decent job off reducing wheel spin and making the power more manageable . It is also quite sophisticated being lean angle sensitive – with increased intrusion the more laid over the bike is . On gravel its easy to feel the back wheel start to slide and the TC cut in to get grip . In Off-Road the TC is much less intrusive , allowing the rider to slide the rear a little or pop the front wheel up over a rut or tree branch on the trail . It ’ ll also let bike wheelie too ( if you were wondering ). I still preferred to ride with it off altogether . Editor Ben quite liked the TC in Off-Road . I guess I ’ m just old school . A plus for the simple , single cylinder layout is the air filter is accessed just by taking the seat off , and removing two bolts . Air filter access on some trail / adventure machines is frankly a bloody nightmare , which is definitely not not cool for intrepid types ( we ’ re looking at you Africa Twin and Desert X – Ed ). The ES frame is the usual steel tube trellis and the sub-frame is a robust polyamide that is also the fuel tank . Talking of maintenance items , servicing is every 10,000km – a massive plus compared to pukka enduro machines like the KTM 500EXC-F who ’ s servicing is measured in hours .
RIDING The ES700 is pretty awesome on both road and gravel . The power is responsive and strong with a surge as the engine really gets into its stride in the upper revs . The steering sharp and accurate . Agility is a given on such a lightweight machine . On gravel , and off road in particular , the extra height at the rear combined with a full fuel tank ( the tank is at the rear of the bike ) does give a high / rear centre of gravity feel to the handling that I didn ’ t welcome when pushing hard . At times it felt like the rear wanted to overtake the front , the balance feels off with that fuel weight at the back . However , that ’ s in comparison to a dirt bike , the ES700 is still substantially more competent than any large adventure bike and the issue only arises because you end up trying to ride it like a real dirt bike . When you think about it , that ’ s actually a complement . Having said that , a rear lowering link ( and dropping the yokes down the forks ) would probably balance the 700 better and certainly increase general ease of use if tempted to take the bike into harder terrain – which you will be .
SUSPENSION AND BRAKES Both ends of the GasGas have quality WP
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