Not since 2019 has ADB held a 300cc two-stroke, enduro shootout, mainly thanks to all the restrictions and side effects from the pandemic. At that last 300cc shootout in 2019, Husqvarna took top honours and the GASGAS came in a close second, but since then quite a lot has changed in this category.
The Husqvarna has evolved into a newer generation model and the GASGAS has moved homes from Spain to Austria and in doing so has taken on a whole new platform and identity. Brand new to this class, Rieju entered with a 300cc that is very similar to the previous Spanish GASGAS, while the Beta, KTM and Sherco have all received significant updates. Not only has this class of bikes seen a lot of changes, the majority of riders purchasing these big-bore two-strokes has increased and are now predominantly hard enduro riders, thanks to the worldwide growth of riders who love suffering in technical terrain.
Considering so many things have changed in this class, ADB decided it was time to get all of these brands in their 2023 Versions and head into the mountains near Taralga for a shootout. The line up of models ADB assembled to test will cause a few questions as the Sherco and the Rieju are both up-spec models while the remaining four brands are all standard models. I have a few answers to why this is the case, as Sherco pretty much only import the up-spec SE Factory 300cc model into Australia.
Because of this we figured it was only fair that the other manufactuters have the same chance to use an up-spec option if they have one. Interestingly enough, both the up-spec Sherco and Rieju sell for less than the Husqvarna, so this is another way to look at it as fair.
In previous years, the 300cc shootout has been conducted on enduro tracks, but considering the current swing in numbers towards hard enduro with these bikes, our focus was to test them in hard-enduro conditions more than traditional enduro terrain.
THE SETTING
The private property ADB secured was perfect for this as it has an endurocross track made up of a manmade log matrix and rock gardens, perfect for testing throttle response and suspension feel when smashing into log jumps. The second track is a natural terrain grasstrack, perfect for overall power, suspension and chassis feel at speed. Last was the hard-enduro loop, with near vertical hills, slippery rocky creeks and sneaky logs, great for testing brakes, clutch, torque and tight turning. The skies opened up the morning of the test making everything extra slippery and more technical.
All of our test riders barring me are over the 90kg mark and not under 185cm tall; we did this on purpose as a large majority of the riders I have seen on 300s at hard enduro events are close to that. After we had all ridden every bike on all of the test loops we sat down individually and filled out a scorecard. Everyone's scores were then tallied up to determine the overall winner and place-getters.
To give you an idea how the scorecard works, it is divided into three sections that we score the bike on. First is suspension and steering/chassis, and as this is the most important part for any bike to work, the scores from this section count for 50%. Motor is the next category and also very important, so it counts for 40%, Last is ergonomics, as it is quite easy to change a set of handlebars to a different height and the same goes for footpegs or seat, so this only counts for 10% of the overall score.
HUSQVARNA TE300
ENDUROCROSS
The TE300 was the last bike I rode on the endurocross track, by this time it was at its most slippery as it had been drizzling all morning. Regardless the TE300 was still one of the easiest bikes to ride on this track thanks to the smooth power delivery of its EFIfed engine and its counter balancer shaft. I also found this engine to be the most versatile of the three injected engines as it is the only one that comes with the handlebarmounted map switch.
The more powerful map two option worked the best when jumping through the log matrix. The WP suspension package on this bike provided great feeling and traction thanks to its smooth, supple initial action. Standard FIM tyres don't generally have a good reputation, however the Michelin Enduro Comp mediums on this bike worked exceptionally well in the
