Ec250f

[Rick]

A good riding buddy of mine has tore his CRF250X down twice, once for valves ate a piston and the other the crank let go...ouch! He rides it bouncing off the rev limiter all day long I'll keep my 2 stroke!

I love GasGas bikes, and if I was in the market for a new bike it would be another EC200..hands down! I really hate to see GasGas go down this small bore 4 stroke highway. I know that 4 strokes are the wave of the future, and for GG to be truely well rounded in the WEC they need a small bore 250 thumper, but if it turns out like the early 400FSE....then we'd all better be ready to go down with the ship!

I am not a fan of the 4 strokes, never have been, and as long as I can still by premix oil I'll have a 2 stroke.

I wish them the BEST OF LUCK!

[webmaster]

I have said it many times - but I wish they would go where no one is versus trying to crowd into an already busy market. A 325cc long stroke reliable motor for racing - not a 450 sleeved down to a 350 - a 250 sized bike with greater reliability and torque.

Husky is selling a TE310 this year - my guess is they will sell very, very well...

As far as the reliability of gasgas' new efforts - the new head of GasGas R & D seems to be guiding the ship pretty well - the new motor might be pretty good out of the box. How did the new side valve 4t trials motor introduction go? I haven't been following it.

jeff

[fury1]

when I asked the husky east coast sales rep about riding one of those new 310s,he told me they wouldnt have a problem selling every one of them,he wanted to promote the WR125 and the TXC lineup instead

[gasser]

I'm not against GasGas making a 4stroke racer but keep in mind that GG has been loosing ground to KTM every year even though GG puts out better 2strokes. I believe with the new 4stroke trials engine GG could make a play bike that is substantially better and has more mass appeal than anything from Japan or Austria.
Why better? It's better because the engine is more compact, it's cheaper to produce, and it's a lot easier to work on. The compactness allows for lower seat height/ greater ground clearance. That along with better suspension and an overall weight savings of 20-30 pounds over the jap bikes would make the bike an instant success. A bike of this type could give GG what it needs most: a cash cow and name recognition.

[GMP]

Like the Pampera, only use better componentry that holds up to hard use.

For a technical woods bike a variation of that side valve motor would be fine. A beefed up version in say 350cc in an EC frame would be killer where I ride, and other snotty places like New England and the PNW. I'd bet the average rider could go faster on something like that than on a 2-stroke, and as conditions got worse, that would include the faster riders as well. Plus, if it was done right and QC held to the proper standard, it would last forever like an XR, even better due to water cooling. A cheap to own 4-stroke hell ride bike that handles like a 2-stroke. Low CG, no pipe to smash, quiet, long range, easy to start EFI, sign me up. For the sand rides if more power is really needed just ride the 2-stroke.

It just wouldn't be fine as far as marketing against the higher output DOHC motors of the competition. People always want more than they need, even if its to their disadvantage.

[ferguscawley]

I was in the GG factory last October. (I am the Irish importer / distributor for GG). I saw the prototype 250 4T in the flesh. The engine is tiny, and being a prototype had beautiful hand-machined cases etc. GG claim that the new engine is lighter and more powerful than the opposition. I believe them 100% as I have met with their 4T design guy and he is a genius who loves his job.

They are not releasing this bike yet because they need to be sure how rugged and robust the engine will be. You must remember that not every customer will adhere to the oil and filter change routines etc so the motor has to have some 'fat' built in to withstand some degree of neglect.

They have said that when they do release a 4T 250, they will neeed to be certain that whatever motor is installed will be 100% reliable. They are not ruling out third party motors either - in fact I participated in a survey and feedback excercise with GG regarding the choice of such motors should the decision be made to go with a third party manufacturer.

I personally would like to see a third party DOHC motor used in the GG chassis with fuel injection. The benefits for all would be cost, reliability and easier availability of motor parts etc. So what if the 4T GG 250 had a Yam or KTM or Honda motor in it ?. I reckon it could be a strong selling point for the factory, and it would inspire confidence in new prospective GG customers who would otherwise shy away from an unknown and unproven 4T design.

Just my 2 cents.


Fergus

[SpeedyManiac]

I really hope GasGas doesn't go the 3rd party route for a 250F motor. GasGas needs to get a competitive 250F with EFI on the market that's their own bike. If they just threw a Honda engine in a GasGas chassis, I doubt it would sell well. I'm a die hard GasGas guy, but I'd never buy a GasGas with a Honda/Yamaha/KTM engine in it.

[TooFastTim]

Originally Posted by ferguscawley

I have met with their 4T design guy and he is a genius who loves his job.

If he's half as clever as the guy that designed the TXT pro motor he'd still be a genius. Jeez that motor is clever.