Absolutely fabu-Gas
By Martin Craven on 21st Dec 12
The enthusiastic Girona based Gas Gas factory has been challenging the all-conquering KTMs on the enduro and hare and hound front for several years now. The Catalan designed and built 250/300 two-strokes are well established, good-looking, reliable, powerful and competitive racing machines, with quality auxiliaries, suspension and brakes that you can race right out of the box. And for 2013 they are better than ever...
Welcome to this festive bumper-edition of TMX and a Merry Christmas to all my readers, writes Martin Craven.
Firstly, I'd like to say what a year of testing this year has been. There have been some good bikes – and there have been some great bikes.
We've been testing in the ice and snow at the beginning of the year and in the blistering sun near Barcelona in summer, where temperatures reached the dizzy heights of 40 degrees.
And now here we are at the last test of the year on a fairly cold December Yorkshire morning, with a pair of sprightly looking Gas Gas enduro two-strokes.
I've really enjoyed testing all the different makes and models this year, it has taken me to some amazing places and on some great tracks and trails.
It's also nice meeting up with fellow testers from different mags from all over the world and swapping notes.
I have actually done more riding this year than I have for a long time and with no injuries, which is a bonus!
However, what started out as a gentle lap of the 20km enduro loop in Italy, with my good bud Ed radley, turned into a full race-pace life-or-death dash to the finish, scaring us both half to death with neither of us admitting to each other we were at full chat as we were dropping off rock faces and river crossings!
Then there was the awesome Honda 450 test at the incredible and well-prepped Faenza GP track in Italy – way out of my comfort zone but I enjoyed every minute of it.
But, enough reminiscing and back to today's test, which is back on familiar territory, well in my comfort zone, big rocks, steep climbs – and two awesome looking two-stroke Gassers.
I'd already tried and tested the new Yamaha-powered four-stroke models but it was great to get back on a stroker – and I've spent plenty of time on the smokin' Gassers.
Let's start with the 250. In years gone by the 250 is more commonly known for being a real racer's bike, with punchy hard-hitting power.
But considering how light bikes have become – and especially how good ALL the bikes are now handling it is now all about power placement.
Truthfully, there isn't really a slow bike on the market anymore.
It is all about how the engineers can get a bike from A to B in the quickest time possible.
What I like about this 250 is the way it pulls straight off the bottom, with minimum effort.
To be honest, maybe with a little too much ease for some riders.
In recent GG models, the 250 was real
rocket-ship material but the 2013 version was tame in comparison.
That's not to say that it's a slouch by any means, it's just that it now delivers you the power in a different way.
I found myself wanting the clutch more, which isn't a problem, as the clutch and gearbox combo is plenty strong enough to handle it and once you're on the pipe the 250 starts to shine.
FOR FULL TEST AND PICTURES SEE TMX DECEMBER 21
