Main bearing failures on 2018 2019 2020 Xtrainer RR250 & 300

[betajuice]

THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED 05/2020
There have been main bearings failures on late model Xtrainer RR250 and RR300 models, some as low as one hour of riding. Beta USA indicates it is occurring in about 5% of cases.

WHICH YEAR MODELS ARE AFFECTED?
The problem began in 2018 models and continued into the 2019 range at which point Beta head office said they fixed the problem. Unfortunately it seems the problem is continuing with the 2020 models although the numbers suggest it's about half the rate so far according to a reliable source.

THE CAUSE OF MAIN BEARING FAILURES?
Owners suspected oil injection issues which turned out to not be true. Beta head office has given very few details the past two years. Eventually they said it was an 'assembly problem' in the factory. They later changed this to it being a 'supplier problem' with incorrect bearings supplied (for more info, see further down). A recent chat with a distributor indicates it is back to being an assembly problem.

WHAT SUPPORT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM BETA?
Beta head office has now publicly stated they will repair all main bearing failures in or out of warranty (with the obvious exception of user error e.g. drowned engines, running without oil etc).

Beta head office pays five hours labour for repairs, but not for fluids. There have been reports of dealers charging for fluids and possibly a portion of labour if it takes longer than five hours - most dealers are paying the difference out of their own pocket though.

However, the level of support may change after 90 hours (at least in Australia), as the Beta manual recommends replacing the main bearings at this point. This is widely regarded as being for race bikes only, but it does technically give Beta the option of not fixing the bike after this. In most international cases, Beta is still repairing bikes but in some cases they are only providing parts, and not paying for labor, or just a percentage. If you disagree with this, you may need to take your case to your Beta distributor, then Beta head office, then finally pursue your case through consumer law.



-----------------------------------------------------------------

MORE INFO ABOUT THE POSSIBLE CAUSE
There were lots of early theories mainly around the oil injection failing or a bad batch of bearings - there was no real evidence of either.

Given the lack of detail from the factory, there's a bit of an informal worldwide network formed over the past year trying to get to the bottom of it all. I just checked in to see if there was any more info available.

Their current opinion? It appears to be three likely causes.

One, the interference fit is very tight for the left hand main bearing. So warm the engine case in an oven (don't use a blow torch as this may warp the case), put the bearing in a freezer, then it should go in with almost no pressure. It's possible some bearings may have been damaged by being forced in, just heating the cases meant a lot of pressure can be needed to overcome the very tight interference fit.

Two. Once it's all together, check that the crank is spinning freely. If not, tap the case until lateral pressure is relieved on the bearing so the crank spins freely. It's possible that unrelieved lateral pressure may cause the bearing to wear prematurely.

Three, ensure the left hand engine case is heated evenly in an oven when installing the main bearing. It appears that Beta head office did eventually admit to at least one distributor that the 'assembly problem' was incorrect heating of the engine case which caused warping. I don't know if Beta mechanics would have a way to check this reliably or not. But where a second or third main bearing failure has occurred (despite correct installation as above) then a new engine case could be required.

BETA'S OFFICIAL RESPONSE - IT'S AN 'ASSEMBLY PROBLEM'
Initially Beta head office did not respond to our repeated inquiries about all these main bearing failures. But once the issue became a public one, the Beta USA distributor did contact head office and told us it as an 'assembly issue' but with no further details... and that head office agreed to fix all main bearing failures under warranty even if the bike was outside of the six month warranty. They also confirmed main bearing failures were occurring in about 5% of the two stroke models.

Beta head office then changed tack and said it was an error by the bearing supplier.
Beta head office further complicated the issue by coming out with a different reason some months later, saying it was an error by their supplier and that the wrong bearings were supplied... which seems to contradict their earlier statement and how did they manage to use the wrong bearings through 2018 and 2019 production (and now 2020 cases are emerging), despite all the reported failure.! You can read the details here.

While Beta head office has not publicly provided any details, we did hear through a distributor that the original 'assembly problem' was the left hand engine case wasn't being evenly heated in an oven... and the localized heating of the main bearing area was warping some cases. This could explain why some owners have had three main bearing failures in a row.

We can only hope head office has made all Beta dealers and mechanics aware of this. Sadly we have heard some dealers still haven't even been informed about this main bearing failure problem. Beta head office needs to start issuing service bulletins to their distributors and dealers, as all the other major manufacturers do.



SOME TYPICAL CASES
While not an exhaustive list, here are some typical cases (many compiled from Facebook here and here) showing it's across various models and years with a range of hours on the engine...

