mtnmanseth 0 Posted January 21, 2015 Disclaimer: Yep, I'm pretty excited about my singletrack weapon, a 2005 GasGas EC300 (2-stroke, full lights, 6-speed, ridiculous lugability/tractability), and have spent the last year doing a ton of research about how 2-strokes work, their anatomy, how to ride them, who rides them and why, and competing brands that also deliver quality/reliability/support (KTM, Beta, Sherco, TM, Husky). My GasGas is, admittedly, my very first true dirt bike, and I'm definitely still learning to ride it, work on it, race it, upgrade it. As such, I'm an active member of the gasgasrider.org forum, where most of the buzz in the past 6 months has been about GasGas's corporate restructuring of the North American sales and support setup. In short, GasGas was apparently burned pretty badly a few years ago by their national sales/marketing manager (now employed by Sherco) who was running their marketing money into the ground through some ineffective backroom dealings. I don't know any details. Anyhow, since then, GasGas has decided to try, once again, to take a (small) piece of the North American pie by hiring (as official GasGas corporate employees) some staff in the United States. Most of these employees are based in Minnesota, and they have been working to review and assess the existing GasGas dealer network across the country. Aside from a few stories of smaller, inactive dealers being cut off, the big news is that GasGas has opted to prop-up their parts distribution network nationwide by warehousing any and all official/OEM parts in a warehouse in Minnesota - as opposed to having to source parts from across an ocean in Spain, UK, Greece, etc. The intent is to dispel the rumors of GasGas parts being hard to get (they haven't been for me) because they're too much of a "boutique bike" in the US, which is undoubtedly their greatest uphill challenge as they try to capture more market in the US. So, if the plan works, local dealers (like Skeeters in La Mesa and Lewisport in Copperopolis) should have much easier/faster access to GG proprietary parts, which are either kept in stock locally or dropshipped from the Minnesota headquarters. In truth, many of the brake, wheel, controls, and linkage parts have direct crossovers with Yamaha YZs, KTM 300s, or Honda CRs anyway, so unless you need proprietary plastics, motor parts, or GG wheel spacers, ordering straight from any online retailer for most stuff is a snap. The GG forum above has a ton of great information that makes it easy to source a new set of front brake pads, or determine ideal jetting based on terrain/elevation/riding style, suspension setup, or correct size of rear rim lock, for example. In other news, in the past year, GasGas bought the rights to the older Husky 4-stroke motor design - the "better" one, I believe, I'm sure Rob or others will have more input here. So, they are hoping to release updated 4-stroke GasGas options in the next year, too. We'll see. Also, GasGas has made some significant investments in the North American enduro racing scene lately, as they've signed a couple pro riders. For example, Geoff Aaron, a ten-time AMA National Trials champion and currently holds the all-time win record in USA Trials, will race on a GasGas in the 2015 Geico Endurocross season. Geoff is an Endurocross regular with many top finishes and a two-time event winner. Geoff's National number is #4. My only point of this is to share with the SDAR team that there is another option when shopping for a sweet 2-stroke singletrack/enduro/desert weapon that is currently spending a lot of time, energy, and money to develop their presence in the USA. It is not an atrophying brand, and, in most eyes, is today taking leaps and bounds to trend toward the opposite. At the very least, thinking, "GasGas makes cool bikes, but can I get parts/service?" should be a thing of the past. I don't work in the industry, get zero kickback for this, yada yada, just wanted to take a moment to share a positive experience and some recent updates about an increasingly viable brand. Maybe the biggest thing, for me anyway, is even though the off-the-showroom-floor MSRP of GG bikes is already ~$2k less than KTMs, getting a used one (even with 10 hours on it) is much, much less expensive than paying the KTM premium. Used ones are hard to find in SoCal, admittedly, but most sellers offer $300 shipping nationwide, which can save thousands from a comparable orange bike. I'm talking 2012-2014 model year lightly used 300cc bikes for $4k to $6k vs. $4k for a 2005-2006 KTM 300. They're worth a look! Here's the North America GasGas website: http://www.gasgasmotos.us/index.htm Finally, here's some sweet GasGas porn; thanks for reading! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
christi20 0 Posted January 21, 2015 Thanks for all the info. I have been in that category of " I like the bike but where would I get parts?". I would love to have something different. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
