mtnmanseth

Awesome! Wish I could go, but some of us don't live 35 minutes from the cul-de-sac Enjoy brah and post a review!

T. Price is ridiculous, but Adam Riemann might be my very favorite guy to watch... dig his riding style and his videos get better and better. Search for Motology on YouTube for more. Mind if I drop this into the mix, too? Tim Coleman (another Aussie) is REALLY on to something. Couldn't get the video to embed, but it's worth the click, trust me... https://www.facebook.com/tim.coleman.1806/videos/10155674496235258/?pnref=story

Certainly sounds like it! Thanks for doing the legwork on this, Jim! I'm interested in more information about a follow-up trip, depending on high temps - if it's too hot to ride (comfortably). Please post an invite in this Baja section when details emerge... thanks

Sounds expensive. $5,000 buys A LOT of bike these days. There are several good used Beta options in SoCal right now... check this out

Love that photo! Lest we forget to mention the real warrior and MVP in my book, Mario Roman, who did finish the race (with a mere 60 seconds to spare before the 4 hour cutoff) after only receiving help through Downtown from 1 rider, who did not finish. As Chilly commented here, Downtown may have been a bit easier/quicker following the other 5 guys, but he's the guy I'll have my eye on in the future after that "race"!

Sorry I missed you guys. My morning got delayed unexpectedly and knew by the time I made it out there (11ish) it would be hot and dry... so I passed. Next time!

I do believe I'll be joining you ladies tomorrow for the 9 AM rounds. Splash ya later, Slut

Helluva write up of a helluva trip, C-Diddy! And nice bike/neighborhood, Aaron... I'm in for the next round...

Ha! There goes the "WTF he go?" mystery/fun factor...

Sure like the Maxxis Desert IT on the GasGas!

Best damn band to come out of my hometown of Boise, Idaho... Seen them a bunch and they're always good. Have fun in Pioneertown and see you @ Belly Up!

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!

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.

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

Oh boy, you asked... I couldn't be happier. It's the easiest, most stable and confidence inspiring motorcycle I've ever ridden. It honestly has the smooth roll-on tractor torque of a DR650 from 0 to ~1/2 throttle, then is an angry rev-to-the-moon wheelie machine if you continue to twist through 4th or 5th gear. Top speed of 90 mph in 6th gear with 14/48 gearing so far. Super reliable and almost boring linear power delivery and tractability at low RPMs... very hard to stall. Between the Scotts steering damper and fork rake/chassis design it straightlines fast deep sand sections awesome. I agree with reviews stating that she definitely prefers to be ridden while standing up by an assertive rider, so we get along great. Fit and finish is equal to new KTM/Husky for sure, and truly incredible when compared to a DR650 or early 2T GasGas. ~120 mile range on the 3.1 gal tank. Cheers, Charlie!

The suck factor was really low. It really was too bad about the weather... Thanks again for the quick but perfect rip around Bullhead, C-Diddy!

I've owned both the Klim Dakar and Mojave pants and far prefer the Mojave design over the Dakar in our climate. The Mojave is of equal quality, fit, and durability, but provides far more airflow for days above 60 degrees. I did wear my Dakar pants in the rain on the way to Baja on Friday, but once the weather dried out and warmed up I was missing my Mojave pants. Klim makes the Mojave in ITB and OTB versions. Price is ~$10 less than Dakar. http://www.klim.com/Mojave-Pant-3143-002.html#56868

Perfect sporty tour of northern Baja! 465 miles, 3 days, 3 dudes, 2 radios, 1 Beta, 107 tacos, 69 cervezas frias, 1 boulder hit, 3 bikes dropped, 0 injuries, 6 hours riding in the rain, 85 mph max speed on the beach, 3 gorgeous Mexican girls spotted, 2 guys named Seth, 1 violent farmworker protest encountered, 0 riders made it to the top of the gnarly beach hill climb, 1 guy spoke decent Spanish, 1 guy knew where we were at all times (THANK YOU TIM), 6 sore hands today, 3 worn out rear tires, 312 high fives/knuckle bumps, 3 huge smiles. Can't wait for the next one!

Great photos of a great trip, C-Daddy

Great footage of a great ride, Rob! The water crossings, flowy high speed stuff, and short grassy meadows were pleasant contrasts to the loose dusty cactus sections. Excellent route finding work by Los Ancianos, for sure. The gas-powered blender cranking out gallons of stout margarita afterwards was Redneck approved!

Outstanding work, Roger. Super easy to navigate and appreciate the "More Info" links and "What's Included" details... I attended the Bar 10 ride last year, and between seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time ever (from a dirt bike and then helicopter tour from ranch's backyard), delicious ranchmade food, and endless cold ones in the middle-of-nowhere with awesome folks, it easily ranks in the top 3 best two-wheel trips (motorized or mountain bike) I've ever done. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Bar 10 trip!

Thanks all. I found and digested this thread, too... http://dualsport-sd.com/forums/index.php?/topic/18553-newb-radio-purchase-baofeng-vs-rugged-radios/ What's interesting is RR claims their radio has 5-watts, while the Baofeng states 4-watts of power. Are they indeed identical? I'm fairly sure the $30 Baofeng radio with the $18 antenna upgrade will work for me, but now I'm liking the idea of having music during long tours too. RR makes this kit helmet kit (with hardware upgrades for 2015) for $105, then I need to buy a separate PTT setup (~$50), plus figure out which jumper wire/kit is compatible with the Baofeng/RH-5R radio ($???). By then I'll be well above the $200 price point (I think), but having the upgraded 2015 helmet kit hardware + option to listen to music may be worth it. PMB, is this the setup you roll with? I'll call RR back on Monday and figure this out...

I talked to Scott @ RuggedRadios just now, he said that their RH5R radio and all microphone, cords, and helmet speakers that comes with this complete kit are the exact same quality as the standalone kit linked above. He said that the RH5R, FY-270, and HX370 are all 5-watt radios, and will have identical range and send/receive quality, and dual band/frequency. Anyone have experience with this kit? $227 sale price fits my budget well... http://www.ruggedradios.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=920_927&products_id=1323