Beta Xtrainer 2020 main bearing failed at six hours, fixed under warranty

Beta RR250 2020 main bearing failed at 36 hours, fixed under warranty

Beta RR250 2020 main bearing failed at 47 hours, fixed under warranty

2020 Beta RR300 main bearing failed at 500km

Beta 300RR 2019 bearing failed at 9 hours, repaired though just outside warranty

Beta RR250 2019 main bearing failed twice, first at 30 hours, again at 60 hours, both fixed under warranty by Beta mechanic

Beta RR250 2020 main bearing failed at 36 hours, fixed under warranty

Beta RR250 2019 main bearing failed twice, first at 30 hours, again at 60 hours, both fixed under warranty

Beta Xtrainer 2018 main bearing failed at less than 1 hour Completely fixed under warranty. Mechanic suspects faulty bearings or incorrect installation at factory.

Beta Xtrainer 2019 Main bearing noise at 7 hours. Took back to the shop and mechanic confirmed bearing was faulty, replaced under warranty.

2019 RR300 Main bearing failure at 12 hours Almost no warning, just five seconds of squealing then complete failure.

Beta Xtrainer 2018 main bearing failed at 8 hours. The dealer claims it was water damage but the bike was only washed once and ridden nowhere near water, the owner thinks it must have been a poor quality bearing.

2019 RR300 Two main bearing failures 15 hours then 21 hours Left hand bearing seized, Beta supplied parts but not labour. Within one hour the new bearing was noisy. Dealer refused to fix it.

Beta Xtrainer 2018 Main bearing failed at 10 hours. Dealer said this is a known issue so fixed under warranty and extended warranty by six months too.

Beta Xtrainer 2018 main bearing failed at less than 20 hours. Emailed for details but none as yet.

2018 RR250 Main bearing failed at 20 hours Beta UK fixed and rebuilt under warranty.

RR300 2018 Two cases of main bearing failure. Oil pump failed first ride, dealer replaced. Next oil pump failed third ride, changed to premix. First main bearing failed at 30 hours. Fixed under warranty, main bearings failed again at 60 hours. Beta would not fix under warranty again so had to pay.

RR250 2018 30 hours main bearing failure and wrecked the bottom end, cases, piston and barrel. Fixed under warranty and advised there was no lubrication issue, just a faulty main bearing.

RR300 2018 failed at 36 hours. No apparent reason, bearings were very dry and had just started to disintegrate when he stopped. In the same forum post, another rider reported his 2016 RR300 but he hasn't responded to my request for details yet.

RR250 2018 failed at 18 hours. Emailed for details, no reply as yet.

2018 RR250 Main bearing failure at 40 hours Not under warranty so fixed at his own expense.

Beta Xtrainer 2018 Main bearing seized at 900km for no apparent reason. Out of warranty but dealer covered half the costs.

2017 RR300 & 2018 RR300s Both failed at around 60 hours Beta dealer fixed both under warranty, saying Beta recognizes the issue and the cause is either the bearings themselves, incorrect bearing, or incorrect assembly at factory.

2018 RR250 Failed at 60 hours, then 160 hours, then 212 hours. Eventually it was discovered the engine case was warped at the factory by being overheated when the left hand bearing was fitted.

RR300 2017 93 hours Stopped riding after bad vibrations started, suspected main bearing and splitting the cases now, he'll inform me if it is actually the main bearings.

RR300 2016 & 2015 Xtrainer 50 hours Main bearing failed. Evidence of surface rust on crank but no moisture evident. Owner has never swamped the bike and has no idea on how water would get in there. He also has a riding buddy whose 2015 Xtrainer had seized main bearings at 180 hours but no details as yet.

RR300 2015 84 hours owner stopped riding when a high pitched squeal started. Split cases and the lefthand main bearing was toast. Dealer provided free parts but owner did the work himself.

Xtrainer 2015 900km, unsure of hours. Out of warranty but dealer/distributor paid 50% of repairs as there was no apparent cause for main bearing failure.

[hawaiidirtrider]

Never heard of any problems before. What others on youtube having problems beside the one? Literally I have never heard of a main bearing going on any Beta 250/300 until you posting up now. So a 14,a 17 and an 18? Ive heard of none locally going south and we have a real concentration of 2t Beta enduro. Looking forward to seeing what info ya got on this topic.

[betajuice]

....So a 14,a 17 and an 18? Ive heard of none locally going south and we have a real concentration of 2t Beta enduro. Looking forward to seeing what info ya got on this topic.

