RIEJU 300 SIX DAYS: FULL TEST

Wow. The 2023 Rieju MR300 Six Days is a looker. Graphically, it’s brilliant. Physically, she is painted with the same palette as her sister, the MR300 Pro. High-end KYB suspension decorated with a TLC-coated fork, Xtrig ROCS triple clamps, Goldspeed wheels, Renthal Twinwall bars and a cooling fan adorn the machine. Additional upgrades include the cone exhaust pipe, a CrossPro full-length skid plate, a special seat cover with a score-card holder and, of course, the ISDE-based graphics.

The MR300 Six Days targets enduro riding, starting with its powerplant. It’s based on the original GasGas engine from 2019 (prior to Austria buyout). It has an external electric start, is fueled via a 38mm Keihin PWK carburetor, and flows into a case reed with a Moto Tassinari VForce4 cage. A high/low ignition map switch lets you choose a Sunshine or Rain power mode. It’s water-cooled, comes equipped with a radiator fan and has a six-speed gearbox, which is controlled through a Magura hydraulic clutch. It offers both kick and electric start and is not equipped with an internal counter-balancer.

Unique to the Six Days model is the cone pipe, which is a beauty. The muffler is a Tecnigas aluminum unit, which is not spark-arrested. It has Renthal Twinwall bars, Renthal grips and a unique handlebar switch that controls the electric start. The fuel tank holds 2.6 gallons. It feeds on premix and, in today’s fuel-injected world, doesn’t get great mileage.

The hydraulic clutch has an easy pull via Magura, has decent engagement and has a nice protective cover. A cone-pipe expansion chamber sets the engine compartment off. It’s made by Tecnigas, the same folks who build the frame.

The chromoly steel chassis uses a central backbone with an aluminum sub-frame. The airbox is quick access. The filter is a Funnelweb. The wheels are high-end Goldspeed units, with Excel rims fit with NG rotors and Nissan calipers. Fore and aft, the tires are Michelin Enduro. The sprocket is an aluminum/steel hybrid, and the chain is an O-ring unit. Magura hydraulics handle the brakes and clutch on the machine. The side stand folds up nicely. The steel footpegs are huge, and the battery is a lithium-ion unit.

Like the MR300 Pro, the fork is a 48m KYB AOS closed-cartridge damper with DLC-coated lower legs. The fork mounts to Xtrig’s ROC clamps, which are flat nice. The rear damper is KYB and runs through a linkage system. And while the linkage does not hang that low, a CrossPro skid plate covers vulnerable engine parts, the undercarriage and linkage.

CrossPro’s skid plate offers serious protection. The starter motor is outboard-mounted and worked perfectly, and the Keihin carb and V-Force intake made for clean power with no jetting required.

LET’S CARVE

This machine has a good feel ergonomically. The cockpit layout is neutral. The Renthal Twinwalls are a comfortable bend and height. The Magura controls are excellent. It’s got a clean instrument panel, but there is little love for the Renthal grips, which are on the hard side. Overall, ergos are good. It’s slim and nothing obstructs body movements. The seat itself offers adequate cushion, but the designer grip pads lack traction, and we fought slipping backwards on steep climbs.

The odd-looking, outboard-mounted electric start operated perfectly, and jetting was zeroed in superbly out of the crate. Once on the trail, we played with the two map options (Sun/Rain), preferring the Sun map, which enhanced the very bottom response. Overall power favors bottom-to-mid muscle, but a tooth taller on the rear sprocket would have made third gear more usable. In stock trim, the motor can pull third in flatter terrain, but adequate clutch/throttle technique must be applied when the motor is under a load. Vibration is noticeable, especially coming off any of the Austrian 300s. We’d love to see a counter-balanced version in the future.

The highlight of the Rieju Six Days is the handling. It has excellent KYB suspension that targets the more aggressive rider.

Our test area includes flowy hard-pack trails and full-blown “dyno” sand hill-climbs. In the harpack single track, the Rieju was happy. The smooth power delivery allowed excellent progress. On the mega-power-robbing sand climbs, it was more of a battle, as you must really pay attention to keeping the power in the correct rpm range or it will fall off dramatically and require down shifting. Overall, the power has a strong bottom-to-mid pull, but doesn’t like to buzz in the upper revs. One note here: the cone pipe seemed to pull stronger (from recollection) over the standard plated pipe on the MR300 Pro. Again, it has good, down-low enduro power but lacks the meat to keep it on the pipe in third gear under a load, which our test loop requires.

On the chassis side, the machine is stellar. The coated KYB forks and a shock from Technical Touch were super impressive. The suspension allowed adequate absorption in the small hack but ramped up quickly into a firmer stroke action in the mid and bottoming area. The fork allows a very aggressive approach to bigger obstacles and holds up beautifully in high-speed situations. Out back, the shock action was initially stiff and transmitted a lot back to the rider. We backed off the low- and high-speed compression, and the action improved and felt balanced with the fork. We set the sag at 105mm and played with the KYB fork clicker very little. Overall, the suspension feels like it’s set up for a more aggro rider, being just plush enough but very strong when pushed hard.

A DLC-coated KYB fork with valving from Technical Touch provided a planted feel and superb action. Also, everyone praised the “enduro” Michelin tires.

Cornering is a strength. The excellent Michelin front tire and well-planned front-end geometry created a confident result. Tight turns and high-speed sweepers were taken in stride. The firmer KYB ride let us attack higher-speed downhill canyons as the bike stayed up nicely in the stroke, and we never experienced any head-shake. Front-end diving on braking was negligible.

At a bit over 248 pounds without fuel, there is definitely more beef to manhandle. You can feel the weight of the machine, especially if you’re familiar with the Austrian 300s. On the good side, top marks go to the Magura/Nissin brakes. They offer great feel and are super strong and reliable. Also, every rider praised the Michelin tires, the rear being an FIM-legal knob. They worked well in a variety of terrain, plus proved to be durable.

Little things came up during testing. The left side of the handlebars is really crowded. The clutch perch, massive start/blinker/light switch and separate map switch are all fighting for real estate because of the Twinwall bar design. Test riders blistered their thumb knuckle as it rubbed on the map switch and accidentally engaged it several times. We temporarily relocated the map switch to rectify this.

WHERE WE SIT

This bike is so loaded with top-of-the-line goods, it looks like a magazine hop-up project. The super-trick wheels and hubs, exceptional engine and frame protection pieces, top-shelf O-ring chain and sprockets, coated KYB fork, Xtrig clamps, impressive Michelin FIM-legal tires, insane cone pipe and radical graphics give the Rieju Six Days a strong “wow” factor.

And finally, priced at $10,999, the Rieju MR300 Six Days is a radically equipped off-road machine that is niche-oriented. It’s a bit old world in power, lacking the Austrian 300’s broad, smooth and vibration-free juice factor. But, get it in its element (tight, ugly and rough), and this machine is a joy to drive.

HOT LIST:
• Excellent suspension via the
Technical Touch KYB fork and shock
• Balanced handling
• Strong brakes
• Top-of-the-line upgrades
THE COLD ZONE:
• Narrow powerband,
lacks top pull
• Excess vibration
• Needs to diet