Beta 2018 RR250, 300 & 350

[Gibnut]

Rode these 3 on Saturday at a Sydney, Australia launch day..

Blue bird day at Pacific Park, Hawksbury yesterday for Day 1 of Beta-fest 2018.
Ever-smiling Cameron, Ben Grabham & the lads from Wrights (I think?) were on hand to help us get our froth on.

I was in the first group to take bikes out & Arctra & I grabbed 2 x brand new RR300's & GGChris and his son took a couple of X-Trainers.

The balance, steering & excellent standing position (for me, 6'2") are still there & are a Beta trademark. The motor felt familiar (I have a 300), yet a little smoother and less aggressive than my set up (I'm geared a tooth shorter on the rear). Fuelling was great on the bike I started on, but the second 300 was having issues up top, starving for fuel. Clutch action was light & predictable on both bikes. The fork again felt similar to my pre-KYB Sachs but more refined. More on boingers later.

In tight single, these bikes are simply the bomb. The confidence they give when chugging away, swinging around trees is fantastic. I couldn't get a gauge of top end as by the time we got into open terrain, I was on Deano's bike and it wouldn't rev out.

After a lap & some log hopping and p!ssing about, I dropped the '18 back & jumped on my '14 250 ('16 300 Race top end, 50hrs) straight away to go back to back. The first thing I noticed was how much heavier my bike felt. The 5kg's was obvious to me. The second thing I noticed was that my bike was more settled & tracked better in rocky s/t. I have a KYB SSS fork. Plenty of better riders than me revalve the stock oc's & go nuts so make of that what you will. The third thing was bottom end - mine felt stronger, tbh. Again, probably gearing & jetting playing their parts. All able to be personalized, so no negative points for me (except the fork).

Next, I went out on the 350 after being caned mercilessly by my "friends" for riding a 4-t. I immediately flamed it out trying to get away - cue
Great, great motor - even on "wussbag" map. Easy to ride in s/t, more planted than the 2-t's and smile-inducing when twisting it in 5th. Perfect fuelling, too - smooth & clean bottom to top. Really fun bike.

Lastly, I did a lap on the 250 2-t. This immediately confirmed I am past the age (49) where this motor is right for my level & type of riding. It definitely turned quicker & felt more nimble than the 300 in rocky, tight terrain and had about as much torque as a 300 of a few years ago. It also had a longer and stronger mid-range than my 250. However, the upper mid-top & over-rev were frankly unbelievable! It. Bloody. Flies!! I ran out of room & talent while the motor was just getting started. Even at close to 90km/h the bike felt stable and predictable, too. This individual bike was (for mine) jetted perfectly. Utter beast.

The fork. Gas Gas now offer a CC KYB as stock equipment on their base model. In spite of the fact that the oc's on the bikes I rode yesterday were absolutely better than the Sachs of '14 vintage, the fork still lets the bikes down a little in my humble opinion. Plonk the CC's on the base & offer a Factory setting/Boano set up on the Race - not that hard! Beta should've realized by now that riders looking to swap brands are used to (generally) paying more for a bike, so any extra the factory have to charge for a cc fork shouldn't scare potential buyers off. BTW, I love the Sachs shock & yesterday, the rear end of the bikes didn't enter my mind - a good sign.

Finally, I really enjoy being in the Beta family. It's growing & it must've felt like this when KTM started getting traction - like a little secret club.

Well, based on the paddock being empty of bikes from 8.30am til 11.30am, the secret is out now. Mine's been bulletproof & I'll be getting another one next bike.

[mtdirtbag]

Great reviews, I would really like to ride my Beta with KYB's - the one thing I still miss from my YZ250 2T. Especially liked the comment on the secret club - true statement.

[bikesparky]

Totally agree on the KYB's. Since I fitted that to mine the bike is 30% better!