Gas Gas EC200 Rebuild

[Osnabrock]

Don't get the wrong idea.  It's not my video.  My bike is yellow.

[Osnabrock]

I've made it a plan to do one enduro an year.  This last weekend was it.  The Akeley West Enduro.  It was a true test of man and machine.
I did my first enduro last year on my DRZ400S.  I wanted to see what it was all about.  My goal was to finish and I achieved that goal. 
I had a couple of buddies who planned to do the Akeley West Enduro this year.  I decided that it would be my one enduro for the year and the first enduro for my Gas Gas.
There were three of us, Robert on his YZ250, Jeff on his G450X, and me on my EC200.
We got to sign up on Saturday night and drew starting numbers.  There's usually four people per minute in an enduro,  multiple classes in each line.  Early numbers get fresh tracks, late numbers get ruts, roots, and rocks.  Slow riders in early numbers get passed, fast riders in the back have to fight through the pack.
Robert drew minute #1.
Jeff drew minute #10.
I drew minute #11.
There proved to be about 32 lines of riders, if memory serves me correctly.  It was to be a hot race.  I think it got into the mid 90's.
I'm not normally an anxious person but this time was an exception.  Though I'd prepared myself by drinking copious amounts of water over the previous few days, practiced my form on rocks and hill climbs at the DDSR rally, and prepped my bike as much as I could, I was still very anxious.
Sometime around sign-up time who did I run into but Lance and his wife who had been at the DDSR rally.  We visited for a while and put a few thing together and realized that a year ago he helped Robert out by taking the clutch cable off his WR to replace a broken one on Roberts YZ.  It saved the weekend's riding for Robert.  Then at the DDSR rally I was able to help Lance by providing a master link for his bike.  What goes around comes around.
Anyway, the next day the race started at 9 AM.  Robert was off first, then Jeff, then me.  The first part of the course was pretty tough.  There were lots of rocks but, hey, I was just riding in the Black Hills.  I know rocks, and pine needles......it was all about picking a line. 
Before the first checkpoint I came down a rocky downhill and found Robert at the bottom.  He had started at minute #1 and was likely keeping up with his line but he had taken a bad spill and had broken his leg/ankle as well has his water pump.  If it hadn't been for his waterpump going I'm sure he'd have ridden out, but he was forced to wait for the sweepers to come and help him out.
This first section on the enduro was tough.  There was fresh cut trail that wasn't yet burned in so it was slick.  Since it was the first part of the race there was a decent amount of congestion in the tough spots as well but I think that I avoid a lot of that since I had a reasonably early number.  If there's one thing that takes the steam out of you, it's crashing and having to expend the energy picking the bike up and getting yourself back in shape.  There were at least 5 folks in front of me that that kept on passing me, then crashing, then I'd pass them, only to repeat the situation again in a couple of miles again and again.
Jeff and I arrived at first gas about the same time.  His girlfriend Jackie was there and helped us sort out our fuel, food, and water and got us back out on the trail.
The second portion of the trail was on more established trails but not very well maintained so the underbrush kept things pretty slow.  Here's a video that someone else posted that shows part of either the first or second section, lots of close trees and underbrush.

At second gas I filled up with fuel and water again and found Lance and his wife there as well.  I was in "a race state" and didn't bother with too much other than myself but it was sure good to see them.  Again, Jeff's lady Jackie made sure that I had everything I needed to go on.
The last section of the race I just wanted to conserve energy by staying on the bike and finish.  The heat was proving to take a number of riders and in the end, Jeff was feeling symptoms of heat exhaustion and wisely stopped at final fuel.
I ended up placing better than expected and hope I can improve next year.
I think that I'm going to plan on a Black Hills trip before next year's enduro even if it doesn't coincide with the rally just to get that "on bike" experience that builds the confidence needed for such an event.

[greatbuffalo]

Very cool. I've been thinking about doing one of these sometime too. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Osnabrock]

Time for an update........
Last weekend was what I believe will be the last ride for the season for me and the Gasser.
The bike was awesome to have around this year.  It started off with a "stumble" first thing, needing the crank bearing replacement but once that was done the bike gave me nothing but joy.
I did some jetting and some gearing things, but that was all minor stuff.
I've now committed to keeping my oversized tank on, which gives me a solid 60 miles of range that's as good as the folks that I ride with and enough for the enduro loops that I go on before refueling. 
I've ridden highway speeds with allows me to use gears 3,4,5, and 6.  The gears I don't use in the woods.All is well.
All I need to do is fix the bits I wrecked when I've "wadded it up" on the trails.  It's amazing what punishment these bikes take.
I thought that my first foray into two strokes would leave me wanting to exchange this "old" bike for a newer version when the time came but I see no reason to ride it for another season or two.
I'll keep things up to date as they come along but I don't see anything will change over the winter.  I'll likely focus on my YZ125 rebuild as a winter project once the new year comes.

