I took my 250X out this weekend for a few hours. Man, what a nice
bike. As most of you know, I am a devout 2-stroke aficionado, but
after this weekend, I'm considering a shift to the other camp.
Riding in the tight and rocky as I do, I generally short shift. When
ridden in this manner, the 250X feels like a small-bore XR. Although
the motor can surely be considered a revver, it has a suprising amount
of low end grunt. Not as grunty as a XR400, but I'd say it has as
much or more oomph than a XR250. I screwed up a hill-climb at one
point and just about came to a stop in second gear - I just kept the
throttle open and the bike continued to klank its way up at all of
about 100RPM, keeping itself running until I could get myself re-
positioned enough to give the clutch a stab and downshift. I think my
400 might've even stalled there (not to mention pounding me into the
ground afterwards). I did stall the 250X once when I got stuck across
a root at the top of a nasty climb, but was able to re-start with an
awkward push of "the button". The 25 pounds devoted to the e-start is
worth it's weight in GasGas parts. The urge to shift comes in the
midrange after the power builds to a reasonable level, but the bike
really isn't even close to ready at that point - just keep holding the
throttle open and the motor makes more and more power, with the RPMS
continuing to build seemingly forever, or at least for another solid
gear worth of speed. Power is impressive when the RPMs are up. Rev
speed is also impressive - the motor spins up like a two-stroke with
instant RPMs, while still retaining some degree of throttle-RPM
relationship, unlike a stinkwheels. I was entering a rock bed and did
a quick clutch stab to get a burst of oomph to hop over the leading
rock and clear the next few - the bike stood up and almost looped out
in the air. Didn't see that coming. The bike did seem to run a
little hot though while in technical terrain (which is all of it),
although that might've felt worse than normal because my pilot mix was
tuned a little on the rich side.
I rode the suspension box-stock w/o even turning a clicker. It's
pretty good - the forks aren't as good as my XR, although they are
pretty smooth. They do spike and deflect a bit on fast hits, but that
might go away once I start running with the clickers wide-open. I'm
keeping the stock springs on the bike, even though the spring rate is
low for my weight - the lighter springs ease low-speed rock-eating,
and the additional sag is in the range of only about 1/4"-3/8" on both
ends. Front to rear balance is maintained, and I truly doubt I'll
notice a difference in suspension action due to riding 3/8" lower in
the stroke. Even better, I can touch the ground with a toe while
keeping my butt on the seat, which is a new thing for me.
I didn't kiss the pavement all day, but came extremely close once - I
had wicked it up on a powerline trail that was covered with somewhat
loose rocks. The front end suddenly kicked out and bike layed down to
the low side. I think I pretty much froze and I stayed on the gas, or
maybe I had a smattering of divine intervention, but the bike went off
the trail sideways with the handlebars no more than a foot off the
ground. The surrounding brush had recently been mowed down by the
power company, so I slid into a field covered with 1' high pungi
sticks. A foot or two off the trail, my front wheel hit some of this
brush and hooked up, and the bike stood up. I steered back onto the
trail and kept on going. I'll be needing a new seatcover though, as
mine is now soiled.
The road manners of the bike are good. We ran into an impassable mud
hole, and had to do a couple of miles of illegal road riding to
circumvent the hole. One of the guys riding was on a Banshee - we
couldn't risk him getting stuck because he has no legs, and I wasn't
about to ruin my brand-new Gaerne SG10s pushing him out of a goo
pile. Anyhow, I was pleasantly suprised at how well-behaved and
stable the bike felt at 45-50MPH road speeds.
There were really only two things I didn't like about the bike. The
first was the sound of the engine at lower RPMs. Both of the other
guys I was with complained about the "weird" sound the motor makes.
It's really klangy - lugging the bike sounds like "klank-klank-klank"
instead of "blub-blub-blub". Maybe it's the auto decomp clattering
around or something. Once it opens up though, it sounds like a sewing
machine on steriods. The other complaint is a function of all the
crap they pack into the bike. Not only is it a nightmare to work on,
but all of those little nooks and crannies trap gunk, so the bike is
even hard to wash. I spent 45 minutes on it, removing such PITA
pieces as the front sprocket guard and bash plate, and I STILL found
two big globs of mud that were hiding in the bike once I put it away.
The sprocket guard is dumpster bound, but trying to clean up the bike
is something I'm not going to look forward too.
My 15y/o son and his buddy (riding a 250 3-wheeler he just got for
$200) rode the first leg with us, then peeled off to get into mischief
on their own after our first stop. I got to watch my son climb a long
and really nasty rock climb on his CR80E as they were headed off into
the distance. Pretty impressive - the boy is riding surprisingly well
these days. Who says you can't ride New England swill on small-bore
two-strokes? Next out, my other new bike, the CR125 - always wanted
to ride a bike that weighs less than I do.
JayC
"lugging the bike sounds like "klank-klank-klank"
That's actually chain slap. It's just characteristic of the X. You'll get
used to it.
