Test report on 2012

[drewgoldsmith]

I test rode a 2012 xc 300 from Gunnison motor sports in Gunnison Colorado last weeked with the following coments.

Fritz at Gunnison Motorsports is a class act. Supper clean shop, well stocked, sick old school memorbilia of Fritz's career, nice staff.
Fritz was very nice with a no pressure sales approach that I enjoy. I would highly recomend checking his shop out and meeting his crew.

I am 6 foot 2 180 and a good trail rider and a shitty Mx'er. I currently ride a 05 yz that has many woods mods.

Pros for the Gas Gas:
Quiet, exhaust was quiet and the the motor made less noise then my yz
seat was flat and felt great when you came down from standing into a berm and got up near the gas cap.
Great clutch, easy pull and good control. My yz has a magura hydro clutch also, but the gasser was better.
Real good motor. Great low end and reved out. This motor is better then my yz not radically but 15% better then a modded yz 250.
6 speed. although Fritz had a 13/48 sprocket combo so a climbing set up


Cons: rear suspension felt soft and bottomed often. Added four clicks of compression and 2 of rebound but I did not count where I was. This helped a lot but no high speed on the Ohlins which is a bummer.
not quite as vibration free as I was hoping. This does not bother me that much but a friend told me they were way differnt then the YZ (we both owned them) and I did feel it was better, but not radicaly.
Fork was soft but I never bottomed it.

Conclusion: I am impressed with the bike and am contemplating a purchase. Time will tell. Thx Drew

[Jakobi]

Thanks for the report Drew.

Thats a nice list of pros and the cons aren't anything that can't be addressed through a little personal tuning. I agree it would be nice to see a fully adjustable shock. If anything I find the HS comp is where the magic is found. The engines seem to vary from one to the next regarding the vibes. Mine was a real buzz box, my friends is silky smooth.

[GMP]

Actually a HS comp adjuster is of limited value. The "magic" is all in the active valving of the shim stacks. Adjusters just control WHEN the valving takes over. In the Ohlins/Sachs I beleive the HS is just a preload on a blow off valve. I have it on my '07 Sachs and don't miss it at all on the '12.

[Jakobi]

You'd know more about it than me Glenn so I'm not questioning your knowledge. Just what I found with my KYB and Ohlins 888 was that they both required some adjustment of the HS comp before coming truly compliant. I do miss it on the TTX and think I'll be having some taken out when it sees its first service.

[GMP]

Its not the same as custom revalve to tailor the high speed stack. If it was that easy, there would be a lot of unemployed tuners.

Biggest issue with the 888 I found is rebound control, and the effect of the adjuster on compression when attempting to dial a little more in.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by GMP

Its not the same as custom revalve to tailor the high speed stack. If it was that easy, there would be a lot of unemployed tuners.

Biggest issue with the 888 I found is rebound control, and the effect of the adjuster on compression when attempting to dial a little more in.

There are ways to separate the rebound and compression circuits but they are internal to the shock but yes the Ohlins does seem more prone to cross-over than some others.

The HS compression is also very adjustable, but that adjustment is internal and happily so ... the suspension guys have to pay for their racing somehow

[STEVEV]

Fritz is a guy that knows his stuff. I remember him back in the '80's when he was one of my 6-days heros!

[grunkster]

well if "drewgoldsmith" is actually Drew Smith, he knows his stuff as well!!