Ten Things You Should Know About The Gas Gas TXT 300 - Dirt Rider Magazine

Similar to the bike that Cody Webb used to clinch the recent 2010 AMA National Trials Championship, the Gas Gas TXT 300 is one of the finest trials machines available. Dirt Rider had a chance to ride the TXT at a National event up in Donner, California, and it didn't take but a few sections to see why Gas Gas is one of the premier names in professional trials. Here's a look at ten things that we noticed about the bike after competing on it for a weekend:1) The Gas Gas' clutch is amazing. It has a very defined friction point, and the control is impressive. One finger is definitely all you need to get this puppy to engage.

2) Power-wise, the 300 has a ton of torque. The bike produces plenty of power down low, but it was obviously happiest when wound up and ridden slightly high in the revs. If 300ccs of meat isn't enough for you, we're not sure what will be!3) The turning on the TXT felt very light and nimble, though the bike seemed to be better suited towards a bigger, taller pilot. It was fairly easy to throw around and didn't take too much effort to change lines on.4) In both the fork and shock, the rebound was a little fast, giving the bike a springy feel. This was good on big drops and in areas where you use the front wheel bounce to vault over an obstacle, but on lower speed, technical hits it came up a bit fast for our liking.

5) This bike has fairly tall gearing; we felt in between first and second initially, but ended up using first to keep the revs up.6) One thing we noticed on the Gas Gas (and most trial bikes, for that matter) is that if you're going to shift you either have to have a size 18 foot or take your foot completely off the peg and move your foot up than shift. It's a trials thing, but we're still not used to it.7) The controls on the Gas Gas are easy to use and the front brake was absolutely excellent. We used it often and never saw one hint of fading.

8) It takes a little work to get the Gas Gas to start. The carburetion is fine, but there is a system of sorts. Oh, and these bikes don't like to be bump started. In fact, they laugh at you when you try!9) The Gas Gas has a fairly lightweight overall feel. The front end will come up on command, and the rear moves around freely but not to the point where it lacks stability. We couldn't bounce the thing around like the pros do, but that definitely wasn't the bike's fault!

10) The TXT 300 is a blast. Whether you're an enduro rider, an MX racer, a weekend warrior or a die-hard trials guy, you will have fun on this bike. As a cross-training tool it is excellent, and it's more than sufficient for serious competition. Check out www.gasgas.com to learn more!