--
ADW
>I took my 250X out this weekend for a few hours. Man, what a nice
> bike. As most of you know, I am a devout 2-stroke aficionado, but
> after this weekend, I'm considering a shift to the other camp.
> Riding in the tight and rocky as I do, I generally short shift. When
> ridden in this manner, the 250X feels like a small-bore XR. Although
> the motor can surely be considered a revver, it has a suprising amount
> of low end grunt. Not as grunty as a XR400, but I'd say it has as
> much or more oomph than a XR250. I screwed up a hill-climb at one
> point and just about came to a stop in second gear - I just kept the
> throttle open and the bike continued to klank its way up at all of
> about 100RPM, keeping itself running until I could get myself re-
> positioned enough to give the clutch a stab and downshift. I think my
> 400 might've even stalled there (not to mention pounding me into the
> ground afterwards). I did stall the 250X once when I got stuck across
> a root at the top of a nasty climb, but was able to re-start with an
> awkward push of "the button". The 25 pounds devoted to the e-start is
> worth it's weight in GasGas parts. The urge to shift comes in the
> midrange after the power builds to a reasonable level, but the bike
> really isn't even close to ready at that point - just keep holding the
> throttle open and the motor makes more and more power, with the RPMS
> continuing to build seemingly forever, or at least for another solid
> gear worth of speed. Power is impressive when the RPMs are up. Rev
> speed is also impressive - the motor spins up like a two-stroke with
> instant RPMs, while still retaining some degree of throttle-RPM
> relationship, unlike a stinkwheels. I was entering a rock bed and did
> a quick clutch stab to get a burst of oomph to hop over the leading
> rock and clear the next few - the bike stood up and almost looped out
> in the air. Didn't see that coming. The bike did seem to run a
> little hot though while in technical terrain (which is all of it),
> although that might've felt worse than normal because my pilot mix was
> tuned a little on the rich side.
> I rode the suspension box-stock w/o even turning a clicker. It's
> pretty good - the forks aren't as good as my XR, although they are
> pretty smooth. They do spike and deflect a bit on fast hits, but that
> might go away once I start running with the clickers wide-open. I'm
> keeping the stock springs on the bike, even though the spring rate is
> low for my weight - the lighter springs ease low-speed rock-eating,
> and the additional sag is in the range of only about 1/4"-3/8" on both
> ends. Front to rear balance is maintained, and I truly doubt I'll
> notice a difference in suspension action due to riding 3/8" lower in
> the stroke. Even better, I can touch the ground with a toe while
> keeping my butt on the seat, which is a new thing for me.
> I didn't kiss the pavement all day, but came extremely close once - I
> had wicked it up on a powerline trail that was covered with somewhat
> loose rocks. The front end suddenly kicked out and bike layed down to
> the low side. I think I pretty much froze and I stayed on the gas, or
> maybe I had a smattering of divine intervention, but the bike went off
> the trail sideways with the handlebars no more than a foot off the
> ground. The surrounding brush had recently been mowed down by the
> power company, so I slid into a field covered with 1' high pungi
> sticks. A foot or two off the trail, my front wheel hit some of this
> brush and hooked up, and the bike stood up. I steered back onto the
> trail and kept on going. I'll be needing a new seatcover though, as
> mine is now soiled.
> The road manners of the bike are good. We ran into an impassable mud
> hole, and had to do a couple of miles of illegal road riding to
> circumvent the hole. One of the guys riding was on a Banshee - we
> couldn't risk him getting stuck because he has no legs, and I wasn't
> about to ruin my brand-new Gaerne SG10s pushing him out of a goo
> pile. Anyhow, I was pleasantly suprised at how well-behaved and
> stable the bike felt at 45-50MPH road speeds.
> There were really only two things I didn't like about the bike. The
> first was the sound of the engine at lower RPMs. Both of the other
> guys I was with complained about the "weird" sound the motor makes.
> It's really klangy - lugging the bike sounds like "klank-klank-klank"
> instead of "blub-blub-blub". Maybe it's the auto decomp clattering
> around or something. Once it opens up though, it sounds like a sewing
> machine on steriods. The other complaint is a function of all the
> crap they pack into the bike. Not only is it a nightmare to work on,
> but all of those little nooks and crannies trap gunk, so the bike is
> even hard to wash. I spent 45 minutes on it, removing such PITA
> pieces as the front sprocket guard and bash plate, and I STILL found
> two big globs of mud that were hiding in the bike once I put it away.
> The sprocket guard is dumpster bound, but trying to clean up the bike
> is something I'm not going to look forward too.
> My 15y/o son and his buddy (riding a 250 3-wheeler he just got for
> $200) rode the first leg with us, then peeled off to get into mischief
> on their own after our first stop. I got to watch my son climb a long
> and really nasty rock climb on his CR80E as they were headed off into
> the distance. Pretty impressive - the boy is riding surprisingly well
> these days. Who says you can't ride New England swill on small-bore
> two-strokes? Next out, my other new bike, the CR125 - always wanted
> to ride a bike that weighs less than I do.
