Because of that large change, it is the bike in their range that seems to be attracting the most attention. It was certainly the one bike almost everyone at the Flynn Motorsports Beta test ride were interested in... present company included. I think I was more interested in trying the 480 back-to-back with my 498 to see how they compared, but the 350 was a close second.
Looking at the bike without knowing that it has had the EFI changes I wouldn't really have been able to tell it apart from last years 350. The only real give-away was the lack of a fuel tap on the tank.
If you are interested, I tried to take a few pics of the fuel system.
One thing that did strike me was the position the fuel pump assembly bolted into the tank. On my old Husky it bolted onto the rear of the tank, and it was a rather large opening with a lot of area to seal off to stop it leaking. This caused a headache for me when I installed the IMS tank which didn't have a flat enough surface for the seal to press against. From what I can remember at the Sydney bike show the Sherco's pump unit bolts onto the top of the tank just under the front of the seat. I thought that was a pretty good position for it, and it would make taking it out to service it easier, as well as reducing the likelihood of it leaking as your fuel gets used up on a ride. On the Beta it looks like the pump bolts onto the bottom of the tank. The size of the opening the assembly bolts into looks smaller than my old Husky one did, but it is possibly a little larger than the Sherco's one.
Now, if you look at the top of the pic you might notice what looks like a little bit of residual fuel leakage on the tank near the fuel pump assembly. This could be nothing, but with the experience I had with my Husky and the IMS tank this would concern me. I would probably be pulling the pump out and using a fuel resistant silicone sealant/gasket maker around the edge of the opening to ensure I was getting a good seal. If Beta decide to run EFI on their whole range next year the one thing I would be recommending is that they take a leaf out of Sherco's book and consider mounting the pump on top of the tank.
Speaking of the Sherco, the Beta 350RR uses the same EFI as the Sherco's - Synerjet. Not heard of them? They're a French company and have an innovative stepper-motor fuel injection system that gives a different dimension to its tuning options in that it allows you to adjust the "run on" (amongst other things) so you can get similar engine braking to a 2T out of your 4T if that's important to you. Sherco have also successfully completed the Dakar Rally, Morocco Rally, etc without any problems with the fuel system, so I wouldn't be concerned about their reliability. You can't adjust the stepper motor externally on the EFI unit though - you'll need to use "the computer" unit to tune the Synerjet. It sounds like it will be a pricey unit if you want one, so I'm not sure many people will be buying one unless you are a serial tinkerer. Gary tells me the dealers will all have a unit and will be able to make adjustments for you if you want. Having chatted with a couple of guys with the Yamaha tuners for the 450's they only really use the unit when the bike is new and then land on a setting they like making the unit redundant. I guess it's like tuning your carb - once it's done you don't have to keep changing the jets, AP, leak jets, etc.
The airbox setup looks very similar to the 2014 model, so the fuel injection unit can't be much different in size to the traditional carb. Pictured below is the airbox off one of the carb model bikes to give you an idea. Although this setup makes changing the air filter easier than older Jap bikes, I have learned that is is not fool-proof. Yes, I am a fool as once I managed to not fit the filters sealing surface properly on the other side of the airbox where you can't see it - I got a fright when I next changed the filter and noticed a bit of dust in the throat of the airbox after the air would have been through the filter. Some of the other brands I've looked at seem to have figured out better designs where you can see easily whether you have fitted the filter properly - e.g. my brothers Husaberg air filter. Still, it's not a bad design.
The rest of the design seemed very similar to the 2014 model, which for the most part is a good thing. From experience on my 498 though, I know that the clearance at the top of the cylinder and the frame is pretty cramped, making removing the cam cover tricky when you want to check your valve clearances.Good thing you don't need to do that too often I guess. And it looks like the cam cover has the spark plug in the middle with a rubber seal around it to stop oil escaping. I learned the hard way that if you're not careful you can lose this seal, but it really isn't that big a deal the way it is designed.
Climbing on the bike, the familiar Beta ergonomics made me feel comfortable straight away. Before setting off I tipped the bike side to side to get a feel for the weight and was quite surprised at how light it felt. According to the specs its dry weight is 111.5kg which is only slightly lighter than the 2014 model which is listed at 113kg. They must have figured out a way of getting the overall weight lower though as my 498 is supposed to be only 1/2kg heavier but when I tipped it side to side it certainly felt more than half a kg heavier than the 2015 350RR. There was no play in the throttle, which I like, and the brakes felt nice and firm. The clutch was OK, although I really cannot comment on how it compares to my 498 as I hardly use my clutch lever thanks to my Rekluse. Oh, and just like the stock seat in my 498, the seat in the 2015 350RR is hard!
Pulling away and joining the loop my attention kept being drawn to how light and nimble it felt. Naturally it didn't have the bottom end power of my 498, but I didn't really find that it was lacking down low. I do think it allowed me to drop the revs very low without stalling, and when I turned the throttle the engine picked up nicely from down low. How much of that response was a function of the EFI system I don't know, but I did like it. Like any of the smaller bore machines once the throttle was cracked open and the engine got to rev the bike came alive. I guess that is why peoples opinions (including mine) was that the 350 would make a great racing bike. Between the engine and the weight it really does marry up to make a quick bike.
It is difficult to be objective about the handling without setting the bike up properly for your own weight and riding style. That being said, in stock form I was expecting the suspension to be mushy and prone to diving (based on international reviews I had read). When I rode that I didn't get that though - if anything I felt that the front end might be a bit too firm. I asked whether they had dialed the compression damping clickers in to try and combat diving, but I was told that the clickers were on their stock settings. In my opinion you should always spend the money to get your suspension set up to suit you anyway, and I know that the Sachs shock in the rear can be set up beautifully. I would be opting for the Racing Edition with the Marzocchi forks, but from chatting with a couple of guys running the Sachs forks they are a far cry from the forks that Gasgas used to use (and seem to have given Sachs forks such a bad name). The Beta Sachs forks might be open chamber forks, but they can be set up to suit most riders quite fine (unless you are the kind of rider that really gives your forks a solid beating, in which case you should opt for the Racing Edition Marzocchi's). Gary tells me he has the shim kits in stock so if your suspension tuner of choice doesn't stock them they can get hold of them quickly and easily.
Back to the riding, by the second lap I did I found myself pushing harder without even really making an effort to. There was one nice drop-off you could try if you went to the right of the track which I tried out and the bike behaved itself nicely when landing off of it. Through the rough clodded section the front end tracked as well as my 498's did (which has the revalved Marzocchi's on it), and lifting the front wheel a bit to let the rear wheel do the tough work was pretty easy. Coming out of the corners I did find I needed to drop a gear and rev the bike to get the rear wheel spinning, which is different to my 498 where I can do it from lower revs. On the small straights when I got a chance to open the throttle the bike really jumped and felt nice and quick. Hitting the brakes to slow down for the sharp left corner proved the Nissin brakes are very good and pulling the bike up, although I did find myself missing my 498's left hand rear brake... can't hold that against the stock bike though as the Rekluse LHRB is an aftermarket part and a lot of people actually don't like it.
My verdict is that the 350RR is a great bike that is going to make its owners VERY happy. I'm interested to know if there are any teething problems with the EFI system, but I suspect Beta have done their homework and it won't be a problem. After all, they have a lot riding on this bike's EFI as they will likely be forced to roll the same system out on the whole range next year to meet the new Euro emission regulations. If they get this bike wrong they will pay dearly with the whole range next year. So lets watch this space!