One Beta dealer estimated around 1 in 200 late model Betas are failing due to faulty bearings. I checked with my local Beta dealer who said he's had two of his 10 Xtrainer sold fail around 200 hours (one of them his personal bike). All of his RR250 and RR300s have been fine, but he said other Australian dealers are reporting failures due to faulty main bearings on some RR models sold.

Given the large number of Betas sold internationally I think the number of cases involved show it's fairly rare. But definitely worth listening out for weird noises from the bottom end and stop riding immediately. Quite a few riders told me once the noise starts it's often not long before the bearing completely disintegrates and can potentially wreck the bottom end, cases, barrel and piston.

[Johnno]

Shit happens.

mate has a 14 KTM 300. He's had the bore replated once. Did the big end 7 hours after a top end rebuild.

My '16 Beta 300 has over 100 hrs and never touched. I use a pressure washer but I don't hold the nozzle against anywhere water could enter.

I'm not losing any sleep.

I recall a mate who is quite fat and lives on take away food. A local chicken place sells chicken rolls and a few people have eaten them and got the squirts. His reasoning is how many? 3 or 4 versus how many with no problem? He said he'll take the odds.

[hawaiidirtrider]

Shit happens.

mate has a 14 KTM 300. He's had the bore replated once. Did the big end 7 hours after a top end rebuild.

My '16 Beta 300 has over 100 hrs and never touched. I use a pressure washer but I don't hold the nozzle against anywhere water could enter.

I'm not losing any sleep.

I recall a mate who is quite fat and lives on take away food. A local chicken place sells chicken rolls and a few people have eaten them and got the squirts. His reasoning is how many? 3 or 4 versus how many with no problem? He said he'll take the odds.

Yea. I don’t know. I’m not losing sleep either. I mean all brands of dirt bike sort of blow up a certain percentage of those sold. I wouldn’t think that Beta is higher than other brands.. plus Betas warranty just blows all the other brands out of the water. Even when warranties are done sometimes Beta covers parts depending on the issue. Excluding Beta the normal for all other brands are pretty much you are on your own if something goes wrong.

As far as the chicken place? Well I’m not eating meat anymore. It’s a little bit of seafood and veggies etc. Im feeling much better eating a better grade of food. I’m working on seeing if I can eat even better but I know what you’re getting at as far as your example. My 15 300 rr is all good. I haven’t heard of any Beta 2t enduro rr / Xtrainers having any issues like that since they came out in 2013. I guess if there is a particular problem it should be addressed. I just have only heard about this only on this thread.

[betajuice]

I’m not losing sleep either. I mean all brands of dirt bike sort of blow up a certain percentage of those sold. I wouldn’t think that Beta is higher than other brands.. plus Betas warranty just blows all the other brands out of the water. Even when warranties are done sometimes Beta covers parts depending on the issue. Excluding Beta the normal for all other brands are pretty much you are on your own if something goes wrong.....

Yep, I wouldn't lose sleep either. Here in Australia it still appears to be a very low failure rate but certainly enough to be seen by Beta dealers as a known issue. From the lack of cases in the UK and also in the USA (posted on thumpertalk) I'm starting to think it might be largely confined to batches sent to Australia. I'm still loving my 2016 Xtrainer and think overall Beta has done a great job on all these engines.

If the Beta warranty is great in the UK that's great news, but I would say that could be highly dependent on the country. I've certainly got a mix of horror stories from various other places, but also cases of extremely generous dealers and distributors. It's a mixed bag and I think the same with every manufacturer.

[Johnno]

I doubt I'd ever buy another new dirt bike so my opinion doesn't really count for much. I'm 56 years old and I will get a lot out of my '16 300RR. I'm only now thinking about the top end ( I'm gonna do it soon, maybe get a Slavens head as well ) I really can't think of any life altering event in motorcycle development that might happen along that would sway me ( or I could afford )

Last weekend up the bush I rode with a mate on his '14 KTM. At the car park were 4 guys on KTM's when I got there. When we returned 2 other KTM owners also showed up. The only bright moment was seeing 2 adventure kitted DRZ's out on the trail.

I wouldn't care if they were better ( apart from better suspension as stock and lots better sorted ) I don't think they are. But I didn't buy a KTM on principle. I don't like crowds.

The fact that EVERY Beta at the time I bought mine had a badly adjusted float and nearly every one of them had the battery terminal come loose on the 3rd or 4th ride and I had to go and fix both things was a sort of right of passage for me, it allowed me to put my touch the bike. It wasn't like a puddle of oil under a brand new Triumph in the early 70's or those gorgeous early 80's Husky CR430's that had leaky fork seals on the show room floor.