> JayC
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> bike. As most of you know, I am a devout 2-stroke aficionado, but
> after this weekend, I'm considering a shift to the other camp.
> Riding in the tight and rocky as I do, I generally short shift. When
> ridden in this manner, the 250X feels like a small-bore XR. Although
> the motor can surely be considered a revver, it has a suprising amount
> of low end grunt. Not as grunty as a XR400, but I'd say it has as
> much or more oomph than a XR250. I screwed up a hill-climb at one
> point and just about came to a stop in second gear - I just kept the
> throttle open and the bike continued to klank its way up at all of
> about 100RPM, keeping itself running until I could get myself re-
> positioned enough to give the clutch a stab and downshift. I think my
> 400 might've even stalled there (not to mention pounding me into the
> ground afterwards). I did stall the 250X once when I got stuck across
> a root at the top of a nasty climb, but was able to re-start with an
> awkward push of "the button". The 25 pounds devoted to the e-start is
> worth it's weight in GasGas parts. The urge to shift comes in the
> midrange after the power builds to a reasonable level, but the bike
> really isn't even close to ready at that point - just keep holding the
> throttle open and the motor makes more and more power, with the RPMS
> continuing to build seemingly forever, or at least for another solid
> gear worth of speed. Power is impressive when the RPMs are up. Rev
> speed is also impressive - the motor spins up like a two-stroke with
> instant RPMs, while still retaining some degree of throttle-RPM
> relationship, unlike a stinkwheels. I was entering a rock bed and did
> a quick clutch stab to get a burst of oomph to hop over the leading
> rock and clear the next few - the bike stood up and almost looped out
> in the air. Didn't see that coming. The bike did seem to run a
> little hot though while in technical terrain (which is all of it),
> although that might've felt worse than normal because my pilot mix was
> tuned a little on the rich side.
> I rode the suspension box-stock w/o even turning a clicker. It's
> pretty good - the forks aren't as good as my XR, although they are
> pretty smooth. They do spike and deflect a bit on fast hits, but that
> might go away once I start running with the clickers wide-open. I'm
> keeping the stock springs on the bike, even though the spring rate is
> low for my weight - the lighter springs ease low-speed rock-eating,
> and the additional sag is in the range of only about 1/4"-3/8" on both
> ends. Front to rear balance is maintained, and I truly doubt I'll
> notice a difference in suspension action due to riding 3/8" lower in
> the stroke. Even better, I can touch the ground with a toe while
> keeping my butt on the seat, which is a new thing for me.
> I didn't kiss the pavement all day, but came extremely close once - I
> had wicked it up on a powerline trail that was covered with somewhat
> loose rocks. The front end suddenly kicked out and bike layed down to
> the low side. I think I pretty much froze and I stayed on the gas, or
> maybe I had a smattering of divine intervention, but the bike went off
> the trail sideways with the handlebars no more than a foot off the
> ground. The surrounding brush had recently been mowed down by the
> power company, so I slid into a field covered with 1' high pungi
> sticks. A foot or two off the trail, my front wheel hit some of this
> brush and hooked up, and the bike stood up. I steered back onto the
> trail and kept on going. I'll be needing a new seatcover though, as
> mine is now soiled.
> The road manners of the bike are good. We ran into an impassable mud
> hole, and had to do a couple of miles of illegal road riding to
> circumvent the hole. One of the guys riding was on a Banshee - we
> couldn't risk him getting stuck because he has no legs, and I wasn't
> about to ruin my brand-new Gaerne SG10s pushing him out of a goo
> pile. Anyhow, I was pleasantly suprised at how well-behaved and
> stable the bike felt at 45-50MPH road speeds.
> There were really only two things I didn't like about the bike. The
> first was the sound of the engine at lower RPMs. Both of the other
> guys I was with complained about the "weird" sound the motor makes.
> It's really klangy - lugging the bike sounds like "klank-klank-klank"
> instead of "blub-blub-blub". Maybe it's the auto decomp clattering
> around or something. Once it opens up though, it sounds like a sewing
> machine on steriods. The other complaint is a function of all the
> crap they pack into the bike. Not only is it a nightmare to work on,
> but all of those little nooks and crannies trap gunk, so the bike is
> even hard to wash. I spent 45 minutes on it, removing such PITA
> pieces as the front sprocket guard and bash plate, and I STILL found
> two big globs of mud that were hiding in the bike once I put it away.
> The sprocket guard is dumpster bound, but trying to clean up the bike
> is something I'm not going to look forward too.
> My 15y/o son and his buddy (riding a 250 3-wheeler he just got for
> $200) rode the first leg with us, then peeled off to get into mischief
> on their own after our first stop. I got to watch my son climb a long
> and really nasty rock climb on his CR80E as they were headed off into
> the distance. Pretty impressive - the boy is riding surprisingly well
> these days. Who says you can't ride New England swill on small-bore
> two-strokes? Next out, my other new bike, the CR125 - always wanted
> to ride a bike that weighs less than I do.
> JayC