Today, I wanted to talk about the new 2021 Gas Gas bikes, specifically their enduro line up. Now a lot of people may not of heard of Gas Gas. They are a manufacturer from Spain who have been making bikes for years and gained a great reputation for their enduro bikes and especially their trials bikes. I owned a 2007 EC300 and it was a ripper bike.
Recently, they were purchased by KTM. It seems to me, KTM really wanted the Gas Gas trials bikes to fill a hole in their lineup. But they are also selling a full lineup of bikes based off the current KTM’s. Think of them as a red KTM that’s slightly more affordable. To be honest, KTM need a cheaper range, their bikes are getting bloody expensive! While they are launching a full range of bikes, I’m going to concentrate on the enduro lineup.
So what bikes are they releasing and how are they different to the KTM’s?
Well in the enduro range there is the EC250 and 300 two strokes and the EC250F and 350F in the four strokes. You’ll notice the 450 and 500’s are missing, they are leaving them to KTM and Husqvarna. All the bikes are Euro 5 standard and are coming to Europe and Australia. What is strange is it looks like only the EC300 is coming to the USA. Why? Your guess is as good as mine here.
I’ll go through the prices I have which vary depending on the country.
The EC250 is $12940 AUD in Australia and 9049 EUR in Europe.
The EC300 is $14155 AUD, 9499 EUR or $9599 USD.
The EC250F is $12940 AUD or 9549 EUR.
And finally the EC350F is $13750 AUD or 9949 EUR.
I’m not 100% what the Australian prices are doing, the EC300 seems really overpriced compared to everywhere else in the world, I’m guessing it’s the good ole ‘’Australia” tax.
Now you’ll notice that while all the bikes are cheaper than their KTM counterparts, they look to be essentially the same bikes, but red. Well you aren’t wrong, but if you look closely there are some changes and some minor cost cutting measures.
All the bikes have linkage rear suspension (a positive if you ask me), no map switch, silver unbranded rims made by Excel, silver unbranded handlebars made by Nekken, different expansion chambers on the two stroke, Maxxis enduro tyres, a slightly different swing arm, forged three way adjustable triple clamps and Braktec brakes and hydraulic clutch instead of Brembo’s.
So the bikes are REALLY similar and the changes are very minor if you ask me. You may be wondering who on earth Braktec is, I was thinking the same thing. Well they are a European brake manufacturer who has a great reputation and is used by a fair few bikes on the Moto2 grid, so they must be alright.
What I do find interesting is the Gas Gas bikes all weight three KG’s more (6.6lbs) than their equivalent KTM’s and the same as the Husqvarna’s. I’m guessing this is because of the linkage. The sub frame is the same as the KTM, not the fancy composite one found on the Husqy. The plastics are different too, and I think they look fantastic.
I mean, I don’t see any reason to get a KTM when you can get one of these for less. The changes that are made to me are more than worth the savings. You are still getting everything else including TPI on the 2 strokes and WP suspension.
The dealer network in Australia and Europe looks really good. I’ve had a look at the USA network and there are a fair few spread around, but there could definitely be more. You would presume a lot of KTM dealers would sell these too as the servicing is the same and they are under the same brand. And it appears that the new Gas Gas is here to stay. The websites are fantastic, they’ve set up race teams all over the world, namely in the world enduro circuit and the AMA Supercross and Motocross and their marketing actually exists now, not like before they were purchased by KTM. I’m keen to check these out.
What do you guys think? Would you consider one of the new Gas Gas bikes? Let me know in the comments below.
OnTheBackWheel.com 