Unlike its model-equivalent cousin, the KTM 250 XC, GasGas’ EX 250 has never been equipped with a carburetor. That’s not all too surprising given its relatively short existence, having first hit the market in 2021. From then until last year, the fun Austrian brand’s quarter-liter cross-country smoker featured transfer port injection (TPI). For 2024, this model as well as the EX 300 (and GasGas’ two-stroke motocrossers and enduros) use throttle body injection (TBI).
After testing its larger-displacement cross-country sibling abroad in Italy and at home in SoCal, we got our hands on the smaller-bore 2024 GasGas EX 250 to put through its paces. Of course, rolling it onto the Dirt Rider dyno was at the top of our to-do list before testing in the dirt commenced. When all was said and done, we documented peak figures of 43.2 hp and 29.0 lb.-ft. of torque at the rear wheel.
“With an abundance of low rpm grunt, the EX 250 pulls through tight single-track and up hills quite easily,” test rider Cody Johnston said. “Power from the fuel-injected liquid-cooled two-stroke 249cc single-cylinder engine is strong but controllable, and there’s plenty of top-end for wide-open riding too.”
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