christi20 0 Posted January 21, 2015 Oh, and I do have a GAS GAS 280 trials bike. Now I know parts will be easier to get! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Riggerdan 147 Posted January 21, 2015 I like the last video Mountain Man Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mtnmanseth 0 Posted January 21, 2015 I like the last video Mountain Man As you should... a nice video of YOUR SHINY NEW BIKE woop woop! Hey, what happened to that "finders fee" he offered? You better put it towards a case of dank cold ones after its first rip through ABDSP this weekend... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PastaPilot 17 Posted January 21, 2015 I like pron! Looks like this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robertaccio 406 Posted January 21, 2015 Pron is good. I bet that MtnMan G-G is reborn after seeing that piston foto he posted..... 1st viddy fishing and motos my 2 fave hobbies!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blakeNY9 0 Posted January 22, 2015 I've seen the new 300 at Skeeter's Motorsports. Very nice looking bike. Maybe I should get one.... support would be great, Skeeter's is literally 1 mile from my house. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robertaccio 406 Posted January 23, 2015 http://www.enduro21.com/index.php/component/k2/item/2450-gas-gas-on-the-rocks? latest info from EU Interesting I did not know Chairman of the Board at G-G is an Israeli. Here Mtn Man. G-G is 30 in 2015 first they imported Italian SWMs to Spain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1421914688&x-yt-cl=84503534&v=bUjFZrr9ilA#t=15 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mtnmanseth 0 Posted January 23, 2015 Heh, well, I always appreciate irony, but my foot is sure in my mouth right now. Apparently I was typing my praise just as someone else was typing that press release! The North American GasGas folks are disputing the relevance of the announcement, as detailed in this post: http://www.gasgasrider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18953 Being new to dirt bikes with limited historic knowledge about the industry, it may be true that debt restructuring is common and not a death sentence, but it's only going to make the GG buyer fence-sitters lean away a little more, eh Blake? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blakeNY9 0 Posted January 26, 2015 Heh, well, I always appreciate irony, but my foot is sure in my mouth right now. Apparently I was typing my praise just as someone else was typing that press release! The North American GasGas folks are disputing the relevance of the announcement, as detailed in this post: http://www.gasgasrider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18953 Being new to dirt bikes with limited historic knowledge about the industry, it may be true that debt restructuring is common and not a death sentence, but it's only going to make the GG buyer fence-sitters lean away a little more, eh Blake? In all fairness, I have reached my bike buying quota for the next year or two anyway. Two (new to me) bikes in less than 7 months. Yes my wife is a very patient woman. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulmbowers 236 Posted January 26, 2015 I like the last video Mountain Man Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mtnmanseth 0 Posted May 19, 2015 GasGas entered into bankruptcy today. Coincidently, Chilly White @ Enduro360 just today started testing their 2015 300XC. While I was sure wrong about the financial stability of the company, they made the very best trials bikes and fun and capable enduro bikes. Don't freak out, Rigger, there's already rumors of other companies waiting to pick up the bankruptcy pieces for pennies on the Euro - we'll still be able to get parts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darylhunter 1 Posted May 20, 2015 Bummer. I really like my GG TXT 300 Pro trials bike. Been pretty bullet proof so far. At the trial meet this past weekend GG wasn't well represented in the selection of newer bikes and I guess now I know why. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mtnmanseth 0 Posted May 20, 2015 Maybe not so much of a bummer, here's the response from Mark Berg with GasGas North America: Guys , this whole scenario has been playing out like a world tour poker event. The investment group bought into GG less than 2 years ago because they were passionate about motorcycling and especially about GG because their very good friend is the distributor in Israel. After close evaluation, many board meetings and countless hours of accounting, it was obvious that GG as a whole is sound and possibly a very profitable company. The big hurdle was the mass increasing debt and interest from the 2003-2006 four stroke era that has been pushed from bank to bank. The investors do not feel they need to be down burdened with this debt and thus in order to make the company be a possible company of growth and success, they started playing a very high stakes game about 6 months ago to reconstruct the business, reduce the debt and start making GG a profitable company. In my opinion, this is the only chance GasGas has, as it has been a struggle despite better quality product to overcome the obstacles of the past debt and to focus on a better enduro and trial bike only! This is down to the last hand now, filing for Chapter 11. There are elections in that region within 2 weeks and there is pressure from many sides to get this resolved before such time. There still is a pile of chips on the table as i know there are different investors watching and waiting to see what the Catalan government decides to do. Do i think GG will produce bikes again? Absolutely! My biggest concern is the time frame. If this is resolved within weeks, we will have August production (Rod and I have already seen the revisions) but if it takes longer, than we will be waiting for production to roll again in November, December is the toughest thing for us to overcome every fall with our dealer network and sales. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PastaPilot 17 Posted May 20, 2015 I was going to ask the question if the bankruptcy was liquidation or restructuring. Dumping the acrued interest from the old loans is the best thing for GG. They'll be back building sexy Spanish dirt bikes again. Don't you worry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
