Since fitting the 6500 WP fork cartridge kit, this 2023 GASGAS EC 250F is one of the best and most versatile bikes I have ridden!
The last four weeks with my 2023 GASGAS EC 250F have been more about enjoying my ride time than anything else. Generally when I am aboard the EC250F it is for track marking, coaching or leading the VIP Experience GASGAS rides.
With the first VIP ride still a month away and coaching only just firing back into life after the summer Christmas break, it has allowed me to spend some time with my two young boys riding at some local ride parks. I have had some ripper rides on the 2023 GASGAS EC 250F. The first ride park we hit up was Free Flight MX Park in NSW. It has a great mix of MX style tracks and bush loops in and around the sandy terrain.
Then the next ride park we ventured to was Louee Motocross and Enduro complex which is kind of the opposite to Free Flight as it is quite hard packed and rocky terrain. Both complexes were ideal for testing the EC250F in a mix of terrain and styles of tracks. As a lot of the riding I have previously done on the EC has been on hard pack ground, it was no surprise to feel right at home on all the tracks at Louee.
Where the EC did surprise me quite a bit was on the “Hattah style” deep sandy track at Free Flight. I was expecting the little 250F Enduro engine to struggle in the deep power sapping sand, however that was not the case. Providing I kept the revs up a lot higher than I normally ride at, it kept moving a lot faster than I expected.
I am pretty sure I generally ride around the 9,000 RPM mark so when I started stretching each gear out closer to the 14,000 RPM rev limiter I got to experience a whole new side to this little four stroke engine. On top of experiencing a new side to the engines capabilities, I got to confirm what I have been thinking about this 250F for the last few months. Since fitting the 6500 WP fork cartridge kit, this is one of the funnest and most versatile bikes I have ridden.
Originally when I had the choice of the GASGAS enduro range, I was worried the EC250F might be underpowered in some of the open terrain I ride in NSW, but now, after a good six months on it I definitely do not want to hand it back any time soon. It has just clocked over 65 hours and has not missed a beat, so I plan to give it a birthday piston during the next few months.
Ben Grabham