[greatbuffalo]

Glad to hear its been treating you well. Sounds like a fun machine. I haven't ridden a 2 stroke for many, many years.

[Osnabrock]

Tomorrow's the big assembly day.  I'm going to put my bike back together after slight disassembly over the winter.
I'm gonna get at least one more year out of the old girl I expect.  Perhaps more.  I really do like the bike.
On the list is a new front sprocket.  I've been reading forums of people running a 13 tooth sprocket on the bike.  It's the stock, and gold standard, sprocket that comes on the bike but I didn't really take to it.  I ride mostly in 1st or 2nd with 13 tooth gearing.  To me that's a lot of waste of gearing.  Most people I know talk about riding in 2,3, and 4th gear.  My bike came with a 12/51 combo so that's what I'm going back to.
Today I picked up my expansion chamber after having the dents taken out.  On a four stroke, I doubt I'd ever fret too much about a ding in the header but my pipe had a few significant creases in it and the expansion chamber is an important part of the two stroke cycle. 
I've also spooned on a trials tire.  I've heard good things about them so I thought I'd give one a shot.
Lastly, I feel comfortable enough to mess with the jetting a bit.  I've ordered a few jets and needles to mess with when the season comes around.  I've HATED jetting in the past and have thought "as long as it runs ok, it's ok with me"  I've seen a lot of people mess around with it for naught. 
I'll try to post some photos tomorrow if there's anything photo worthy.

[Osnabrock]

Fletch and Bogus Jim.  Do you have any baseline jetting ideas for me when I come out to "The Hills"?

[Bogus Jim]

Do you have any baseline jetting ideas for me when I come out to "The Hills"?

Well... I have not ridden in the hills yet, just out at Farmingdale. Which is 2400-3000' versus 5000-6000' for most of the singletrack.

I think the owner's manual should get you close. I used the recommended settings in the KTM manual for current temps (45F) and Farmingdale altitude, but found I still had to drop the needle one position and fiddle with the air screw a bit. Runs perfect at 45-50F but today was almost 70 and it was running a bit blubbery. So I will need to rejet again as the temps warm up and I start riding the Hills.

I downloaded the Gas Gas manual just out of curiosity and I noticed they show quite different jet sizes for unleaded versus leaded fuel. That is something I had not considered before. So I guess if you are running leaded race gas, you would need to jet differently than for pump gas.

[Fletch]

Fletch and Bogus Jim.  Do you have any baseline jetting ideas for me when I come out to "The Hills"?

I have found one step leaner than the manual is usually pretty good. Another thing to remember is your mix will affect it as well 32:1 will run leaner than 50:1 as the fuel mixture is thicker.. I will check my 300 and see what I have in it as it seems to work pretty good..

[Osnabrock]

This long winter season is just about over.  I held off as long as I could to do any work on the bike rather than have a well prepped bike just sitting there.  Now it's ready.
-New rear Dunlop trials tire
-New front Duro tire
-Dents removed from expansion chamber
-New countershaft sprocket
-New chain guide rollers and wheels
-New shroud graphics
-New seat cover
The picture was taken before the 10" of snow came in the last few days. 
I'm not sure the graphic are necessarily an improvement but for me bikes aren't all about looks.
It's only a waiting game now 'til the season starts.

[Bogus Jim]

Are you still running a mousse in the front?

[Osnabrock]

Yes, I am.
It's holding up very well.  I see no visual evidence of any sort of breakdown of the mousse.  I'm sure it's gotten a bit softer after running if for the whole season.  I think I'll keep running one even if it means paying full price for one next time.

[Osnabrock]

Another winter is in full effect.  I haven't thought much about riding for the last few months.  I did manage to wash my bike before I put it away for the season.
A few weeks ago, DDSR member Toadl had a few of us Minneapolis locals over for a garage night and it got me thinking that I need to start thinking ahead to this years season.  I've decided to take a shot at racing the D23 enduro circuit this year.  There are a couple other folks I know that are interested so that should help out a bit when it comes to logistics.
In order to get ready for the season I've done a few things.  Firstly, I've picked up a second rear wheel assembly with the thoughts of having a tire set up for dry and intermediate conditions and one for wet ones.  I plan on running a trials tire for the dry and intermediate conditions and a Continental Gelande Sport for wet conditions.
I found a great deal on the Conti's at $109 shipped for the pair.  Usually I end up spending at least $160 on a pair so I consider it a win. $51 dollars saved.
Next, I plan on sending in my WER steering damper for service.  I've had the bike for two full years now and have no idea of how the damper was cared for before my possession so it's long overdue.
Winter and Spring are long so I'll try to keep up with some updates as time moves on.

[tannerc]

That rear looks pretty cool, big lugs spread out, should clean out well in the wet. Ever ran that tire before?

[Osnabrock]

I haven't run the tire before. 
Like you noticed, the lugs are spaced pretty far apart.  They're about an inch tall off the carcass.  I fear that they might get thrown pretty easy but only time will tell.