Trail Rider Magazine

T he R&D departments for each of the major two-stroke manufacturers have been busy re- fining their respecve model lines. GasGas has been especially busy and looks to have made some se- rious headway in improving their machines. Last year they shaved a lile over seven pounds from the bike and this year they made some key updates that really bring the line-up in to the modern era. The biggest changes to the Gas- Gas line come from within the engine and include a new elec- tric starter system for their 200, 250 and 300 Race Models. The GasGas e-start has always been heavy and clunky and looked like something of an aerthought. This year it is smaller and looks to be lighter and more compact. The new e-start will also be available as a kit that can be retro-fied onto earlier models saddled with the older version. The most excing change, how- ever, is the development of a new, externally adjustable power valve that gives outside access to the centrifugal spring preload. Much like the KTM and Beta, the power characteriscs of the GasGas can now be altered on the fly. We don't know yet if the process is tool-less but will pass along the info when we find out. The GasGas also has a new ignion mapping that allows the rider to alter the ignion curve, making it even easier to per- sonalize the bike's set up. GasGas is definitely moving in the right direcon. beta The Beta two-stoke line connues its evoluon with some meaningful refinements to their 2015 model lineup. The en- gine on the 300 is now the same as the one used in their 2014 RR Race Edion, which includes a new cylinder, combuson cham- ber and CDI. All of these changes are intended to provide greater throle response and more linear delivery of power. The previous 300 RR engine was considered a bit "slow," so these updates will be well received The 250 RR also received changes to the power valve that in- clude increasing the number of springs from 1 to 2 in parallel, like the 300 motor from the previous year. This should trans- late into improved throle response (read: more aggressive) throughout the power band. The 250 also comes fied with a silencer that should provide more top end power. Both the 250 and 300 received revised valving specs in the sus- pension department. The Sachs 48mm fork has been refined to improve oil flow via a newly designed compression piston with "three slot" geometry. The new specs will allow a smoother transion through the travel and absorb harsh im- pacts more progressively. Changes to the Sachs shock include new internal piston with oil passages that have been redesigned to improve oil flow and re- duce overheang during operaon. This means that the shock absorber now offers more stable performance over the course of a ride. In addion to new graphics and color scheme, the seat padding has been redesigned with soer foam. Sherco Sherco came out swinging with their introductory two-stroke models. This year's refinements show some nice changes to an already fine motorcycle. We le our 2014 test session with the impression that the Sherco was an excellent technical terrain specialist. It put power to the ground in a controlled manner www.TrailRider.com 34 Trail Rider What's New for 2015? by Kevin Novello

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