A Year With My GasGas

[singletracker]

My 2011 Gas Gas 250xc Race is my first Gas Gas. I?ve owned 7 KTM?s, 1 Beta, and some Jap bikes.

When I bought the GG I also had a very well setup 2009 KTM 250XCW and I had just got rid of a 2011 KTM 350SX that had been converted to woods use.

Here are the first impressions that I recorded after the FIRST ride:

Pros:

6 gear tranny is on the money
Great Ergo?s
Strong motor, but still needs some fine tuning
48 Zokes may be just right
Shock?.good
Quick and Easy to change the needle and spark plug

Cons:

Renthal Twinwalls won?t work with my EE handgaurds (Fastway handguards work great)
Sidi Crossfire boots snag on side panels and kickstarter
Difficult to adjust fork compression if handlebars are moved forward
Clutch cable will likely get damaged if running traditional handgaurds
No slack in throttle cable?Zero play when adjusted to the max (it has the perfect amount of play after riding it a little while)
The Owner?s Manual is a joke (luckily this forum exists)

Here are my impressions AFTER 1 YEAR OF RIDING/RACING

The suspension is very good stock, but there is room for improvement, particularly in the shock. The shock tends to be a little harsh on accelerating bumps, and it doesn?t stay planted to the ground as well as I would like when exiting corners with accelerating bumps, perhaps because I turned in the rebound to reduce kicking on logs. The fork is better after turning the rebound in several clicks to get it to settle in to corners. All and all good, but a good tuner could improve it. Having said that I raced it for one year in stock form, and I've had a lower back "issue" for many years, so it has to be good for my back to take the beating of racing.

The motor is very smooth for a two stroke, and is very adjustable by switching jetting. I do prefer the KTM?S adjustable PV to the GG for ease of use and tunability. One down side, is that it doesn?t pull on top like my KTM 250?s did. I?m talking tapped out in 5th and 6th across a soft farm field. 6th is too tall to keep the RPM?s up, and 5th isn?t fast enough. I think I need to play with the MJ more to make sure it is jetted properly for WOT.

I really like the tranny for the trails that I typically ride, which are primarily 2nd & 3rd gear with the occassional 1st or 4th.

The seat height and chassis are great for a guy my size, 5'8", 170lb. The only time the taller KTM?s caused me problems was when I got stuck on a hill or when I wanted to make a quick 180 pivot in a tight spot. In those situations a couple of inches closer to the ground are a great thing. Not so much when jumping into the face of a ditch, but I don?t do that very often. I love the lower seat height, and the 12's and 13's must be the shiznit with the increased ground clearance to boot.

Reliability??I?ve had one major issue that I resolved in the matter of three days. The weld on the shifter shaft broke. I had it rewelded and all is good so far. Small issues include bending the stock footpeg too easily, and a kickstarter that began to deform at the base. Otherwise it has been good. As of a matter of fact, it has the same compression after 70 hours as it did the first week, 190-191psi, and I managed to win the District 17 Senior B enduro Championship on it. BTW, it was my first championship. Getting parts has been a nonissue thus far.

Quirks that matter to me?. My SIDI boots snag on the plastic and the original kickstarter so I?ve converted to over-the-boots pants, which I actually like (I believe this was resolved in 2012). The KLIM pants are a great product, and the main reason I tried them was their cuff closure around the boot, which prevents getting snagged on the footpegs and trail junk. They work great, and I really like having large pockets for enduros racing. The other issue that I have is that the clamp that holds the airboot to the carb can slide backwards and potentially leave an air gap. I keep a close eye on this, since I noticed that it happened at the beginning of a ride. Luckily, I caught it before anything was sucked into the engine, so there was no damage. My carb has a short extension towards the airboot that I don?t think all GG come with?? I've never read about anyone else having this issue.

Wow, I?m writing a novel here, and I?m sorry that you are bored enough to still be reading this.

The big picture??.This bike fills a great niche called woods riding and racing. It comes with a headlight, spark arrestor, wiring for brake lights, skid plate, and radiator guards (at least mine did). The suspension, engine and ergonomics appear to be purpose built for woods riding and racing, and work very well. I remember feeling right at home on this machine immediately, which is very rare!

The bottom line is that I plan to race this bike for another year, and I anticipate that my next bike will most likely be another Gas Gas. I may have nitpicked a few things, but you should also understand that I?ve been known to buy a bike and put it up for sale within weeks if I don?t like it, so it says a lot that I?m still on the same bike after a year, and I think I?ll be competitive on it for at least another year.

[Cberg]

Great write up!!
This was my first season on a Gasser too. 2011 Nambo and I love it, I worked through minor things, which every bike needs.

I have been very happy with the bike, my next bike will be another Gas Gas!!

[andoman]

My next bike will absolutely be a Gasser. Today I swapped bikes with my son to get a little time on the KTM for old time sake. Could not wait to switch back!

[john01]

Congrats on the Championship! Great write up on the GG and the small issues you had prove it's a great race bike. Good luck next year.

[ShelbyJohnson]

This is exactly the kind of review I like. Thanks for taking the time to share your impression, especially after a season.

[singletracker]

Thanks for the positive feedback guys.

[fletchman45]

Looks good. New bikes have the improved kickstarter. Hope you changed your stock gearing. A 50 tooth rear will do wonders if you have a stock 48. (to tall in my opinion) good review and yes forget the Orange.......:

[singletracker]

Yep, I'm running 13/50 gearing. 51 might be even better.

[GMP]

13/51 is good on the 250. Try another muffler and mod the head, I found mine woke up with this and pulls hard on top.

[singletracker]

I've already had RB mod the head to 1.2mm squish and stock compression. Changing to a TurbineCore II is on my to do list.