After the way I rode at the Sumter National Enduro, I knew Brian Storrie and I needed to get together again. I wanted to keep working out the kinks of the way I was getting along with the EX350F. We worked on bike balance and gearing, and I can tell I am gaining confidence, along with the ability to attack more. We are nowhere near done, but I know we have the Adventure Moto GasGas in a much more stable place for me to continue to grow.

What I did wrong before Sumter

Storrie and I had the chance to get back together before Sumter, but I chose to go play ride at Barnwell Mountain. I forgot the purpose of the year in that decision, and the true goal of becoming the best racer I can become for the year. Due to this, I missed out on another session with a very capable racer and coach to help me be as prepared as possible for the Sumter National Enduro.

Now that we’re back together, and making the changes we made during this session, we know the bike wasn’t set up well for Sumter. What we did during our first coaching session made sense, but it wasn’t the end all be all of the process. The suspension and chassis were still breaking in, and our first session was at a property that didn’t emulate Sumter. There were more properties in the NTX area that were closer to Sumter (speed, sand, and whoops) that would have allowed us to fine tune gearing (47T –> 50T) to then settle on more appropriate suspension settings.

Creating a Balanced Bike

A balanced bike is a bike that works with a rider as they ride over terrain. Terrain in this case is a very vague word since there are so many different types of terrain dirt bikers get to enjoy. This is where bike setup testing can be so crucial.

Dirt bikes rolled off the showroom floor are put together from a crate that keeps everything as streamlined as possible. Unless you shop at a detailed dealer, the chances of a GasGas on the east coast being the same as the west coast is highly likely. It’s then up to you, the rider, to set up your bike to work the best it can for you and the terrain you’re going to ride on.

Storrie and I talked a lot about cockpit setup in the first video, as well as free sag and rider sag. The cockpit is your contact point to control the motorcycle, so making sure it’s set up for you, and your riding style, is imperative.

Free sag and rider sag are compared to figure out if you have the proper shock spring for your rider weight. If you compare free sag and rider sag and numbers are off from what your manufacturer recommends, you’ll need to get the proper shock spring. It’s also a good guess the front springs are going to be wrong as well. Once you know the springs are right for your rider weight, rider sag is a part of the balanced bike equation.

Storrie and I checked free sag and rider sag again because the GasGas is still breaking in. The bike didn’t handle well at Sumter, nor did it look good warming up on this day, so this was a great place to start. Due to the front end tucking, and a free sag of 35mm and a rider sag of 100mm, we removed a round of preload to help the rear of the bike settle more. This helped a ton, and I felt I could immediately attack more.

We actually adjusted gearing next to make sure the engine was more settled so the suspension had the ability to move with less forces of the motor on the chassis. More on gearing in a few.

As the bike settled more with the gearing changes, the front end was still tucking. Storrie decided we should remove high speed compression to help the bike settle even more. This was specific because of the way the bike would dive, and tuck, as I was braking up to the entrance of a turn. He mentioned that opening up the high speed compression here lets the rear end free up more under those braking loads, keeping the rear balanced with the front more.

As we left, I made a call to Jorli at Astra Offroad. He and I have chatted handlebars a lot over the years, and he also has a lot of knowledge and experience. When I purchased the 27mm rise bars for the new bike, he was hesitant and believed they would be too low for the four stroke. At that time, I told him I needed to feel it for myself. Now that I have felt it for myself, and we’re still feeling the front end is heavy, I have ordered the Astra 38mm Gemini handlebars for the EX350F. Once they come in, I am going to test them as we have other changes. I’ll warm up and do a moto as the bike is. I’ll then come in, swap out the bars and do another moto. We’ll have Storrie watch me and follow me, and use my anecdotal thoughts to discuss the difference, and possible improvement.

Finding the Proper Gearing

The 2024 GasGas EX350F came with 14/47 gearing. This is a high gearing for non-moto, and as I learned in Sumter, trying to keep the bike in second gear with this gearing kept the engine too revved up for the chassis and suspension to move freely. As I mentioned at the beginning, I should have met with Storrie to sort this out instead of head off to play ride. Let my mistake be your lesson.

