2017 280 questions

[Bauer]

Hello all. First post here. I am picking up a 2017 280 TXT later this week. It’s been ridden by a club pro level rider the last couple of years and It’s in pretty good shape all things considered. I’ve been doing a lot of reading on here but had a couple questions:

 

fan - it’s still working but it appears all 4 bolts that mount it to the radiator have stripped out. It’s now just wedged in there. I don’t think it’s going anywhere - but is there a way to drill out and re tap or do folks just go to zip ties if this happens?

starting - it’s a bear to start - any tricks or tips here? The current owner claims if you really snap your kick and give it a bit of gas it starts right up. That wasn’t my experience when I test rode it yesterday

fork guards - anyone have a recommendation here? It has one but the other must have broken off

two stroke oil - current owner runs Yamalube at 100:1. I was thinking of going to Motul synth based on what I’ve read. Any issue with a switch? 
 

thanks much for any responses

Michael

 

 

 

[lineaway]

The gassers are difficult to start till you get used to them. The last Gas Gas that I bought was from an owner that could not start it. Mtself, I would not buy a bike I could not start. My two cents.

[d2w]

Welcome.

I'd suggest that you find some way to secure the fan (like you suggested, retapped screws or bolts & nuts or zip-ties). The fan housing can be removed from the rad (once you get the entire assembly out from the frame.

Dunno about starting your newer 2017, but the procedure for my older 2008 is: clutch in, find second gear, clutch out, roll backwards (to find TDC), clutch in, press lightly on the kick starter until slight resistance is felt (this is the point the internal starter "Bart Simpson" gear has engaged the starter gear on the crank), and then kick firmly. Might require a slight twist of the throttle when kicking (when the choke is off). Don't twist the throttle if the choke is on as you defeat the choke. DO NOT fan the kick starter repeatedly like one often does on an enduro.  And it's critical to ease the kick starter gear into the crank starter gear else you risk internal damage. And if it doesn't spark you need to redo the procedure. Some people hate the GG for this starting difficulty, but I've never had issues once I follow this procedure.

I highly recommend the fork guards from Jack's Cycles; they're thick and cover the lower and upper components of the forks. They'll save you their cost after the first nasty drop in rocks.

I run Opti Oil at 80:1 but no issue at 100:1. My understanding is that the crank case/clutch oil is what lubes the main bearings and so the premix oil ratio isn't quite so critical. As for crank oil, I use Shell Rotella 10W30 Semi-synthetic diesel oil; it's readily available, low cost, and works well for me with no clutch issues which I can discern.

And there's lots of good trials and GG info on the ADVRider/trials forum as well.

Dale 

[sherco70]

2017 250 Gasgas Contact here. Kicking is pretty easy, 1 to 3 kicks and definitely don't kick without bringing it to a bit of engagement ,  so as not to damage the kick start mechanism . I run the owners manual ,    recommended 2% oil gas mix, using Bel Ray syn ester, and plug color is right on.  Some models I believe have the recommended ratio at 1.5%.  and I use an  MTL in the transmission , also Bel Ray.  The ratio of gas oil does affect jetting. 

Also home is Washington , out on the OLympic Peninsula . News here is that we may be getting a trials area as part of the DNR trail system here. If you live in the Seattle area check out the Puget Sound Trialers club, and they already have an area developed in the Reiter, DNR  trail system.

Art

[Bauer]

Hello all

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated

Regarding buying a bike that I can’t start. I haven’t had to kick start anything since I was a teenager and that was a LONG time ago. The current owner is able to fire it up right away, so I”m sure it’s just a matter of me getting the routine down. To be fair, I only tried a couple of times. I”m sure once I spend a bit of time with it, I”ll have no issues. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing some sort of trick

Art - I actually did the Puget Sound Trialers training class a week ago - it was literally my first time on a trials bike (my instructor let me ride his Beta 250) I was hooked - joined the club then and there, and set out to find a bike. I’m actually purchasing my GG from a club member. I had seen an article about the potential new trials area somewhere....I”m also a member of Shelton Dirt Riders out your way. Do you have any favorite spots you hit for practice?

 

Michael

[guy53]

Back in the 70's I was riding a Bultaco Alpina 350. I could crank the bike while sitting. A friend had the same bike and would sware everytime he had to start his, he often ask me to crank his bike arguing his was harder to crank. He never got to be comfortable doing it. My point is: think about a situation where you are not in a ideal position and stall the bike, are you sure you will get confortable with it. As for the side of the crank, I don't think it make a difference.

