gas gas 250

[patcrosbie]

I'm 5ft. 10in. 210lbs. I have riden a suzuki drz 400 for a year and I wondered if I would be able to handle a Gas Gas xc(or ec) 250? I do almost all trailsb but would like to race a hare scramble or two. I'm somewhat worried about hills though. I need a lot of low end pulling. I don't ride too fast. Thanks.

P.S.
Is there any engine difference between the xc and ec?

 

[breakdown]

If your looking for a smooth, 4 stroke like bike with ALOT of low end you should consider the EC 300 model.

 

[Lemming]

The 250 can be lugged but it really likes to be revved. Go with the 300, lot's of torque and hill climbing power.

 

[bailey34]

I just got a 2000 XC 300. I was amazed at the bottom end torque. And when you want to go fast, it clears it's throat and gets up on the pipe and hauls ass. My other bike is an XR 650, and the GG has more bottom end torque and a smoother power delivery. My bike is set up with a 13 tooth front sproket (instead of a 12) and a stock 49 tooth rear sproket. That takes the edge off the hit when it comes up on the pipe, but still gives good throttle response. It is a hoot to ride!

 

[fatty_k]

I have to agree about the 300. If you want a 250, just jump up 50 more cc's of fun to the 300! It is not hard to ride at all (I do just fine and Im a mid pack C rider). Massive low end power and just takes off when you get it up on the pipe! It just dosnt stop pulling!

 

[patcrosbie]

Is there really that much difference between the 250 and 300 in low end pulling? Thanks.

 

[MLEACH]

I just got my 03 ec250.I'm 5-10 185 and the bike has plenty of pull everywhere.It came with a 48 rear and I am going to switch to a 50 to make 3rd gear a little more usable in tight conditions.

 

[euro gasgas]

I went from riding XRs for years (and racing them pretty successfully against a bunch of two strokes too) to the gasgas 300. My XR was pretty cool - WP forks, ohlins shock, 300cc, fcr flatslide. Great tight woods machine. I loved my XR for it's great cornering abilities and it's efficiency. It didn't make the most ponies, but what it had you could controllably get to the ground even in the worst conditions. I picked the gasgas because it was the only two stroke out there that I thought could satisfy my desires... I wanted something that was lighter, had more power, and was easier to start (yeah, I know the 4 stroke drill, etc. etc.) I thought for sure my last breath would come trying to get the XR to light up after a fall - "Hmmm , pain in chest, left arm -> wonder if any of my buddies know CPR..."

I agree with the previous statement that the gasgas 250 likes to be rev'ed when compared to the 300. It's not that it has a great "hit" anywhere in the powerband, it just wants to accelerate at all times, pulls quickly off the bottom and all the way to the top.

The 250 does have less bottom end than the 300 - different ignition maps, 250 has crank stuffers, 250 doesn't have reed spacer, engine revs 1000rpm higher on 250 than 300...

But it's all relative, the 250 has good bottom end too -> look here for dyno curves of gasgas 250 versus ktm 250 :

http://www.smackovermotorsports.com/html/dyno_test.htm

The gasgas has very linear power, like my old XR -> what it puts out it puts very efficiently to the ground, even in sloppy conditions. The difference in the torque curves between the KTM and gasgas is "pretty stark".

I think I can go fast on both bikes. It is less effort for me to go "moderately fast" on the 300 -> I can be lazier at times, be a gear too high through a corner like my old XR and not have it matter, it'll just pull you through. It's hard to explain, but on my old XR I had to ride it at more than full throttle to pull some steep hills and to keep up in the straights. On the gasgas, I just twist the throttle and go "as fast as I want to go"... It's much less tiring for me to ride at a moderately fast pace and was very easy to adapt to from riding a four stroke (Jim Cook at smackover refers to gasgas power as a "three stroke powerband" - it's a pretty good description).

I think gasgas is going to do very very well this year. The prices have dropped (check out www.smackovermotorsports.com for pricing) and the bike has been refined from year to year -> it is time for these bikes to have "their time in the sun"...

jeff
'01 gasgas ec300
www.gasgasrider.org GasGas Rider's Club

 

[patcrosbie]

So what's the difference between the xc and ec? Also, for some reason I'm still worried that I might be in over my head going with a Gas Gas coming from a DRZ.

 

[CPT Jack]

Pat, a lot of other riders have had the EXACT concerns you have, myself included. Came off an XR400 w/ 18 mo. riding experience. I went for the XC250 & am the same size as yourself. Rest assured, my friend. I was comfortable day one with this bike. It's just plain easy to ride. They say the 300 is easier to ride so I'd go w/ that if that's what you want. I didn't want the "easier" bike but opted instead for the one I thought would meake me a better rider. I have no regrets & don't think you will either whichever way you go.

