Can’t decide which model big-bore GASGAS to put in the shed? Geoff Braico rides the 300, 450 and 500 back-to-back in this comparison.
We attended the local Aussie launch of the 2024 GASGAS range after having already ridden them in Italy for the international launch. So, this time we thought it would be kind of cool to have some fun with some of the bikes at the GASGAS launch and compare them to one another. We decided to stack the new EC 300 TBI against the two new big kids on the block in the ultimate comparison: the EC 450F and EC 500F.
EC 300
GASGAS claim in their press release that they are ‘all in’ when it comes to their new two-stroke range and with the introduction of the new TBI (throttle body injection) into the picture, they clearly mean business. Personally, I prefer the new TBI platform over the previous TPI motors as the response and power delivery is stronger and more precise which leads to an easier ride. It still doesn’t have that old two-stroke carby snap and grunt that makes you feel alive on a 300 but the new TBI motors are deceptively fast.
Where this bike shines is on the technical stuff and that is for sure what 95% of the people who buy this bike are going to go and tackle once they put down their hard earned cash. You can ride this bike in such low RPM and crawl out of any situation with ease. I had to do a log shot on the EC300 and I had a very small run up before having to jump it and I was pleasantly surprised how easy I could roll on the throttle, pop the front wheel up and easily ride over it. It was effortless and I hate to say it, made me kind of want to search for harder stuff to play on. (yes Mitch I said it)
The new WP XPLOR open cartridge forks and XACT rear shock are pretty solid and offer excellent traction especially in the slower, more technical terrain that this bike is best suited for. Sure, the whole package is a little soft for my liking under a more race oriented pace and track but overall, it was planted and precise and I was happy with how this bike felt on the trails. I really like the look of the bikes too and while they come with silver rims, they look extra spicy with a set of black wheels on them too!
2024 GASGAS EC 300
ENGINE
Type Liquid-cooled, single-cylinder, two-stroke
Displacement 293,2cc
Bore & Stroke 72mm x 72mm
Compression ratio NA
Fuel metering Vitesco Technologies EMS
Tank capacity 9L
Transmission 6 speed
Clutch DDS wet multi-disc clutch, Braktec hydraulics
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase NA
Seat height 956mm
Ground clearance 354mm
Claimed Weight 107.6kg without fuel
SUSPENSION
FRONT 48mm WP XPLOR-USD, 300mm travel
REAR WP XACT Monoshock with linkage, 300mm travel
BRAKES
Front Braktec 260 mm disc
Rear Braktec 220 mm disc
RUNNING GEAR
Handlebar N/A
Front tyre 21-inch Maxxis Maxx Enduro
Rear tyre 18-inch Maxxis Maxx Enduro
PRICE & CONTACTS
RRP $17,660.00
BROWSER GasGas.com/en-au
BLOWER 1800 644 771
Warranty 6 months
EC 450F
A new model for the 2024 GASGAS line-up and while it’s not a new model entirely because there’s been an orange and a white version of this, it’s exciting to see it now come as a red option. There’s a flavour for everyone now! The EC 450F is an incredibly easy bike to ride and the updates they have made to the motor for 2024 seem to have made it even smoother and friendlier than it’s been in previous years.
Don’t be mistaken though, this bike is deceptively fast and the get up and go that it has is enough to make any rider smile. It’s super quiet as well so I had a few moments where I would rev it out a little bit more along a straight and luckily the new Braktec brakes work pretty well because the corners came up quicker than I remember on the smaller bore machines.
Like the EC 300, the new WP suspension is a little soft for my liking and it’s more noticeable on the heavier EC 450F as you have more weight to stop so the fork tended to dive more. If I was just cruising around and trailriding, the bike felt nice and balanced but the fork diving was more of a problem at race pace for me. The rear shock gets amazing traction and thanks to the anti-squat character of the new frame and swingarm, you feel like the rear end is connected to the ground no matter what the conditions. It was pretty slimy in some spots and the standard Maxxis FIM tyres are rubbish in those conditions but traction was not really an issue for the EC 450F.
