Wow that bike looks SWEET! I should point out I have had every size gas gas 2 stroke they make and liked them all ok. The seat height is lower then the hasky but what I found last weekend is that my husky wr144 (lowered 1 inch f and r at halls husky) feels ALOT better then my old 05 200ec that my buddy bought from me. We switched back and forth several times and although I am only 5'7 and the husky is taller. I felt more confident on the husky (ground clearence appears to be more on the huske to. We did 3 2nd gear roll on races on a dirt road and my 144(fmf pipe and silencer, lower gearing, jetted by Halls,and my 169.5 pounds, BEAT the gas gas(lower gearing,ltr jet kit, my buddy doew weigh 215 though! If the price of the Gas Gas was better I may consider another one in the future, they have come along way since I cracked the crate on a I believe 96 or 97 ec Kind of a pink with the stickers misplaced and falling off when it was new! Was cool to honk the horn at your buddies and use the blinkers though! ANYTHING but ORANGE or japanese is good to me!
I have to disagree with you Kelly. I have a 2010 EC 300. I'm 6' also. Not a problem at all, rather I find the ergonomics suit me very well. Funny for standing I had to add around an 1" under the bars to make my TE 510 suit me, but on the EC the bike is very comfortable as is while standing. One of the best bikes I've owned.
Most the people around here buy them for the KX ergonomics, IE small / compact. I'm only 6 foot as well and feel the seat to peg relationship way tight and makes if hard to transition sitting to standing. Buddy Ken traded his WR250 in for a 08 GG300 and it is for sure much smaller ergonomically. 08 and 2010 use the same frame?
The geometry is almost the same, but the 2010s got a new frame material (B shaped steel). I'm 5'11" and I run my EC250 with the stock bars in the forward position, the shift lever up one spline, and the brake lever tip in the forward position. The bikes are super flat and easy to move around on, and they handle like a dream. As a reference I spent just a little time tooling around on a 2010 TC250 (all stock) and thought that bike was huge - really tall, with super tall bars relative to the seat.
I think I am really gonna like an Xc. My son's 2010 Tc 250 feels pretty good just a little tall and handles like a 125. So if the Xc has it beat, I am in.
It does get very appealing if handles as good or better than a 10' TC with lower seat hight. I will wait and see what the mags say about it. Most where spot on with the TC...I don't feel like going through setup and fixing flaws on my next bike. I want something for enduro's that is ready to race and super reliable. At first I wanted to go back to a 450, but after Snowshoe, that idea has died ...way too much bike. The Tc is great for flowing trails or mx so it's a keeper, it's still not a ''good starter'' after much trials and error, and has very limited gas range. The 144 is under powered and I had very bad luck with reliability. So its going away. The 250 2t seems to be the best compromise...then again a 250f is very efficient in power delivery. too many choices.
Have to agree with Motorhead, previous GG's did not do it for me visually, esp the fe450 and Pampas, looked like a chinese import. The new 2t's look like sweet rides. Their motors have always been soft and aimed more at beginner/intermediate riders c/w Husky or Tm's.
Now, that's just ignorant. Sorry, but unless you're talking about the Pampera (a poodle bike (sorry Tami) due to unfortunate cost cutting on parts selection) the GasGas 2 strokes are anything but soft. Torquey and tractable, yes, but soft? Not the ones that have found their way under my butt over the years. Race track results on long, deeply plowed uphill straights would indicate that my GasGas EC300 will pull with 450 4 strokes just fine. Tim H - Senior A (not a beginner)
now there is a quote that will get the gas gas guys dander up!! Soft can mean smooth and tractable .... so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt ... but you really dropped the ball on the beginer/intermediate thing. Gas Gas developed their bikes to be ridden in nasty off road conditions not mx tracks. ... gas gas came into the game from the trials end of bike development. With the exception of ktm, maybe, everyone else has come from the world of motocross where they take an mx bike and try and make work better in the woods. Gas gas designs its bike under a different paradigm than everyone else ecept maybe beta and sherco.. both trials mfgers who entered the off road market. As far as beginners go ... the 2009 NETRA Harescramble champion rode a ec 250 with a bone stock motor, they put all their tuning time into suspension. the beginner oriented factory motor did just fine against new englands best harescrambles riding the best orange bikes and converted jap mx'ers 4t and 2t. btw .. I have an 06 gas gas 300 .. with loads of soft power ... until it goes wfo .... when that happens you better know what your doing!!!
They're appealing alright, and you don't have to wait. The 2011 is an evolutionary change from the 2010 which has been well reviewed by Cycle News, Dirt Rider, and Dirt Bike (see http://www.afterhourscycle.com/quotes.html for references to the articles). The Sachs suspension on the 2010s was stiff out of the box (but very reasonable after break-in), and that's one of the issues addressed with the new release. "Ready to Race" (apologies to the pumpkin crew) and super reliable just about sums it up.
Man I feel better hearing the soft and beginner comment may not be true. At 51 I don't need the fastest bike but I wouldn't want a soft bike either. I would like smooth strong linear power in a bike that handles. So far that sounds like what I am reading from the Gas Gas owners/riders.
I too love the 2011 GAS GAS...and tempted to have one in my garage too A little bit more money than a Husky..... OK fine....but I have checked prices....and its a whole lot more money... they want 9 ish for one...
One of the local dealers has them in, 2 ISDE 300's and a ISDE 250, nice looking selling for 7800 and change for the 300. The 300 didn't have the FMF Q had a Turbine core on it ? One thing that I thought was cool was the choke is up at the clutch lever .
I consider the new USA GG Dist to be a very close personal friend and he has told me that the pricing will be somewhere in between a Husky and a KTM for 2011. There are some heavily discounted 2010 GG EC250/300s coming to Canada mid-August. I know I will be selling them for under $6500 CDN.