Guy

[sherco70]

11 hours ago, Bauer said:

Hello all

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated

Regarding buying a bike that I can’t start. I haven’t had to kick start anything since I was a teenager and that was a LONG time ago. The current owner is able to fire it up right away, so I”m sure it’s just a matter of me getting the routine down. To be fair, I only tried a couple of times. I”m sure once I spend a bit of time with it, I”ll have no issues. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing some sort of trick

Art - I actually did the Puget Sound Trialers training class a week ago - it was literally my first time on a trials bike (my instructor let me ride his Beta 250) I was hooked - joined the club then and there, and set out to find a bike. I’m actually purchasing my GG from a club member. I had seen an article about the potential new trials area somewhere....I”m also a member of Shelton Dirt Riders out your way. Do you have any favorite spots you hit for practice?

 

Michael

25 F degrees and snowing this morning. In the area we have 5 to 6 active trials riders. We like to ride single track trails at Cassidy Creek, Dry Hills and Foot Hills. All close to Sequim and Port Angeles.

Art  

[Bauer]

3 hours ago, guy53 said:

Back in the 70's I was riding a Bultaco Alpina 350. I could crank the bike while sitting. A friend had the same bike and would sware everytime he had to start his, he often ask me to crank his bike arguing his was harder to crank. He never got to be comfortable doing it. My point is: think about a situation where you are not in a ideal position and stall the bike, are you sure you will get confortable with it. As for the side of the crank, I don't think it make a difference.

Guy

Well, I have a couple weeks before first trials event I want to ride. The current owner starts it no problem, every time, which means it can be done, and it’s not a mechanical issue. Grated, he’s been riding it for two years. I only tried it a couple times when I test rode it. It’s not going any further than my garage until I get the procedure down. I don’t mind having to sort out the procedure, I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t some secret I was missing. 

[monteeman]

for your radiator issue, have a look at "riv -nuts". 

I don't know exactly what you have but these riv nuts are really usefull for multiple applications and and they hold fast

[Bauer]

9 hours ago, monteeman said:

for your radiator issue, have a look at "riv -nuts". 

I don't know exactly what you have but these riv nuts are really usefull for multiple applications and and they hold fast

Those just might do the trick. I think it’s just a matter of making sure you don’t crack the radiator frame by inserting them too tightly

My original thought was to see if there was a way to just drill out the holes on the radiator frame and run bolts clear through the fan housing and the radiator frame and tighten with bolts in front of the radiator frame. I don’t have the bike yet, so I’m not sure if the bolts would clear the down tubes. But these things would do the trick, I think

[zippy]

my GasGas starting procedure - from cold choke on - from hot no choke

Lean bike against appropriate item (tree, truck, garage, etc) OR have bike supported by skidplate (on stand, on a log, on the neighbors annoying bratty kid......)

Stand on the footpegs

Bring kickstarter down gently until you feel resistance

From that location kick through with a forceful fluid motion - gotta get it to spin up quickly, but don't "stab" at it

NO throttle

Mine starts 1 or 2 kicks 99.9% of the time

 

[Bauer]

Picked up the bike last night and spent some time with it today. Was able to start it up both cold and hot without much issue. 2-3 kicks at the most. Interestingly, I found I was able to do so w/o using the throttle at all, whereas the previous owner was using the throttle in warm starts. 

[sherco70]

Good to hear that the starting concern not a big issue. The Gasgas is really great when you need to access things. The whole rear section, fender and airbox comes off with 4 fasteners and loosen the clamp on the carb intake.  Spoils a person compared to the other machines in the garage. 

I may make the PST trials also in Feb.  

Art

[Bauer]

9 minutes ago, sherco70 said:

Good to hear that the starting concern not a big issue. The Gasgas is really great when you need to access things. The whole rear section, fender and airbox comes off with 4 fasteners and loosen the clamp on the carb intake.  Spoils a person compared to the other machines in the garage. 

I may make the PST trials also in Feb.  

Art

I haven't dug in to a lot of the maintenance items yet, but I'll get that soon. I'll be replacing the wheel bearings along with the gear oil and coolant - probably after the first event. I've talked to Kev Hipwell on FB - he showed me his fix to the fan/radiator issue, and I'm going to shoot for something like that. It's more or less what I was thinking.

Look forward to meeting you if you are able to make it

~m

[d2w]

Strongly suggest that you pull the swingarm and inspect and grease all of the associated bearings; they hang in the muck and can be ugly if the bike was put away wet before it was sold to you.