2024 GASGAS EC 450F
ENGINE
Type Liquid-cooled, single-cylinder, four-stroke
Displacement 449.9cc
Bore & Stroke 95mm x 63.4mm
Compression ratio NA
Fuel metering Keihin EMS
Tank capacity 9L
Transmission 6 speed
Clutch DDS wet multi-disc clutch, Braktec hydraulics
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase NA
Seat height 956mm
Ground clearance 354mm
Claimed Weight 110.7kg without fuel
SUSPENSION
FRONT 48mm WP XPLOR-USD, 300mm travel
REAR WP XACT Monoshock with linkage, 300mm travel
BRAKES
Front Braktec 260 mm disc
Rear Braktec 220 mm disc
RUNNING GEAR
Handlebar NA
Front tyre 21-inch Maxxis Maxx Enduro
Rear tyre 18-inch Maxxis Maxx Enduro
PRICE & CONTACTS
RRP $17,550.00
BROWSER GasGas.com/en-au
BLOWER 1800 644 771
Warranty 6 months
EC 500F
An Aussie favourite and a bike that is specifically built for the Australian market, the EC 500F is the biGASGASest and baddest bike that GASGAS have in their arsenal. If you think the EC 450F is deceptively fast, then the EC 500F will tickle your pickle even more. I hopped on this thing and rode up the first long fire road hill out on the loop and I got up that thing so fast and with so much traction I just about launched off the top.
The extra grunt that the 500 offers is epic and much like the 450, it’s super useable and makes for a very fun ride. It can be a little bit much to handle in the tighter stuff but when it’s faced with an open section of single track or a nice piece of fire road, the EC 500F shows you a really, really good time. The super smooth power delivery and added traction on the WP XACT shock gives the bike a tractor-like feel and you can lug the thing around in third gear all day with no problems at all. It’s a torque machine.
2024 GASGAS EC 500F
ENGINE
Type Liquid-cooled, single-cylinder, four-stroke
Displacement 510.9cc
Bore & Stroke 95mm x72mm
Compression ratio NA
Fuel metering Keihin EMS
Tank capacity 9L
Transmission 6 speed
Clutch DDS wet multi-disc clutch, Braktec hydraulics
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase NA
Seat height 956mm
Ground clearance 354mm
Claimed Weight 111.7kg without fuel
SUSPENSION
FRONT 48mm WP XPLOR-USD, 300mm travel
REAR WP XACT Monoshock with linkage, 300mm travel
BRAKES
Front Braktec 260 mm disc
Rear Braktec 220 mm disc
RUNNING GEAR
Handlebar NA
Front tyre 21-inch Maxxis Maxx Enduro
Rear tyre 18-inch Maxxis Maxx Enduro
PRICE & CONTACTS
RRP $18,195.00
BROWSER GasGas.com/en-au
BLOWER 1800 644 771
Warranty 6 months
BACK-TO-BACK BATTLE
In the past when attending a launch or shootout where there are plenty of bikes to ride and test, I have always done it so that I ride the smallest bike first and then work my way up to the biGASGASest. This way, I get a feel for each of the bikes in what I see is the fairest way. There is no point riding a 500 first then jumping on a 125 as I feel you will get a false sense of power from the 125. Or more specifically, lack of power as the 125 will feel like nothing after riding the 500 so, with that in mind I set off on the EC 300 first and then the 450 and 500.
I rode the exact same loop and played around on the same sections and did two laps of each. The off-road loop consisted of a loamy black soil and sand mix with some slick clay sections and was mostly second and third gear with the occasional faster section. It was an ex-Victorian Off-road race track so it had some good ruts and berms to bank off of and it was just an all-round good time. The first section of the track was a long flowing, red clay uphill with 100% traction and a bunch of erosion mounds and it was a blast.
I took off on the EC 300 and wound the thing out on the first hill and there really isn’t much more of a smile inducing activity than hearing a 300 two-stroke on the pipe for a long period of time. Honestly, it was always going to happen that the first points went to the EC 300 for the sound. The erosion mounds going up the hill while fun were a good test because you got the feel if the bike remained settled or not. The 300 was very planted and stayed straight up there.
