins forks on mine (sooooo good)which was a shock to replace forks seals....big money...so check this out...you even need a special tool to open the top caps to take out/put in fork oil...so check the price of one of these or make one.......other than that ......routine power valve decoking as with any 2 stroke is the only thing i`ll be doing this week(mine is a year and 2 months old with never having had the head off....no piston rattle apparent at this time).......i was really impressed with the linkage system (and head bearings)in that they`re all sealed with big fat o rings......so every 6 months or more i will be greasing......(the first time i stripped it down all linkages were still wet with grease(after 7 months)...no replacment parts at all required)......i was also at a mx sunday past and was able to give a good account of myself in amongst the youg ones...i could have sworn when using the ignition switch that the bike was going faster with more mid range(i switched it in the middle of the moto)......i bought a chain kit in january with a steel rear sprocket....the front sprocket is wearing faster than the rear (it has`nt even started hooking over yet)i also find after 4 or 5 hours riding and hauling it out of mud and bogs i`m still comfortable with having bought a light bike!!!........clutch and brakes are excellent....nissin brakes so good....price the price of a disc...not too expensive in comparrison with ktm i`d think....the bike at low revs through the wet forests pulls like a train and i will do any steep climbs a 4 stroke does.......the only add ons i have are a carbon fibre full exhaust guard which is getting the worse for wear as its taken a few batterings but has done its job excellently...bar risers and a set of pro taper bars which have taken a few big hits and bounces with no ill effect......a cltuch saver and light guard other than that im very pleased and would buy another one without hesitation....sorry for the disjointed post but i`m in a rush out.......

[wise old man]

Thanks Matt for your reply sounds like you got really ripped off by your dealer. We have a saying what goes around comes around means he will get whats coming to him.

As for the gas gas our 06 has full lighting as it is road registerable duel mapping ignition with handlebar switch no cat con ohlins rear marzochi front. Unsure about the flywheel changable wieght very interesting as it,s another way to change the caracteristics of the engine. Also interesting that the 07 model may have ohlins front fork hope it works as well as they say the marzochi does. The bikes come in to this country jetted really bad to get them road registerable then the dealer re-jets it back so it will run clean before you pick it up.

On the KTM it is interesting to read your comments on the no linkage shock and the associated long chain, sounds like keeping grease up to linkages might not be so bad after all. The XC model is not available in Aus I have been told the major difference between our exc and the xc is that the xc has a wide ratio gearbox.

Once again thanks for your input it is just the sort of thing I was after, hope all goes well with your treatment. we have another saying in Australia "keep your chin up" basically means keep your head high and you can overcome anything life throws your way.

Andrew.