In general, the Beta's are razor sharp turning bikes-when set up properly. There are some slight differences between tuning the open cartridge Sachs fork and the red Zokes. Mainly, the Zokes will tend to ride a bit higher due to the design. There is a whole book on tuning to be written but here are some general suggestions for getting started.
The basics:
*Make sure you have the correct springs on the bike. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to zero in your new bike than trying to adjust when the springs are out of spec. The Beta manual is generally accurate and a decent place to start. When we revalve bikes there are a number of factors that could slightly change the best rate for your specifics, so determine what your end goal will be.
Once you have the right springs, we recommend to start:
-Set the Sachs or Zoke forks to the first line (you can further adjust later, we are only looking for a general baseline right now)
-Set your race sag on the Sachs to 108-110mm to start (you will come back to this and fine tune later)
-Set clickers to the middle of the range
As Chris the Editor at Dirt Rider learned, the Beta bikes intercorrelate small changes from the front to the back, and the back to the front, so we suggest small steps when tuning (2-3 clicks at a time, 3-5mm sag changes).
We recommend the following sequence if you are just starting out tuning your bike, as doing things in the following order makes small changes easier to feel a difference on. Once you have determined a baseline, you can make individual changes where you feel the bike needs them but ONLY DO ONE CHANGE AT A TIME!!!
In general, the easiest way to tune is to focus on the fork compression first, then shock low speed compression. Once you find what feels best there, move to the fork rebound then shock rebound. (Compression is the easiest to feel a difference, and once set it is fairly straightforward to find a good rebound setting for your specifics). Lastly, adjust your HS shock compression. This adjustment also affects ride heigh somewhat, FYI.
Find a good middle of the road setting (your baseline), then go back and adjust your sag 3-5 mm each way. You will be surprised how much this will change the way the bike feels-each rider is different, but our typical Beta setup ends up around 108-110mm. Now you can begin the fine tuning process-but that's another whole different animal lol.
I suggest these steps because you can educate yourself better on how your suspension works without getting it too far off of a baseline. For you more advanced guys out there, try this sequence and see if gives you any more feedback at each step-you might be surprised
...Lastly, If you get stuck-go back to your original baseline and start over. And-you don't need to do a 30 mile loop to accomplish this initial tuning, find a 1/4-1/2 mile stretch of the typical terrain you are tuning for. Hope this helped!
Keep It Pinned!
