Gas Gas Ec200 Set Up.

[scorpa3]

Just on the off chance that anyone has any experience with EC200 (2005) suspension set up.

A friend of mine is having trouble with his 200, he is being thrown out of the seat on double (or more) bumps as the suspenson isn't reacting fast enough, he is only 10 stone and despite having the suspension set soft, he feel s that it is still too hard however the front forks now bottom out.

As he races in Enduro's, there are some jumps but not big ones as in MX, but jumps aren't really the problem, its mulitple bumps where the bike should be staying near the ground with the power on, he is being bounced all over the place.

If anyone has a good base setting suitable for a 10 stone rider or advice on who to use for suspension set up (on line or Midlands UK) I would appreciate your comments.

Thanks.

[woody]

Problem is that there could be any number of reasons:

- Springs too soft (unlikely given his weight) so that suspension is always sagging meaning it is always riding further down in the harder part of the stroke, which means it will bounce off stutter/braking bumps instead of cushioning them out in the higher part of the stroke.

- Springs too hard for his weight, therefore not utilising enough of the shock's travel - same result as above

- Springs ok but rear sag setting incorrect

- Springs ok but rear sag incorrect and damper settings way off

- May have been revalved at some time

- Damaged components

See what I mean....

Best thing to do is go by the manual. Check that the original springs are fitted - easy if he's owned it from new, not so easy if he hasn't but most rear springs have the weight/rating on them somewhere. Not sure about the fronts but assume they are original. Then return suspension to standard compression/rebound settings and set the rear sag using spring pre-load. Normally static sag is about 30mm and sag with rider on board is 95mm. When rear sag set, sit in the middle of the bike and bounce it up and down, front and rear should move equally. Then try it again and see if there's a difference.

The EC Gassers are normally credited with plush suspension and shouldn't need tweaking for a 10 stone rider. If it's only an 05 bike the suspension, if unmolested, should still behave as new.

If standard settings don't improve things he could send suspension to one of the suspension specialists (WHO UNDERSTAND WHAT ENDURO IS...) and explain what is happening and they should be able to set it up to suit his weight/riding style. I've had a couple of KTM rear shocks done by KAIS and been pleased with the result, they understand what is needed for enduro. KTM suspension is generally too hard from the factory, it's ok on faster stuff but too harsh on slower going in woods, over roots etc. The bike used to clatter off roots instead of ride over them. After it was done (softening the valving in the second half of the stroke, fitting stronger spring) it behaved as I expected it to from the factory - ie; like an enduro bike, not a mx bike set up for sand tracks...

[jools]

I have an 05 ec 250 and find the suspension very plush, but not that you get chucked around when riding. It may be worth changing the oil in the front forks, 15 min job, it should be 7.5 grade fork oil, 610 cc's in each leg. see if that makes a difference. possibly the rear is not damped enough? Have a look on Gas Gas Rider its an excellent site.

Good luck.

[toofasttim]

The rear suspension is packing. That means that the rear shock is compressing but not having a quick enough rebound and as a result gets compressed until all the suspension is used up. Check the sag and then set the rebound damping to the middle setting. Ride a pass over the area where the packing occurs and then change the rebound damping, one click at a time, until you're happy.