RIDING THE GASGAS EX300, TONI BOU AND MORE: THE WRAP

We’re in the process of testing a 2024 GasGas EX300 two-stroke, which is the top of the GasGas two-stroke line. Last year, this bike was completely different, but now it’s on the same page as KTM and Husqvarna. It now has THAT motor–the new one with throttle body fuel injection and an electronic powervalve. The computer takes input from the throttle position, engine rpm and a number of sensors to control fuel mixture, ignition timing, power-valve setting and therefore compression ratio. This system was introduced on the KTM and Husqvarna competition two-strokes last year to a mixed reaction. Some riders love it, others report problems.

Along with the new motor comes a new frame that’s more rigid in most planes of movement. This year, the GasGas also gets the new coil-spring WP fork. It’s called an “Xact” fork, which is what WP calls the air fork on the motocross bikes, but it’s quite different internally, beyond the move to springs.

The philosophy behind the GasGas brand is to offer features similar to KTM but at a lower price. It’s still not cheap; the EX300 sells for $10,599–but that is $700 less than the KTM 300XC. You have to give up a few features along the way; the GasGas has no map switch, no handguards and no skid plate. There are a number of components that are different, most notably the Braktec brakes and hydraulic clutch. Compared to last year’s bike, you also give up oil injection, although that feature still comes on the EC300–which is more trail-oriented.

Riding the EC300 is a blast. It makes serious power. It’s much stronger than last year’s TPI version. There’s a big kick in the middle and decent rev on top. The engineers clearly didn’t go all-out for peak power, though. Even in the meat of the powerbank, it’s easy to control. Compared to the KTM 300SX, motocross bike, the GasGas is more pleasant and much, much easier to ride despite the fact that it has the exact same cylinder and head. It’s all about the mapping. As a consequence, it can’t really hang with a 450 motocross bike the way a 300SX can–but you can’t have everything. If you want to get closer, you can buy the map switch that comes on the KTM to access a more aggressive engine map. It’s a plug-and-play device that sells for about $125. With the KTM 300SX, we have experienced some hiccups and glitches when you make sudden changes in throttle position and engine load–like when you slam a berm hard and clutch it. We haven’t had that happen on the EX, although the demands of off-road riding don’t really put us in the position to have those exact same conditions.

With or without the map switch, the greatest thing about this motor is how well it works at super low rpm. You can lug it down to idle and it’s just unstoppable. The motor always runs extremely clean, too. With last year’s transfer port injection, it seemed like it always had a lean surge down low. That’s pretty much gone. Now the bike always seems like it has perfect jetting. There’s lots more to test here, especially when it comes to changes in altitude and temperature. We’re going to take the bike up to Caliente, Nevada for Scot Harden’s Nevada 200 trail ride in a few weeks. It should be the perfect bike for that.

LEGENDS AND HEROES CR500R

Legends and Heroes is an organization that travels with Supercross all over the country and promotes the history of the sport by displaying some very impressive bikes. At Daytona, they had a particularly special CR500R that was built by Greg Barney of Jacksonville, Florida. Here’s some of the back-story on his build.

This garage-build started in 2012 with a bike that was well-worn and viewed by many as only good for only spare parts. After almost 12 years, it was completed last February. Finding discontinued OEM parts, fabricating custom metal and titanium parts, and making modifications to the frame took time.

To summarize why this is a one-off build, this 1987 bike has the following parts from a late model Honda CRF450R:
– swingarm
– linkage (knuckle, arms)
– triple clamps and bar clamp
– forks
– wheels (19” rear)
– brake system (rotors, master cylinders, calipers, etc.)

A project like this never makes sense from a financial point of view–only from a perspective of passion. There’s obviously more to the story, and hopefully we’re going to hear more from Greg in the near future.

X-TRIALS

X-Trials World Championship is an incredible spectacle, and it has been the sole property of Repsol Honda rider Toni Bou since 2007.  With barely a week between rounds,  the third event of the series was held in Nice, France. Toni Bou is the series leader with a perfect haul from the two events held so far. Teammate Gabriel Marcelli is second with 27 points. After achieving two consecutive victories, Bou has a 17-point advantage over Marcelli in second. He has competed three times in Nice, winning on every occasion, so the objective this weekend will be to further extend his lead in the series. This will be the first time for Marcelli riding at the French town. He is second overall after his great performance less than a week ago in Chalon-sur-Saône, where he took second place. The Repsol Honda rider will battle for his first victory in the indoor discipline and to close the gap at the top.

HANGING BY A THREAD–AUGUST 1991

When I arrived at Dirt Bike Magazine in 1990, Jimmy Lewis was finishing up a stint as an intern. At most places that would mean emptying trash cans and filing photos, but his main functions were as a test rider, photo subject and occasionally a writer. He would put his off-beat stamp on every project. In the August 1991 issue, we had a story called “Cliffhangers,” which was supposed to be a collection of racing stories from famous riders. Jimmy was asked to gather photos and do interviews. For the cover, he came up with the notion of literally hanging off a cliff with a motorcycle. Joe Kosch shot the photo and it turned out to be the best-selling issue for years to come. Years later, we tried duplicating the photo with another rider, but it didn’t work as well. “He didn’t kick his legs enough!” analyzed Jimmy.

See you next week!