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/127962
stressed mem bers. The Beta's fuel tan k is built into the frame, the Gas Ga s has an a lu mi nu m ta nk, a nd it's p las tic for the Montesa and Scorpa . ' Gas Gas bu ilds its own fron t sus pe nsion unit s - so mething you' d on 't see very often - while the other three bikes use conventional 38mm Paio li forks. The Gas Gas fork featu res a black titaniumnj tride coa ting and externa lly adjustable com p ression a nd reb ound damp ing . Th e Beta 's Pai o li legs are coa ted with gold tita nium-nitr ide, and the Montesa and Scorpa are un coated . All the Paioli fo rks are ad ju s table for preloa d a nd reboun d only . Unlike the Boge shocks on the other three bikes, th e Montesa uses a sma ll, lightweight, trick Showa shock. Damping is adjus table for rebou nd only on all fo u r bi kes, along with preload via a threaded collar. All four sw ingarms are aluminum-with linkages ; but the Ga s Ga s and Scorpa' s are banana-style cast units. Uniquely, the Scarpa swingarrn is made of tw o pieces bo lted together. O nly Gas Ga s an d Scorpa can ag ree on a front-brake setu p. The Beta uses an AlP master cy linder with lo ng levers; it' s a Grimeca master cylinder and long levers for the Montesa , and the Scarpa and Gas Ga s have sho rty levers and AlP m ast er cyli nders. All fou r bikes hav e AlP calipers, bu t the g rabbers on th e Gas Ga s and Sca rpa are d ifferent from those fou nd on the Beta and Mon tesa, Th er e' s a w id e va riet y of h andleb ars, also. Magura d eveloped variable-thic kness, cross bar-free handlebars similar to Answ er ' s Pr oTapers-for th e Beta . The rest of the bars are sta ndard 7/ 8-in chdiameter alu minum units, with a Hebo mounted on the Gas Gas, and Dominos on the Montesa and Scarpa . As mentioned earlier, all four rearb r ake ca lip e rs a re different though they're all from AlP . The Scarpa us es a front-pivot brake pedal, like that found on old ATKs, w ith the master cylinder mounted on the engine case. The br ake p ed a l o n the Gas Gas is no n foldi ng, unlike the other machin es. Tube- ty pe M ich elin Tria l Competition a re s tandard o n the fro nt of a ll bikes, as are the tubeless Michelin Xl l radials on the rear. In order to seal the rear rim effective ly, Beta a nd Montesa u ses a rai sed ridge for th e spo kes to a ttac h, w hil e Scorpa and Gas Gas rely on a rubber ba nd to keep air from esca ping through co n ventio nall y p la ced spoke nipples . Adjusting the spokes on t he Beta ca n b e done w ith e it h e r a n Allen wrench on th e h u b en d of t he s po kes or w it h a t ra d it io n a l spoke wre nch a t the rim end . The spokes on t he Mon tes a a re ac tu a ll y two -p iece affair s wit h an adilIster in the middle. BETA TECHNO 250 Thi s Itali an mount is a tru e World Cham pion's rid e. It will go over the big stu ff better tha n a ny othe r tri als b ike. Using a co mbina tion of a hea vy fro nt end, stiffer fra me, longer w heelbase an d aggressive motor, you can ga in inertia and at tack huge steps. In some ways it's mor e like a supercro ss bike, in tha t it' s d emandi ng to ride . All th e attributes that allow you to conquer the big stuff require the rider to put in 100 percent as well. ' The power on the '97 Beta so me times made it d ifficult to ge t th e rear tire to hoo k up, bu t this year's Techn o grips as well as - or better than - the competition. It s rap id accele ra tio n a ll ow s crucia l speed to be gai ned w here there is gri p, a n d that momentum can be ca r ri e d throu gh the slippe ry stu ff as well. ~till, w it h th e huge mi drange and top-end burst, you will spi n the tire more often than on any other trialer. Be prepared to budget for lots of new rear tires. The fram e is very s tiff, which lets the bike tra ck and hold a line better than a ny other mach in e. Whil e the su spension is soft ini tia