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Gas
Gas Wild HP 450 ATV Riding Review |
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| Cody
Hill test rode the Gas Gas Wild 450 at
Gabriel Racing's priviate MX track |
A few quick runs on the Gas Gas 450 Wild to get
accustomed to it and then the next 2 hours would
be spent riding and evaluating how it all worked.
The power was definitely there for a stock engine,
and running in the sandy soil was keeping us from
feeling all of its potential we felt. The clutch
engaged smooth and it shifted positive, but we
felt a gearing change would have really brought
us into a better place and helped with the bottom
end grunt. Power was broad and smooth and it pulled
clean to the rev limiter as it shredded the sand
and the fuel injection never missed a beat.
The model comes equipped with larger, consumer
styled stock tires that we all have been used
to however they were swapped with some MX sized
meats that would be more in tune for the riding
session we had planned. Nerf bars are stock
equipment as well and provide ample protection.
Now even after our initial thoughts on ride
height, the reports back in from the rider was
that it was plush, soaked up everything thrown
at it and cornered very well. I even asked if
the other riders felt that it was “Tippy”
and all reports were negative, that it did not
have that feeling at all. With the 50 inch wide
front end stock, getting this machines ride
height down a bit more for hard pack tracks
might just find this model railing corners like
one would expect it should.
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The reports back in from our rider was
that the ride height was plush, soaked
up everything thrown at it and cornered
very well. |
The steering was reported as being just a touch
on the twitchy side and that a steering stabilizer
would handle that problem. It was light feeling
and handled well in the air as it responded
well to rider input. Steering was positive and
carving turns was no problem at speed. Width
aside, our rider felt this would make an excellent
platform for XC style riding and racing. It
was very stable at high speeds over rough terrain
and turned on a dime. Braking was strong and
responsive and the seat allowed a lot of movement
and was comfortable. Most of the changes we
would make would be based solely on rider preference
and the addition of a stabilizer to handle the
twitchy feeling our rider felt.