 

[justql]

Gas Gas are the easiest to ride of any bikes. Very forgiving and VERY smooth They are not the kind of bike to be afraid of, unless you are racing against one :p .
You will not regret owning a gasser.

 

[sharp]

I ride an '01 XC 250. I am 5'10" and weigh just as much as the bike . I agree with what everyone here as said - go with the 300. I love the 250 but it begs to be ridden hard and is like a race horse trying to take off. The one thing I really admire is that the bike can be lugged low and has plenty of torque to get my excessive fat self up steep hills with no problem.

 

[euro gasgas]

Question : what is difference between an XC and an EC?

Answer : The XC was a stripped down version of an EC that the previous U.S. importer was selling in the U.S. market. The bike was imported into the u.s. without a pipe installed and a fmf gnarley pipe was installed here. (euro bikes came with messico pipe and silencer).

The differences in previous years was that the EC was a "trail bike" with counterbalanced motor, zoke forks, lower to ground (shorter rear shock), heavier ignition, etc. The XC was the off-road racer - no counterbalancer, lighter ignition, no flywheel weight installed, WP upside forks and longer rear shock.

In recent years, the differences between an XC and an EC became more subtle. GasGas quit using a counterbalancer in the motor, and went to more balanced crankshafts with a harmonic balancer (a concentric flywheel) on the EC models. The EC has an 80W lighting coil and full lighting and wiring loom with horn, turn signal wiring and relays, etc. The EC has the same suspension components used on the XC (and now the DE).

The XC has a 35 watt lighting coil, an "abbreviated wiring harness" (just front and rear light no turn signals, horn, etc.). The high compression head off of the MC motocross model was installed on the 250 model. FMF pipe and silencer/spark arrestor installed in u.s. The XC came without a enduro rear fender extension (the new DE model comes with it). The XC came with michelin S-12 off-road tires (not dot approved).

The EC has a heavier 80-ish watt lighting coil and flywheel (harmonic balancer). leftover '02 ECs will have messico pipe and silencer, new '03 ECs have fmf fatty pipe and silencer. The EC is street legal in europe and comes with full wiring harness with horn, turn signal relays, etc. Turn signals are removed for importation into u.s. - to dual sport the bike, simply bolt on turn signals and you are ready to go in states where licensing is "more liberal". The EC has a rear enduro fender extension/ license plate holder whereas the XC does not. The EC comes with michelin enduro comp III tires which are DOT approved knobbies (in europe "eco tires" have max knob height of 13mm).

The new gasgas importer is now selling a DE model ("Dealers Edition") in the u.s that is similar to the old XC model, except that the 250 comes with the lower compression head and the enduro fender extension is installed. They will be offering high compression heads, flywheel weights, etc. Smackover sells 3 or 4 different flywheel weights to set up for rider preference or conditions.

Basically, you have two choices, DE or XC, which is more of a off-road GNCC/Hare Scrambles racer (but you can just add a flywheel weight to calm it down); And the EC which is more of a tight woods enduro mount (more flywheel, with heavier lighting coil if you want to dual sport or add lights or heated grips, etc.)


jeff
'01 gasgas ec300

 

[bonzo]

Pat- I own a 01 gg xc300 and agree that it is a great bike, but
I get a feeling that you may chug along at a trail pace, nothing wrong
there. If the weight of the drz does not bother you I think that it
is more than an adequate ride. They come with very soft springs
that dont encourage faster riding due to weight of bike. good luck!

 

[sharp]

Euro gas gas -

What is the difference between the DE and XC. I ride the '01 XC 250 and I am thinking of getting an '03 (DE/XC/EC?) 300. BTW, my '01 250 has the harmonic balancer and came with m-12s(yuck!). I don't care about lights but at the same time I don't want something that needs to be put on Riddelin (sp?) either.

Shawn

 

[euro gasgas]

Let's see...

XC came had the following stuff...
- 35-ish watt lighting coil and no flywheel weight : same as DE

- on 250 - said to come with higher compression head off of MC250 MX model : [/i]DE has lower compression head stock which will let bike rev out more - higher compression heads will be offered later or you can mill it yourself (or order an MC head) if you want to trade off top end for bottom end - and maybe need race gas in the process[/i]

- Michelin Off-road only tires usually 120/90-18 S-12 which is too small) : I believe DE comes with S-12s stock, I hope they use a 130/90X18 size.

