I recently had an opportunity to ride a 2009 or 2010 GG 300EC in Moab Utah for an entire day.  Keep in mind that i haven't ridden dirt seriously in 20+ years so most of what I'm asking has to be taken in that context.  I brought a vintage 83 Honda xr200r with me to ride for the most part. It has smooth power delivery, but old suspension and underpowered for my weight and no electric start.

I loved the electric start and suspension on the GG and loved the way the engine could lug, however there was fine line between lugging the engine and it jumping on the powerband which made it difficult and tiring for me to control.  I tried my best to short shift and keep the revs down to minimize this, but sometimes even when trying to navigate thru bumpy terrain, slight movements of the wrist caused by the bumps caused the GG to really take off and the most in-opportune times.  I am considering buying an 2011/2012 version of the GG 300ec but want to know if this type of behavior is normal or can it be tuned to produce a more linear power, without the strong hit (for me anyway) until my skills build again.  I really don't have the need to go all that fast, and like to pick my way thru terrain vs blasting thru it.

Thanks in advance for anyone's insight on this.

the map switch helps a little, if you need more than that you need an adjustable powervalve cover or a smaller diameter carb, no telling what that bike had,  some have 36 some have 38, I prefer the 36

If you get one without an electric start then there's a powervalve cover that tames things down a bit. Also a straight taper needle such as the DDK also helps. Some of the EC300s have the 2k2 versus the 2k3 ignition. The 2k3 uses a much heavier flywheel that has better lighting capacity and tames the hit down some. Most people that ride my 300 think it's not very quick because it has very little hit. They're honestly surprised though at how fast the bike really is. The 300 is a torque monster set up properly with very little mid-range hit compared to the KTM. The e-start models will have the heavy ignition but no way to do the powervalve cover.

I think you'd be surprised at how fast you'd get used to the power delivery.

There is a large data base for jetting on the GasGas forums, you can tune for whatever you want. The Yamaha needles are known to be "peaky" and the Suzuki give you more "linear" power. You can use a throttle tamer from G2 to take the hit off the initial roll-on, too. Lots of ways to get the power you want.

Raise the needle one clip, go one up on the MJ, and get one of these:



A 2T is very easy to tune in/out power delivery with simple jetting. The G2 is a huge help as well. It worked really good for me. The cool thing about it is you can go right back to stock 1/4 turn if you don't like it.

As mentioned, you can jet it to take away some of the snap.  The map switch makes a big difference on the 2012 I've been riding.

You get used to it.  I was riding a 450 and 300 has a bunch more snap and a touchier throttle, but it chugs and lugs so much better the 450.  I'm a novice rider but love the instant power for getting up and over obstacles.  I also call it stall proof compared to the 4 stroke.

I installed a suzuki NEDJ needle in my 2012 300. Nice and crisp, but very tame transition from bottom to top. Perfect for single track riding.

Edited by THUMPERRIDER1, 30 May 2012 - 04:59 PM.

Coming off an XR200, any 2 stroke would seem to have super sharp power delivery. Heck, I felt that way when I bought my GasGas XC200 when comparing it to my WR450. It is in the nature of 2 strokes. You can tune it to ease the snap, but your riding style will have to adapt as well. You learn to tell by the sound of the motor how the bike will react if you open the throttle, and it all becomes intuitive. On an XR200 throttle response is pretty linear, but it's highly dynamic on a 2 stroke. Watch out, premix is like crack. My GasGas is much less refined than my Yamaha, yet I can't seem to stay off the GG.

I put the largest flywheel weight I could find on both our bikes,smooths things out for the long haul.

Edited by motorhead404, 04 June 2012 - 11:57 PM.