GASGAS… FOR MOST OF US THE NAME evokes images of nerveless trial stars riding seatless Spanish machines nonchalantly up a vertical cliff face. Or bouncing them, on the back wheel only, from rock to rock while defying all sense as well as gravity and generally existing on another planet from us, the road riders.
But that image is changing fast. In 2020, GasGas set out to relaunch its brand, moving away from its traditional niche off-road market and into MotoGP to contest in the Moto3 championship. Following dramatic success at the famous Dakar Rally last January, the factory raised its profile further by badging Jake Dixon’s Moto2 Triumph-powered Kalex as a GasGas. And now GasGas launches its first production road bike, the SM 700.
The mover and shaker behind the transformation of GasGas is the parent company, PIERER Mobility, which also owns KTM and Husqvarna, meaning it should come as no surprise that the “new” SM 700 supermoto shares just about everything with the KTM 690 SMC R and Husqvarna 701. In fact, the 693-cc 74-hp single-cylinder engine is identical, as is the fully adjustable WP suspension and trellis frame. Even the price, £9,359 (Rs 9.35 lakh),
