Gas Gas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gas Gas is a Spanish motorcycle manufacturer, specialising in off-road motorbikes. Gas Gas are best known for their extremely popular trials bikes, although they also make successful enduro and quad bikes.

Gas Gas emerged from the financial demise of Bultaco when two agents, Narcis Casas and Josep Piebernat found themselves with a shop but no product to sell. So they embarked on a program to manufacture trials bikes for sale in their shop.

2008 Gas Gas EC Racing edition with full Ohlins suspension

1 Manufacturing
2 Championships & Riders
3 Meaning Of The Name
4 Importing
5 Models
6 Enduros/Off-Road
7 Trials
8 Quads
9 External links

[edit] Manufacturing

2006 Gas Gas Raga edition Trials Bike

Gas Gas have manufactured and sold motorcycles since 1985. They are leaders in the world trials market and are strong contenders in the enduro sector. The brand is known for a very high quality product and the continuous research and technical development they put into their product. A majority of the Gas Gas models are still handbuilt at the Gas Gas factory in Salt, Spain (Near Girona). Gas Gas continue to be at the forefront of off-road motorcycle development and were the first company to incorporate fuel injection on a volume production off-road motorcycle (the first company to introduce fuel injection to production off-road motorcycle was Cannondale/ATK motorcycles).

Gas Gas began manufacturing trials bikes in 1985, enduro and motocross bikes in 1989, and quads in 2002.

[edit] Championships & Riders

Gas Gas trials paddock, Duluth, MN 2004.

In 1993 Gas Gas succeeded in luring the multiple world trials champion Jordi Tarres away from Beta and he promptly won 3 successive world trials championships (1993, 1994 & 1995) for Gas Gas. More recently Gas Gas have won the Trial Outdoor World championship twice (2005 & 2006) with Adam Raga. They have also won the Trial Indoor World championship in 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2006 also with Adam Raga riding. [1] [2]

Gas Gas have also achieved success at the highest level in the World Enduro Championship with Paul Edmundson winning the E1 class championship in 1994 and the E2 in 1996, Petteri Silván winning the E2 class championship and taking the overall World Enduro Championship in 1999. Petri Pohjamo won the E2 class championship in 2003. [3]

In 2006 British Enduro Champion, Wayne Braybrook, riding a Gas Gas, was one of only 2 riders to finish all 80 miles of the Red Bull Last Man Standing event. 126 other riders did not finish the race. [4]

[edit] Meaning Of The Name

The name Gas Gas literally means "to gas it". (To accelerate, give it the gas, turn the throttle - to go faster.). The Gas Gas founders have, at times, expressed misgivings about the chosen name inasmuch as that name causes confusion outside Spain. Others have joked that Gas Gas are so good that they had to name them twice. The slogan "Gas Gas = Fast Fast" was used by the US importer, Gas Gas North America, from 1999-2002 to try and help people understand the unique name.

[edit] Importing

They are currently imported into many countries in Europe and around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South America and the United States. [5]

[edit] Models

[edit] Enduros/Off-Road

2005 MC 250 Motocross bike

While the EC ("Endurocross") and MC (motocross) models are shipped worldwide, Gas Gas have manufactured specialized models for the United States off-road market. The XC ("Cross Country" produced from 1999-2002) and the DE ("Dealer Edition" produced from 2002-2006) models were successful attempts to customize the product to the US market.

The FSE and FSR are the fuel injected, four-stroke enduro bikes similar in appearance to the EC models.

In 2007 the company standardized to the color red for all displacements and models. Prior to 2007, each color on the EC model line represented the displacement of the motor.

Yellow - 125cc and 200cc.

Red - 50cc, 250cc, 400cc and 450cc.

Blue - 300cc, 450cc.

[edit] Trials

The TXT models are specifically designed for trials riding. The TXT trials model line also used a similar color code to the EC line.

[edit] Quads

2005 Gas Gas Wild HP240 Quad

The Gas Gas sport quads are known by the Wild HP brand and come in two-stroke and fuel injected four-stroke models.

Prior to 2007, the Wild HP line of quads were available in choice of Blue or Red regardless of displacement. Beginning in 2007 the Wild HP line standardized to Black.

2000 Gas Gas EC 200, an enduro bike	2001 Gas Gas XC 250 USA market only (XC produced from 1999-2002)	2003 Gas Gas EC 200 with full Ohlins suspension	2003 Gas Gas EC50Boy mini bike
2004 Gas Gas DE 300 USA market only