GG has always has trouble with their electric starts....they are hit and miss. My FSE450 started ok off the kicker. What is that giant bulge behind the cylinder? Looks like an alternator.
I was just drooling over one of those the other day. If I could afford it I'd almost be willing to give up my Husky for one. I wonder what the rear subframe is like. For anyone who doesn't understand the low fender or the fairing position the bike says "Desert" not "Single Track Special". This bike is meant to be ridden at speed. The low fender keeps road crap from flinging up off the front tire and out in front of the bike at speed. This problem is compounded with greater suspension travel and a larger gap between the tire and the fender. When this happens you ride right back into your own airborn muck and lose both your headlights and your vision from the debris. I tried to make a low fender work on my Husky but it has to be far enough away from the tire that it doesn't clog with mud and would be crushed on the lower triple clamp when the suspension bottomed. If it would have worked I'd have a low fender today. The fairing position is like that for a reason. With a fixed fairing it needs to be far enough away from the triple clamps & handle bars to allow a full lock turn as well as allow for instrumentation as mentioned before. The angle needs to be correct so wind goes over your helmet. This helps with fatigue as well as keeps airborn crap out of your face. I'll take this setup over nothing in a 50mph headwind any day. Here's an experiment I did with my Husky for the very reasons I mentioned above. You can see how far the fairing (from a 950 KTM) sticks out. Here's another Gas Gas to drool over. Don't know if I'd want to trust my nuts on that seat front though. More pics here
If it ain't street legal, it ain't gonna happen. These days there isn't much of the desert southwest that can be ridden without a plate. This is an increasing trend with Arizona recently joining in the restrictions. Plus, I'm too old and too short to be kick starting anything, particularly in the des. Adding a battery and starter will increase weight significantly, and at that point, weight may be an issue when compared to what's available from KTM, Husky and others. That said, what a beeeeoooootifuul machine!
Absolutely beautiful!! With a more reliable engine, that would be the ultimate adventure bike! Well, maybe it needs a battery too, for the gps... . Kick start is fine.
I don't know about emissions, but it does have headlights & turn signals, so chances are it'll be street legal.
Have you considered using a street fairing or wind screen from meier? I have an 8" BD light on my 610 and thought about this little number. http://www.maier-mfg.com/shop.cfm?Product_ID=00530&page=details.cfm&cartaction=none&thisrow=14&action=list&criteria=401&startrow=11&mystartrow=11&maxrows=10&cat=&man=&stay=&afid=&searchcat_id=&itemprice=&searchfield=&searchman_id=&boolean=&var1=&var2=&var3=&makeid=100&modelid=&modelyear=
As I was adapting the KTM fairing for the Husky the Lynx from Britannia Composites was born so I abandoned the project. Here's what the bike looks like today. I love the bike but the GasGas definitely wears the coolness crown. And then there's always that whole farkle from scratch thing to consider....
loved the quality on my factory gas gas 300 TXT trials bike.... this is looking very nice as well... might have to change around my wish list of motorcycles...
anybody notice the roadbook holder rod just behind the fairing? http://www.gasgas.com/bikes/2010_enduro/2010_ec450desert_left.jpg just above the turn signal
Hell, I'd just be happy seeing MORE Gasgas.... Their specs seem to be real good...on par with other Euro bikes... A-F@#kin-men...
I'm afraid that if the tranny ratios were close, like I envision a desert racer's might be, it'd be a deal breaker for me. Damned if doesn't look like a winner, as far as I know, tho.
Am I the only one to know that motorcycle manufactures make motorcycles to race and win? GasGas didn't make it to trail ride on nor did they gear it for your neck of the woods. They made it for rally racing! The race organizers of Dakar have changed the displacement rules, 450cc and less, for bikes. KTM has pulled out and rightfully so IMHO. The Dakar is up for grabs this year as far as manufacturers go. GasGas, it would appear, is throwing their hat into the ring. If I wanted to go rally racing I would do it on a KTM and not at the Dakar. Dakar is becoming just like the AMA and FIM