The reasons to go to a larger rear sprocket are interesting, and aren’t made as a random decision. By adding a 13T countershaft sprocket, I could spend less money, and a 13/47 (3.615) would get close to the same gear ratio as a 14/50 (3.571). The reason to go up in the rear is to let the chassis and suspension move more freely. A smaller countershaft sprocket keeps the chain closer to the swingarm, binding up the chassis and suspension. Where a larger rear sprocket creates more space between the chain and swingarm, allowing the chassis and suspension to move more freely. Science is crazy, and my mind is blown.

The reason a freely moving chassis and suspension matters is because that allows the bike to stay more stable. This is why Storrie had us adjust the gearing in the middle of balancing the bike. He knew if we messed with the suspension before the gearing, we’d create a situation we’d eventually have to undo once gearing was properly adjusted.

I also have to say “properly adjusted gearing” sounds weird, so what the heck does that mean? If first gear is truly designed for riding through the pits, and second gear is to be treated as your lowest gear while riding, we have some work to do.

“Properly adjusted gearing” is the best gearing for you, the rider, and the bike and terrain you’re riding on. Since we want the bike to move as freely as possible, we need to stay in the gear that allows that as much as we can. We also want to limit shifts because limiting shifts mitigates the chances of a mis-shift.

For the 350F bikes, and the terrain we have in North Texas, we have settled on a 50T rear, keeping the 14T countershaft sprocket. The 49T worked really well in third gear in most situations, but we heard some bogging as we shifted into fourth gear. This is due to the spacing of the 350 XC/EX transmissions and why Storrie recommends me, and many others, going to a 50T rear.

As with the Astra Handlebars update, I have a 50T DDC Sprocket on the way, along with a beefier, longer chain. This will allow me to give Storrie his 49T aluminum sprocket back, upgrade to a 50T chrome plated chromoly steel sprocket, while also using a proper chain breaking tool (first time for everything) for installation.

Why am I doing all this now?

There was a time in the early 2010’s where I became a AA racer in TSCEC. It only lasted for two years, and from the vantage point I have now, I don’t know that it was totally warranted. But it’s the way the points worked out, so I was bumped up at the time and given my chosen row of 23.

I want young racers to not make the mistakes that I did back in the day. I just rode, and because I rode a lot, I was gaining speed. That is the natural cycle of doing the same thing over and over again, but it also has its limitations. I never worked on building a better foundation to stack that speed on top of. Due to that limited experience and knowledge, I was never able to expand past the speed and ability that I had accumulated.

Now that I am racing again, and taking the time to build a foundation through testing, knowledge, and coaching, it’s glaringly obvious to me how little I knew about bike setup and bike control. My youth at the time, and a lifestyle that allowed me to ride as much as possible, got me to my ‘at the time’ peak potential; This isn’t repeatable. In my mid-forties, I can no longer rely on my twenty year old exuberance, and weekend freedom, to build back up to being a capable racer. I have to build a wider foundation based on technique and proper bike setup.

This is why quality mentors and coaches are so important. If a coach is trying to get you to do what they did to “ride fast”, you’ll never be your best self. A good coach helps you understand why technique matters, what a baseline setting is used for, and calls you out on your bullshit. From there, it’s a constant ebb and flow of building a strong foundation, and then stacking knowledge and experience on top of that. As you grow as a racer, you need to constantly be widening your foundation by coming back to the basics so you can continue to stack more experience and more knowledge.

If you’re only working on the tip of the performance pyramid, eventually you’re going to run out of pyramid to sharpen. So if/when you feel you’ve reached your peak, don’t immediately look for a new coach to tell you the same things with different words. You need to head back down to the bottom of the pyramid and widen the base with the basics.

This allows you to become the best racer YOU can become. In this case, you are a special snowflake, because there is only one YOU. When you force yourself to emulate someone else, instead of asking why a racer has a certain setup or technique, you’ll always fight to make their success your success. When you understand the why behind the basics, you can build yourself into a racer who understands who they are and why they do what they do. This will allow you to stop holding yourself back from becoming the fastest, and most skilled, racer you can become.

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