lly, it qu ickly ge ts p rogressively stiffer. Medium-sized bumps mu st be absorbed w ith your legs . Ha n d li ngwise, th e Techno ca rv es tu rns extreme ly well becau se there's so much weight on the front wheel, but it a lso has th e longest wheelbase, w hich d etracts from its turning sligh tly. If trick rid ing is your sty le, the Techno happily com plies. . On off-cambers, the Beta tracks better than the ot her bikes , tha nks again to the m ost rigid frame o f th e bunch. However, when you hit some thing, the energy has to go somewhere, and on a bike as solid as the Techno, it' s transmitted to the rider. An expert can usually d isperse that energy efficien tly, but it will often bo unce a lesser rid er off the bike. Everyth ing on th e Beta is ai me d at pleasing top riders . If you are n' t capable of ex p lo ifl n g th e s tren gths of t h is ma chine, it " ill qu ickly tire you ou t and cost yo u poi nts . However, if you're big, strong, have excellent techniqu e and are, most im po rta n tly, highly aggressive, you will find a lot to like in the Beta. The Techno is a demanding machine, bu t it has ca rried Dougie La m p ki n to back-to-ba ck World cham pionships and Geoff Aa ro n to the last five U.S, titles. It may be a bit mu ch for a lesser rid er, but for a nyone who can harness its capabilities. the Techno is unbeatable. (Above) You don 't have to be as talented as Jess Kempkes to appreciate the Gas Gas TX270 Contact. It seems to su it a wider variety of rider abilities than any other bike due to its flexible power, tight . turning ability and low cente r of gravity. (Left)The Montesa Cota 315R is the lightest bike of the bunch, but it's best ridden with the revs up In order to get the most out of the HRC engine and fivespeed gearbox (the others have six). As Matt M oore demonstrates, it can tack le big obstacles, in addition to everyday sections . GAS GAS TX270 CONTACT In thi s company' s shor~ life, Gas Gas trials bikes have become the industry s ta nd ard, due in no s ma ll p art to the co ntribu tions made by [ordi Tarres on hi s way to thre e co nsecu tive Wo rld Champion ships o n th e Sp anish machines. The '98 TX270 is substantially improved over last year's bike. Th e new Contact prod uces go bs of useable horsepower that will please rid ers over a wide spectru m of ab ilities . It has one of the smo othes t powerbands a rou nd , it's resist ant to sta lli ng and it pulls nicely through the rev ran ge. Righ t off idle, it' s mu scular but not intimidating. Having power thi s flexib le allows yo u to pick th e speed yo u w ant to go throu gh a se ct io n withou t requ iring excessive clu tch in g . It makes th e Gas Gas clearl y the most forgiving bike for a rider w ho d oesn ' t ride per fectly every tim e. . With that in mind.. the suspension is se t u p for the sma ll- to med ium-si zed bumps th a t m os t riders w ill fa ce in a section. The damping is oriented toward trick riding but is still certai nly adequa te for the new mod ified no-stop style. Wit h a steep er steeri ng -hea d angle than any other bike and a na rrow frame tha t allows the rid er to lean eas ier, the Contact has the tightest tu rning radi us . ava ila b le . By co m b in ing a frien dly power plant with a dutch that engages over. a wi d e swee p, even a begi n nin g rid er can keep the front end from pushin g . Draggi n g th e rear brake ca n p ut some weight on the front wheel to assist in turning, and the motor can effortlessly overcome the d rag. Due to its low center of gravity, the Gas Gas feels ext re mely confident in a section. It d oes have the lowest gro und cleara nce, so it will d rag on ro cks a bit more readilv than the other bikes, which cou ld rattle'som e rid ers. This low center of gra vity makes the bike easy to throw a r ou n d a n d is p arti cu larly n ic e fo r smaller rid ers, so it's certainly a reasonable comp romise. 23