I noticed with the 450 and 500 going up the same hill, that while they were so much faster, I had to be more precise hitting the erosion mounds. The added weight would unsettle me a little bit and I would have to correct myself in the air whereas the 300 being lighter would remain straight and I could ride a little looser.
All three bikes get amazing drive out of corners, with the 500 obviously taking the crown for sheer straight-line speed. However, while it is awesome to have that serious adrenaline rush clicking up through the gears, I quickly got reminded of the weight difference between the two and four-strokes as I slid off into the scrub at the end of the first straight. The 300 has plenty of get up and go and it too is deceptively fast but my braking point on the lighter two-stroke was significantly later into the corner than the big bore. It was kind of a laughable moment really, as I wound both the 450 and 500 up with a big smile on my face and then hit the brake at the same spot as the 300 and I just sailed past the corner and into the lush, green ferns surrounding the tracks.
The weight difference was also very noticeable when riding the three bikes in succession on the tighter, more technical sections. The 450 and 500 are awesome to cruise through and enjoy the ride but you can’t compare those bikes to how easy the 300 is to ride in the technical stuff. The 300 is the king of the technical trail and it knows it too. The torque and grunt down low of the new TBI engine platform is pretty damn impressive and you can point and shoot that thing up any hill and it’ll climb out with ease.
Same goes for the downhill sections too, the 300 is livelier under your feet but at the same time is so much easier and more playful to handle. Sure, I already knew the four-strokes were heavier but it’s not until I rode them back-to-back in such close proximity that I really saw these differences.
SO WHICH BIKE IS FOR YOU?
If you’re in the market for a new bike and not really sure what to choose, well your kind of living in a great time for enduro bikes because there are so many options. The new 2024 GASGAS range is huge and I would be happy to have any of these three bikes in my garage.
I’ll start with the EC 300. This bike is perfectly suited for the single-track rider who sometimes doesn’t mind getting themselves into some real snotty stuff. The new TBI motor package is easily the best injected motor that they have released and it was hands down the easiest of the three to handle out on the slower, more technical sections. Climbing in and out gnarly areas was no problem at all and I’m not an extreme enduro fan at all, but this bike made me want to go searching for harder stuff to ride.
The EC 450 is a great all-round machine and I thoroughly enjoyed this bike too. It has a very strong and torquey motor yet the power delivery is so linear, that it too is very easy to ride. If you’re a racer that enjoys the local state events and/or national events, the EC 450 is the pick for me. I would love to ride this bike on a nice grasstrack style track and really get to experience that amazing drive that the bike gets of the corners and I reckon it would be a real good time.
Finally, the EC 500, this thing is a beast. Like the EC 450, it has the strong, torquey motor but with that added 50cc, it goes that little bit further than its little brother and the motor just keeps on pulling. I can already hear this thing taking over some of the faster races that we have here in Australia. I’m pretty sure that I heard that the reason the EC 500 exists is because of the speed crazed Aussie fans who aren’t afraid to rev the big girl out. If you’re after traction and good top end speed, the EC500 is waiting for you.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Riding these three bikes back-to-back was a lot of fun. I’ve done a lot of shootouts comparing same size bikes but having three bikes that are all similar but all so individual was a good time. The new 2024 GASGAS bikes are a really nice bit of gear.
The new frame and bodywork brings them up to where they need to be and the new WP XPLOR forks and XACT rear shock combos are a good combination for just about every rider. My only complaint during the while day was that someone needs to put a handguard guy on the books because you can’t have enduro bikes without handguards! Come on GASGAS!
Other than that, no complaints from me, give me the EC 300 for the techo, extreme stuff, the EC 450 for race situations and the EC 500 for that speed fix that happens every now and then when I feel like I need to race a desert race. It’s awesome to have so much choice from the manufacturers these days.
WORDS | GEOFF BRAICO
PHOTOS | FLIGHTCRAFT