2017 GASGAS CONTACT 250
FIRST TEST
P76
Replica Factory trials bike that
holds 0.5 gallons, the Compact,
holds 0.8 gallons. It's not a huge
difference on paper but it does
make a difference on the trail.
But don't think for a moment
that just because it comes with
a seat and bigger tank that the
Contact is not serious trials
bike—oh, but it is! It is fully ca-
pable of competing in local trials
events with the seat installed or
not, and, perhaps best of all,
the Contact is less expensive—
by about a grand or so—than a
higher-end pro-level trials bikes,
and it performs nearly as well,
while being more versatile.
The closest comparable
motorcycle to the Contact 250 is
probably Beta's EVO 250 Sport
two-stroke, a bike the Italian
company says is designed for
slow trail riding. Like the Con-
tact, the EVO 250 is based on
the company's higher-end trials
bike (EVO Trial) and has a seat
and more fuel capacity.
Trials Is Fun, Fun, Fun
For this test, we hooked up
with GasGas' own Geoff Aaron,
a 10-time AMA National Trials
Champion, and spent the day
trials riding, rock crawling and
exploring the hills on the Contact
250. Our experience with trials
is purely for fun, and while the
Cycle News staff dabbles in rid-
ing trials, none of us considers
ourselves experts by any means
in the genre, making us the per-
fect candidates for the Contact.
It's Geoff Aaron!
CN's Jesse Zeigler
wasn't worried (at least
he didn't show it).
