Buying my first Gas Gas

[TorbenS40]

HI to all! My name is Torben and I just bought a super clean 1999 300EC and was wondering if there were any good things to know about any possible problems or what the good set up is? I haven't had it out yet...but rode it up and down the street and it seems that it has no solid "hit"? Is there anything i can do to increase the feel of a two stroke hit? It is completely stock but has the FMF pipe and silencer. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[HuskyDude]

Hey Torben...where are you from?

You might have to get into some jetting, later after you put some time on the engine.
The 300 is a pretty smooth engine so the "Hit" you're talking about might not be that noticeable till after she's broken in. Engine needs to loosened up a bit.
The powervalve transaction is pretty linear.

Do you know what size FWW (fly wheel weight) you have?

[TorbenS40]

Husky Dude,
I live in Colorado and do alot of riding between 6,000 and 14,000 FT. I'm not sure which flywheel weight i have on there? I will switch to a lighter one and now after reading some posts I will get the head milled? I also need to find bar risers ( being 6'5" ) i don't like riding with the stock bars in my lap. How much experience does anyone here have with the conventional Marzocchi fork? I know that the shock has been upgraded to a 2002 Ohlins. Now I'm wondering if i should try to find a pair of Ohlins forks? My riding experience has been in the deserts of California and some technical riding in Lake Arrowhead area. I've owned a number of bike through the years, most recently Husky TC 250 and a Yamaha YZ 250 two stroker......SO i guess that is why I'm not used to the "smooth power"....

[stay_upright]

The linear power and lak of hit is the best thing about the gassers - give yourself plenty of time to get used to it first before trying to change it.

If the motor lacks power that's another thing - probably in need of a new top end.

Personally I wouldn't get the head machined until you've spent (a lot) more time on it and know exactly what you want and that will fix it for you, and of course that the rest of the motor is in A1 condition i.e. piston rings barrel reeds carb (and jetted correctly).

For a new (to you) bike I would buy a compression meter and test the compression - will give you an indication if the rings are worn (as will removing the front pipe and looking at the rings to see if you've got carbon/gases past the 2nd ring. You can then use the compression tester as an easy gauge (no pun intended) of whether the rings are worn.