- FMF Gnarley Pipe with tc II spark arrestor : DE Comes with FMF Fatty and tc II spark arrestor - in my opinion a much better choice; The fmf fatty provides power bottom, mid and top whereas the gnarley delivers bottom and mid with no top (in comparison). The bike may feel faster with the gnarley because it yanks hard down low, but believe me, it isn't.. GasGas Motors America is having a pipe designed specifically for each model - whereas in previous years the 200,250 and 300 XC models all got the same pipe

- WP front forks standard DE is the same with ohlins forks optionally available

- XC didn't have enduro rear fender extension :
DE comes with rear enduro fender extension - this consists of a small aluminum fender support and a rear fender extension/plate holder.

DE can be ordered with optional ohlins front forks for about $500 extra.

One difference that I forgot to mention relative to the '03 EC versus the '03 DE - the EC comes with a nice larger (than the '02) electronic odometer/speedometer with the pickup now placed on the front wheel. In previous years, the pickup was on the rear wheel. The DE doesn't come with the electronic odo/speedo. I have some closeup photos of the '03 EC models from the dealer show on gasgasrider.org (I went along to help a friend present his aftermarket products) -> look under news.

In comparison to your '01 XC , the '03 DE has refined cornering manners with changed engine placement and refined frame geometry, an updated reed valve, porting changes, larger airbox (new sidepanels), new and improved ignition map, much lighter rear wheel assembly, internal engine refinements (full bearings in transmission, etc)

jeff
'01 gasgas ec300
www.gasgasrider.org GasGas Rider's Club
www.lt-racing.com GasGas Performance Products
www.smackovermotorsports.com The GasGas Parts Warehouse

 

[Wudsracer]

I was in the process of prepping a '03 EC/O 300 for shipment, and decided to take a break and check in for a bit.

I saw this thread and thought I'd put in my $.02 worth.

Although we thought all the bikes were arriving with the electronic odometer, it now seems that it was the only the "left over" '02 EC models and first shipment of '03 models that came with the odometer.
The normal US version of the '03 EC does not have it. At least, the ones that I have seen so far, coming to my shop. The ones at the dealer's meeting had the odometer. (KPH not MPH)

The rest of the descriptions are very accurate.

Happy New Year!
Jim Cook

"We Only Ride on Days That End in "Y"!"

 

[euro gasgas]

Thanks Jim...

FYI - Smackover now stocks trailtech enduro computers and all parts (billet holders, etc). There is a gasgas specific mounting kit for it. The newer trailtech units are resettable in tenths. I do recall hearing that all the dealers complained that the new gasgas speedo unit was not resettable in tenths so maybe that is why they left them off...

jeff
'01 gasgas eco300
www.gasgasrider.org GasGas Rider's Club
www.lt-racing.com GasGas Performance Products
www.smackovermotorsports.com The GasGas Parts Warehouse

 

[sharp]

Thanks Jeff - "refined cornering manners" - I thought mine had good cornering manners already. Does the refined geometry take away from stability?

 

[euro gasgas]

They seem to go back and forth between raking it out and tucking it in from year to year - e.g. '02 dropped back end down with shorter shock, greater rigidity to frame, net was raked out over '01 model.

For '03, I heard that the front end was raked out slightly, motor was relocated in frame to provide a slight increase in forward bias. Net result is increased stability without sacrificing "carve-ability"...

I have only ridden an '03 ec250 - it was stiffer than my bike and I was nursing a dislocated shoulder -> so I can't comment on how it differs in cornering over previous models, I wasn't in any shape to be agressive with it. fyi - for more wide open terrain riders - the springs are stiffer fore and aft for '03 - I know the rear spring is a 52 N-m (last year had a 50 N-m; I forget the front spring rate, but it was stiffer and was balanced.

jeff
'01 gasgas eco300
www.gasgasrider.org GasGas Rider's Club

 

[sharp]

Jeff-

How did the '03 you rode behave in the chop and gnarly stuff? Were you able to test it? Did the back end behave well compared to earlier models with the changes? Funny thing with my '01 I never get headshake even at top speed and slamming the front brake just to see how fast I can stop - it tacks very straight too. The tubes are up in the clamp at the second mark and sag is at about 4.5 inches in the back. The only thing that I have to watch for is that I really have to keep my butt back and blip the throttle where I can when going down hill. Man do I want to ride a new 300. Although when you can play on the pipe on the 250 its a blast.

Shawn

 

[dancrosbie]

Will the ec pull better low compared to the xc (even with the FMF gnarly) ?

 

[dancrosbie]

Also, I was riding a DRZ 250 and noticed that I can go down a hill at like 1mph (if you have the idle on low) and still be able to tap the back brake without it stalling out. Can you still do that on a Gas Gas? (Kind of a dumb question. Sorry LOL.)

 

[sharp]

dancrosbie -

There are very few people slower than me going down hill. I lightly drag the back brake but do not lock it up. Yes, you can go slow on a Gas Gas.