GasGas entered the world of road motorcycles when it was bought by the Pierer Mobility Group (PMG) in 2019. Now, it is ready to expand its road range.
Currently, GasGas’ road motorcycle range consists of two models, the ES 700 and the SM 700, which use the 693cc single-cylinder engine that KTM uses for its 690 SMC R. Test photos published by Motorrad indicate that the Spanish brand is ready to add to these two with a new range of twin-cylinder motorcycles.
Expected to be called ES 800 and SM 800, the new motorcycles will use the 790cc twin-cylinder engine used in the KTM 790 Duke and 790 Adventure, as well as in the new Husqvarna Svartpilen 801.
The use of this engine by GasGas motorcycles – which is also used in the CFMOTO 800MT and 800 NK, with which the new GasGas models also share a headlight – further indicates that KTM has a specific intention for it. Currently, the engine is used by both “secondary” subsidiaries of PMG (GasGas and Husqvarna), by their main industrial partner, CFMOTO, which also builds the engine, and by KTM itself, but only in their second-line medium-displacement adventure and naked bikes, not in the main 990 Duke and 890 (soon 990) Adventure models.
Indeed, the 790 is now the cheapest mid-displacement model from PMG: manufactured in China and marketed as a neo-retro scrambler or an affordable adventurer, or now, as a “fun” model, as this is GasGas’s goal.
The exact way in which the ES 800, which comes with a 19-inch front wheel, fits into this is uncertain, but for the SM 800 it is simpler, as it will be the first two-cylinder “supermoto” bike (meaning not a supermoto-touring crossover) to be produced by a PMG brand.
The exact release date for these bikes has not been confirmed yet. GasGas launched the SM 700 and ES 700 together in 2022, so perhaps we should expect a similar joint release for the two when they are ready.
