2010 Gas Gas XC 300

[TNT Cycle]

Have been wanting to do this since I recieved my 300 in May. New to Gas Gas rode one two years ago and thought it had great potential. Decided to start a buisiness adventure and thought Gas Gas was where I start. Purchased 2010 Gas Gas 300 to race. Have had a long relationship with KTM family has 6 of them from 2001 KTM 125 EXC to 2010 KTM 450 EXC. Living near Mike Lafferty help the KTM thing but it was time to move on.

Impressions of 2010 Gas Gas 300...my opinion mind you lol

Visual- Great effort was taken in 2010 to get the look needed to sell bikes and make them appealing in the market. Graphics and plastic shape are great this year I don't think I have had anyone say they hate it. It gets a lot of people turning heads at races even drawling a crowd at times.

Motor- What you would expect from a 300 2t motor tractability, great pull, good spread, tricky to jet lol, a bit of vibration, great response. Now the vibration is not bad at all infact the new crank balancing on the 300 seems to really calm the vibs down. Nothing but fun to ride I have the jetting good but not great or perfect and love the motor. Easier to deal with than the KTM 200 2t's i spent many years on, they tend to be all or nothing.

Transmission- Really, Really like the gear spacing on the this bike. I was worried about it since you get one option but I always have the gear I want and that is at home in the sand and at a rockier/hillier race I did. It clicks gears off nicely as well with good throws at the shifter. KTM 200/125's have a very old and sloppy design that no other KTM uses from like the 80's. They will shift no matter what but take an extremely long throw. With my past KTM's it could be really hard to get along with any of the two optional trans sets.

Chassis- Good ergonomics, nicely adjustable, feels good to sit on, controls fall into place. Didn't get along with bars and went with a lower set that are much straighter both in the way they rise and pull back. Ironically KTM low bend, I used lower bends on my KTM's, so I had a few around to try. That was what I needed to feel at home. The bike handles great, no, awsome, it gives great feed back about traction. It is also easy to move around on. A good combination of stability and quick handleing. It will turn with a very intuitive character. None of the hyper tuck and duck traits of all KTM's I have ridden...thats when you push to the limit, the front end tucks violently then you duck in a way to roll on your back since you are still hanging on to the handle bars. Much more composure on the Gasser with a smooth at limit feel. Gasser is much less sensative to seat and body positioning as well.

Suspension- Goes hand and hand with chassis. Very composed, I really like the 2010 stuff. A bit stiff for my wieght around 150 but I am very aggressive A/expert New Jersey sand Enduro/harescrambles racers so it is awsome at pace. A great combo of stiff and compliance necessary in the sand at race pace. Minimal harshness that really worried me from what I was reading on the net. Don't know if Gas Gas changed something or the KTM stuff is just that bad but the Sach's fork and shock seem great. Could go on about the KTM stuff over the years but the fork hasn't knocked my teeth out yet like every KTM (stock) from what ever hydralic lock or flex issues they have. Also even 2009 and 2010 KTM forks now just seem to be controled bottomers to combat their harshness issues (meaning they like to bottom a bit, and don't neccisarily control their hit without using to much travel) and the Gasser never seems to bottom and is not harsh for me at all. Iam two clicks softer on the compression on the forks and two clicks softer on the high speed compression rear and thats it. The two races on the bike both contained jumps and moto sections and one was rocky, the bike was impresive in both. Not my results however, nothing to do with the bike.

Controls- Clutch and brakes seem very good with feel and control. Clutch is very close to KTM which I think is the best in control and feels from ever bike made and Ive ridden many Jap bikes as well. The brakes seem to be real standouts on the bike, KTM's have power I've become acustume to but are hard to use at times, among other problems. The jap bikes seem to lack power to me even new Honda stuff that gets good reviews. The Gasser seems to have great power and control, I was affraid of the man squeeze need to stop most jap bikes, thank the 260mm front rotor I guess.

Durability- Godd so far... Did break the front fender brace, rear pipe hanger/mount, and the gas cap is giving me fits with leaking issues. All things I have seen with other brands so no biggies. The bike is really holding up well with 20 hours on it the paint, plastic, and graphis are still like new. I have been spraying Silkolene pro prep on it from new to keep it shiny and it seems to be working. Still working with on the parts thing so we will see in the near future if it is good or a deal breaker coming from a more mainstream brand.

Iam also working on a shop to sell bikes and this one is just a part of that so hopefully it will all work out and I can sell a few...

Thanks,

Rick Adams

[gg3]

Great review Rick,I have a 2010 ec300,not sure where that sits with an XC?
I also love the suspension package as it came,but of course could be better with some dialling in.Could you post your settings please as I am not sure where to start on mine.Especially the high/low speed shock settings.

[HuskyDude]

Good report.
How many km do you have on your bike gg3? I'd run them in for awhile before any fine tuning.
I sent mine away to get revalved even before putting any km on her. Made all the difference in the world. Very happy with what Les from LTR did for me.

[swazi_matt]

the xc is the EC without all the indicators speedo brake lights etc as far as i am aware

[Rod Overstreet]

Concerning your gas cap leaking…check the rubber diaphragm inside the cap to see if it has shrunk. Mine did.

[TNT Cycle]

YUP YUP shrunk...put left over o-ring from KTM GC leaking problems weeks ago. Cap began cracking as well I give it a Month at most... Also gas tank is not even around flang anymore from air bubble collaps around sealing area. I think if the seal was fine it would seal. Is the gasket available by its self I haven't got around to getting a new cap or seal since o-ring worked fine for a time and cap is cracked now. Cap seemed to be swollen from gas similar to seal shrinking. I guess its an issue this year that will have to be looked at? Any cap cross overs out there?

Thanks for help and welcoming by all.

Rick Adams

[GMP]

I've had a rubber gasket swell on my '07 but never a leak on three bikes in ten years. Must be an issue with the new tank / fuel. Get some silicone rubber sheet from Mcmaster.com and make a gasket, the stuff is resistant to everything.

[gg3]

Originally Posted by HuskyDude

Good report.
How many km do you have on your bike gg3? I'd run them in for awhile before any fine tuning.
I sent mine away to get revalved even before putting any km on her. Made all the difference in the world. Very happy with what Les from LTR did for me.

12hrs on the bike.Very happy with the suspension so far.I got my bike with an anodised aluminium gas cap,no problems so far.

[REVERUP]

I have had issues with the seals swelling and leaking all the way back to my 06. I believe it is from the additives they put in the fuel to try to help curb pollution.

My 04 didn't have that issue. It instead had that tiny trials style cap and fill hole that meant I was getting a gas bath during pit stops anyways. Or just filling up in a non race environment you could not see when it was full till gas was running down the side of the bike. Ill take replacing a cap once in a while over that mistake on the older model tanks.

I always keep a spare on hand. I don't believe you can get just the seal. The caps are affordable though, so not a huge cost. In a race environment things get rushed and I have striped the cap threads of the course of a season also.

The cap plastic seems softer than the tanks so the tank threads were just fine. Probably by design.

Oh and by the way. Nice write up Rick!

Roscoe

[WTEC]

My six days came with the aluminum cap and it has leaked since new, would be nice to have a fix for this.

Wes.