of the power right away, and it is
easier to stay there than it is to
stay in the KTM's sweet spot. The
Beta is impressive from idle to mid-
though not as smooth as the KTM,
but we're okay with that. Bottom-
line, we're still big fans of jets and
float bowls. Yes, the KTM feels
ultra-smooth and clean, which is
nice, but there is something about
that snappy and grungy feel we like
that only carbs can provide.
With its six-speed transmission
versus the KTM's five-speed, you
tend to shift the Beta less often
while stretching out all the gears a
bit longer. To keep the KTM in the
most desirable portion of the pow
-
erband, you need to shift it more,
but there is enough power every-
where to get by if you're feeling a
little lazy on the shifter. With the
Beta, you only tap into sixth gear
on MX tracks if it's a wide-open
and unusually fast and smooth
track. It's best to think of it as an
overdrive gear, which can be help
-
ful in high-speed GP-style races.
You'll feel a difference from map
to map on both bikes, more so on
the KTM than the Beta. In the "mel-
low" maps (okay, they are hardly
mellow on either bike), the KTM
and Beta feel similar, making both
these very powerful motorcycles
a little easier to manipulate. We
never felt the need to manually
adjust the Beta's exhaust power
valve (a tool is needed), but from
our experiences in the past with
other Beta two-stroke models, it
is a handy adjustment option for
fine-tuning or personalizing the red
bikes' power delivery.
Vibration has always been a
nemesis with high-revving 300cc
two-strokes. Both bikes use
counter-balancers to help with this
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