I by chance saw a video about TPI failures. Man there was sooo many! A mate's kid bought a TPI 300 and it's utterly flawless. We had a pointless drag race on a sandy hard packed dirt road. His rear tyre was gone and I have X trainer gearing, he's like a whippet too and I am fairly voluptuous.

It was a dead heat. The thing ran like a top though.

[hawaiidirtrider]

I doubt I'd ever buy another new dirt bike so my opinion doesn't really count for much. I'm 56 years old and I will get a lot out of my '16 300RR. I'm only now thinking about the top end ( I'm gonna do it soon, maybe get a Slavens head as well ) I really can't think of any life altering event in motorcycle development that might happen along that would sway me ( or I could afford )

Last weekend up the bush I rode with a mate on his '14 KTM. At the car park were 4 guys on KTM's when I got there. When we returned 2 other KTM owners also showed up. The only bright moment was seeing 2 adventure kitted DRZ's out on the trail.

I wouldn't care if they were better ( apart from better suspension as stock and lots better sorted ) I don't think they are. But I didn't buy a KTM on principle. I don't like crowds.

The fact that EVERY Beta at the time I bought mine had a badly adjusted float and nearly every one of them had the battery terminal come loose on the 3rd or 4th ride and I had to go and fix both things was a sort of right of passage for me, it allowed me to put my touch the bike. It wasn't like a puddle of oil under a brand new Triumph in the early 70's or those gorgeous early 80's Husky CR430's that had leaky fork seals on the show room floor.

I by chance saw a video about TPI failures. Man there was sooo many! A mate's kid bought a TPI 300 and it's utterly flawless. We had a pointless drag race on a sandy hard packed dirt road. His rear tyre was gone and I have X trainer gearing, he's like a whippet too and I am fairly voluptuous.

It was a dead heat. The thing ran like a top though.

I’m 59 years old and I’m not seeing that I am wanting or needing more in a newer bike than my 15’ 300 rr too. ...or the other a few years older bikes I have. I should probably sell some of my other dirt bikes for that matter but What for?I don’t see a newer bike that looks much better thatwhat I have.. well maybe that Beta 200 rr.. but it’s not that huge of a draw over my 300 rr. It’s funny that you mentioned an old husky 430. That’s one of my project bikes I have to get going. I want to remember again just how much vibration there actually was when I rode another one years ago. But going back to the Beta.. adjusting the float level or making sure the battery cables are tight are really a fix?? That’s just maintenance and setup I think. Right now when I’m looking at newer bikes.. say in the 300 2 stroke enduro class I’m not seeing much more than what I already have. I’d say it’s more refinement. I don’t want tpi. I want a nice bike that I can trailside fix if need be. Maybe an upgrade for Beta might be a counterbalancer but that’s not a big deal. It’s a little edge but nothing huge. From what Ive seen and experienced so far Beta has been bulletproof. I mean every brand has a certain percentage of bikes that break. What’s interesting to me too is watching Holcombe smoke the field in enduro gp by over a minute on a very close to stock Beta 300 factory edition that’s mainly setup and tuned suspension. He won 2 days in Germany and Freeman was right behind. Of course I’m just an older fat vet rider. Just mentioning that Beta is a great bike right out of the box. Actually all the 300 2t are great bikes of any brand. Each brand makes a great model 300 enduro these days. Idk... I’m planning on riding a 2019 300 rr Demo and a 2019 Beta 200 rr soon. Then I can compare to my 300 rr better. Hey it’s a free ride to try.

[Goatse]

Steve Holcombe's Beta is as stock as any of the Factory Huskies, KTM's, Sherco's, etc in the field. It's a factory race bike. Period.

[hawaiidirtrider]

Steve Holcombe's Beta is as stock as any of the Factory Huskies, KTM's, Sherco's, etc in the field. It's a factory race bike. Period.

For a factory bike it’s like the closest to a stock bike than any bike Ive ever seen.

https://enduro21.com/index.php/endurogp ... 300-racing

https://youtu.be/CeP550SCWZg

https://youtu.be/3OY_t8uloI0

I don’t know.. I’m thinking this older bike is more trick than what he rides now and even then the biggest difference is the ohlins and anyone can buy Ohlins if they like and have em setup for them.

https://enduro21.com/index.php/endurogp ... eta-rr-250



https://enduro21.com/index.php/endurogp ... double-win