Opinion of Changes to US GG line for 2012

[jeffs2200]

Originally Posted by Clay

Jeff,
Good idea. Should it be a Race version or a standard?
Clay

I would say if you bring in both models of 200 have the xc with estart and race without. People who buy the race are more worried about weight and performance vs the xc.

If you had a 200 setup with estart and a Rekluse and took it to events where women could demo ride it you could sell a bunch of them.

As far a suspension goes I look for the Zoke forks to improve quite a bit over the coming years. The way I understand it they were bought by the company who makes Monroe shocks and have a lot more capital for r&d. They are supposed to have some new 53mm works forks out that would be awesome on the nambotin or in the hardparts catalog.

What about the option to custom order a bike from the factory. I know Beta was trying something like this for a while.

[dank]

I don't give a rip about four strokes. If GG is going to sell them, that Yamaha powered 250 seems okay. The big one is a pile though (my opinion). I wouldn't bother. Maybe buy someone else's engine for that too. Not that it matters to me.

maybe husaberg(ish) and figure out a way to put a frickin kick start on it......call me paranoid but i dont like the idea of estart only. but i agree. no fourstrokes doesnt bother me one little bit.

[Clay]

Originally Posted by jeffs2200

I would say if you bring in both models of 200 have the xc with estart and race without. People who buy the race are more worried about weight and performance vs the xc.

If you had a 200 setup with estart and a Rekluse and took it to events where women could demo ride it you could sell a bunch of them.

As far a suspension goes I look for the Zoke forks to improve quite a bit over the coming years. The way I understand it they were bought by the company who makes Monroe shocks and have a lot more capital for r&d. They are supposed to have some new 53mm works forks out that would be awesome on the nambotin or in the hardparts catalog.

What about the option to custom order a bike from the factory. I know Beta was trying something like this for a while.

Honestly, the custom order thing scares me to death! With the differences in languages, it is incredibly hard to get major things done with the factory. Getting a specific bike correct for the customer would be logistical nightmare. One mistake on the bike and I would have to eat it.

[Clay]

Originally Posted by dank

I don't give a rip about four strokes. If GG is going to sell them, that Yamaha powered 250 seems okay. The big one is a pile though (my opinion). I wouldn't bother. Maybe buy someone else's engine for that too. Not that it matters to me.

maybe husaberg(ish) and figure out a way to put a frickin kick start on it......call me paranoid but i dont like the idea of estart only. but i agree. no fourstrokes doesnt bother me one little bit.

I keep hearing that sentiment expressed over and over. Seems like a lot of guys are going back the 2T route. The other companies have loads of 450s running out of their ears. It may be two or three years before that pipeline is cleared out. KTM has brought in a ton of 350SXFs and now in January they are bringing in another ton of 350XCFs. A lot of guys thought that the 390 Berg was going to be THE 4T but it was underpowered. When we were in New England for the Maine national enduro, Robbie Jenks rode a 350SXF set up for the woods. He said it was light but didn't have enough motor. Now I know that was RJ who is a great rider but I don't think the 350 is the answer. My point is, there may be more 4Ts that don't sell on the market. I think the current management at Gas Gas is dedicated to making the GG a front runner in the 2T market. Personally, I like that!
Clay

[einsteingarage]

One mistake on the bike and I would have to eat it.


And Clay you are already eating crawfish and lobster.........wait that is another thread.


may be silly question but why a standard and e-start?

Why not just an e-start and if you want to remove it you could?



I also think 2-strokes will make a huge come back. As far as the 4 strokes, well people used to think tight polyester pants with bell bottoms on guys were cool.

[bchatt]

Originally Posted by Clay

Honestly, the custom order thing scares me to death! With the differences in languages, it is incredibly hard to get major things done with the factory. Getting a specific bike correct for the customer would be logistical nightmare. One mistake on the bike and I would have to eat it.

Just thinking aloud here - wouldn't it be cool if you could go into your local dealer and order your new bike, and at the time run through a bunch of tick boxes and choose exactly what you want ( estart yes/no, zoke/sachs/ohlinsttx, wave rotors - you get what I mean). The national distributor just "finishes off" the "almost built up" imported bike to the customers desire and fires it off to the dealer. Of course, this only takes a day or so and costs bugger all! While I'm dreaming, I'd like to see individual suspension setup/valving supplied always as part of the new bike deal (could be derived from the same checksheet).
Imagine the level of purchaser satisfaction!
Now, where was I ...Oh yeah...back to work....

[Clay]

Originally Posted by einsteingarage

One mistake on the bike and I would have to eat it.


And Clay you are already eating crawfish and lobster.........wait that is another thread.


may be silly question but why a standard and e-start?

Why not just an e-start and if you want to remove it you could?



I also think 2-strokes will make a huge come back. As far as the 4 strokes, well people used to think tight polyester pants with bell bottoms on guys were cool.

LOL! The threads are all running together, aren't they!
Mainly a standard as an entry level unit. We kept the e start at $100 under the KTM price. The Race model would be quite a bit more. It's possible the standard would be $1000 under the Race. But, hey...that's why I'm asking all of this. Do we need the standard? It wasn't a silly question.
Did you wear pants like that? I never did!
Clay

[Clay]

Originally Posted by bchatt

Just thinking aloud here - wouldn't it be cool if you could go into your local dealer and order your new bike, and at the time run through a bunch of tick boxes and choose exactly what you want ( estart yes/no, zoke/sachs/ohlinsttx, wave rotors - you get what I mean). The national distributor just "finishes off" the "almost built up" imported bike to the customers desire and fires it off to the dealer. Of course, this only takes a day or so and costs bugger all! While I'm dreaming, I'd like to see individual suspension setup/valving supplied always as part of the new bike deal (could be derived from the same checksheet).
Imagine the level of purchaser satisfaction!
Now, where was I ...Oh yeah...back to work....

Barry,
A couple of us (sales guys) actually pushed this concept at KTM for awhile and got tired of beating our heads against the wall. I do think it has merit. We order the bike from GG without tires, handlebars, rotors, rear sprocket, chain, exhaust, etc. It comes in here at a lower price than a complete bike. We would also valve and spring the unit based on the customer's weight and speed and the type of riding he does. The customer tells us what he wants and chooses the dealer it goes through.
That's maybe 5 years down the road for us, at best!
Clay

[Boomhauer]

Well here is my Redneck response to this.

K.I.S.S.
KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID

I say do 2 versions of the "Race" model one with e-start and one without.

[REVERUP]

Originally Posted by Boomhauer

Well here is my Redneck response to this.

K.I.S.S.
KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID

I say do 2 versions of the "Race" model one with e-start and one without.

Well my neck is looking pretty red because I echo that response.

Roscoe