Gas Gas Moto 1 E-Bike | Track Tested
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Life With the Gas Gas Moto 1 E-Bike
By Donn Maeda
Photos by Ayden Greene
Price: $2599.00
As the editor-in-chief here at Swapmoto Live, I’m fortunate to hear from the guys at Pierer Mobility fairly regularly. Whether it’s Andy Jefferson or Braden Dahl, getting a call or text from them usually means one of two things: they want us to return a test bike or have something new to throw our legs over. And more often than not, it’s the latter. Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past decade, you already know that between the KTM, Husqvarna, and Gas Gas, marques, the Austrian Pierer Mobility powerhouse offers motocross bikes, off-road bikes, street bikes, adventure bikes, pedal-assist mountain bikes, and e-bikes in just about every shape, size, and color. I’m sure it’s an arduous task to keep track of a test bike loan pool for one of the brands, let alone all three!
This time, though, the invite down to their headquarters was a little different. After walking into the building, Andy and Braden greeted me with suspicious grins on their faces. And that’s when I saw the Gas Gas Moto 1 for the first time. A few weeks earlier, Bro Show had asked me to test the Gas Gas ECC 6 pedal-assist enduro mountain bike, and it was flat-out amazing. SML’s main MTB test rider Andre Budilo and I had an absolute blast on the ECC 6 on our local Corona, California, trail network; both of us setting new downhill PR times on it.
But this was different. A lot different. The Gas Gas Moto 1 E-Bike is more of a commuter. With its rigid steel frame and fork it’s obviously not meant to be ridden in the dirt, so I asked the guys why they were giving us one for SML. “Go have fun on it,” they said. “Play around on it and see what you think!”
While the guys outfitted it with a number 48 front number plate to make it more appealing, I removed it the second I got the Moto 1 to the office. Our ad guy Dominic Gaytan drooled over the Moto 1 as soon as he saw it: he and his wife are big on “glamping” at full-hookup campsites in their travel trailer, and they share one of the Xero2 e-bikes that Ryan Villopoto sells (yes, that RV2). I could almost see the idea of husband/wife races at the campsites racing through Dommer’s head.
Of course, the first thing we did with the Moto 1 was take it to the track. Not to ride it on the track, per se, but to get around on the infield while we were shooting test photos and videos. While it was plenty handy to get around, we quickly discovered that riding it in rough terrain would cause the chain to derail, and also that the completely rigid chassis is unforgiving in any sort of chatter. But…that is not what the Moto 1 is designed for! But we’re motocrossers and had to see…sue us, why don’t you? Haha!
Hydraulic disc brakes grace both ends of the Moto 1. If we had our druthers, we’d add a short-travel suspension fork.
OK, let’s get into the technical stuff about the Gas Gas Moto 1. The bike is equipped with hydraulic disc brakes, front, and rear, and they do a fine job of slowing the bike down. The massive 20″ wheels with Gas Gas tires are more for looks and style than they are for performance…the tires grip fantastically well on the street, but they will keep you on your toes offroad. As we’ve mentioned before, the fork is completely rigid, and the big BMX-style handlebars are nice and high…and comfortable! The Gas Gas grips are super cool – they are fat, provide cushion for your hands, and have a cool black-and-red swirl pattern. The oddest thing about the rider’s cockpit is that while the right side of the handlebar hosts a shifter for the bike’s seven-speed drivetrain, the left side of the bars has a thumb throttle! That’s right…though the Moto 1 can be ridden completely turned off like a regular bicycle, powering it up and cranking on the pedals will provide pedal assist, just like any other Class 1 pedal-assist bicycle. The 500-watt Bafang motor provides 70 nm of torque and realistically, keeps the Moto 1 completely legal for use on streets and in many parks as a Class 2 pedal-assist bicycle.
The Gas Gas Moto 1 can be pedaled with power assist using the traditional cranks, or throttled up with a hub-drive power unit.
Why Class 2? That’s because the left-side throttle powers the bike through a hub-drive system that operates independently from the pedals, cranks, chain, and rear hub gear cluster! When used with the throttle, the Gas Gas Moto 1 kind of hauls ass! With a top speed of 20 mph, the little e-bike can be a blast to rip around on, but that right there is the cause of so much confusion in local traffic regulations. Truth be told, it’s kids riding the Sur-Ron electric motorcycles on the street doing wheelies in traffic, that have caused many cities to impose pricey fines and even impound procedures on many e-bikes being ridden improperly. As best we know, however, the Gas Gas Moto 1 falls under the Class 2 pedal-assist category and is perfectly legal when ridden properly.
The Gas Gas Moto 1 is perfect for exercising a speedy dog!
Since taking delivery of the Moto 1, we’ve handed it over to one of our neighbors to log some miles for us. Ayden Greene is a 19-year-old photographer who has yet to get his California driver’s license, so he’s been using the Moto 1 to get around the neighborhood on coffee and food runs, Recently, we’ve learned that he’s used it to make the 15-mile round trip to the private Honda Supercross track across the freeway to shoot photos of the MCR Honda team on numerous occasions, and even made sure of the Moto 1’s street legality with a police officer he ran into at Starbucks. So while we would automatically view the Gas Gas Moto 1 as a play bike, we’ve learned that it also does a fine job as an alternate source of transportation, too! Just don’t try to jump any curbs on the thing…we’re sure it won’t end well…
