Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126945
The Beta TR34's.striking red, white and blue graphics immediately catch the eye, but that is only the beginning. TEST: Beta TR34 New clean machine By Len Weed Eighteen straight National' ~ins. Two years without a loss-and still counting. That's Beta's record in American trials. Two riders are responsible -' Ryan 'Young, one victory, and Scott Head, 17 wins. Young bne rearward, the ejle catches ,?edisc ended Head's AMA record for rn:ake Andthe rear whe~l, the spokes on a fust for . . . O"1als. then you notIce consecutive National WIns at 16 last summer. 6 And now, along comes the Beta TR34, a vastlY' improved model-the bike developed around Jordi Tarres. The Spanish teenager, noted for his trick riding, scored his first World Championship win here last June in Washington. Amazingly, the former European bicycle trials champ had only begun riding motorcycle trials a year and a half earlier. Backing up the expertise of their potential World Champion, Beta relies on the development skills of Pedro aile who performed similar duties for Ossa in the '70s. The new TR34 arrived here in time to be jetted out to California for National Champion Head to ride at the Schreiber Cup and EI Trial de Espana in early December. Simultaneously, Ryan Young gave the East Coast a look at the bike in action at an open house held by the importer, Cosmopolitan Motors. The TR34 grabs you by the eyeballs immediately. Sure, the red, white and blue graphics are striking. So is the metallic gray treatment of the motor exhaust. Then you notice the frame design that plummets seat height to a new low. Following the look odd. So does the rim. Suddenly you realize you're eyeballing another first for a production trials bike - a tubeless rear tire - a Michelin X-I (W). The bike looks light. It is. Beta trimmed approximately seven pounds. Then some quick figuring. Tubeless rear tire. Norim Locks. That means less unsprung weight. Like the dinosaur and the egg, it's hard to determine which came firstthe tubeless tire or the rear disc. They're a natural team because the use of a traditional rear drum setup would force removal of the rear wheel ' to adjust the spokes. The disc setup allows external spoke adjustment. The disc switch may not actually trim weight, considering the hydraulies and caliper, but it does provide stronger and more fade-free stopping power while eliminating 'pull-thewheel-off brake maintenance. Beta lowered seat height approximately four inches by designing a new frame that's made from a continental chrome-f!loly equivalent. The new frame includes replaceabk cradling frame tubes under the motor, acting as an additional buffer between the engine and skid plate. There are also two rubber cushions. The frame also repositions the pegs and motor more than an inch forward, compared to the TR33. The new, 1.5 inch longer swingarm is fabricated from chrome-moly. (The TR33's was aluminum.) Beta calcuLates the new swingarm is both lighter and stronger. Lengthening . the swingarm is a modern trend, especially for a trick rider like Toires. The concept is that moving the rear and front suspension units closer together allows the rider to better utilize and coordinate rebound for hopping. ' New, more progressive shock linkage is part of a new, much trimmer setup that repositions the shock from laid~forward to a nearly vertical mounting much lower in the frame. A new aluminum-body Marzocchi shock with externaUy adjustable rebound damping replaces last year's steel-body Corte Cosso. Beta upped the old 239cc powerplant to 260.7cc by increasing bore from 72.8 to 76mm. Flywheel weight was increased slightly. The clutch hub and springs were modified to soften the pull on a Tomaselli lever which features a new "tongue and groove" mounting system. The modified exhaust system includes a switch to a new aluminum silencer. Beta TR34 Retail price Engine type $3495 Air-cooled, two-stroke single Bore x stroke 76x57.5mm Displacement. . . . . . . . .. 260.7cc Compression ratio 10.3: 1 Carburetion 26mm Dell'Orto Starting system Primary kick Ignition. . . .. Motoplat electronic Primary drive 3.38:1 Final drive 4.20:1 (10/42) Gear ratios 6th 0.64:1 5th 0.92:1 4th 1.25:1 3rd 1.71:1 2nd : 2.36:1 1st ~ 3.09:1 Frame Chrome-moly equivalent, single downtube, cradle (with replaceable cradle tubes), aluminum skid plate, detachable rear subframe Front suspension telescopic forks Fork tube diameter 35mm Front wheel travel 7.1 in. Rear suspension Marzocchi single shock, extarnally adjustable damping. aluminum body shock Rear wheel travel 6.5 in. Front brake .....• Grimeca singlepiston caliper disc, Brembo master cylinder Rear brake Grimeca singlepiston caliper disc. Brembo master cylinder Frontwheel .... 2.75x21 Akront Aluminum Rear wheel ..... 4.00x18 Akront aluminum Front tire Michelin X-1 (W) Rear tire Michelin X-1 (W) Tubeless Claimed dry weight 180.4 Ibs. Wheelbase 51.6 in. Fuel. capacity 1.0 gal. Ground clearance '" . . . .. 13 in. Seat height. . . .. .. .. .. 27 in. 15 in. Footpeg height Footpeg to front axle 36.3 in. 15.3 in. Footpeg to rear axle Swingarm length ~0.3 in. Colors red/white/blue