Upgrades
As good as the RS dual sport
bikes are, we still found things
that we would want to improve
during our RS 390 test, and
those same items leave room
for improvement on the 430 (and
all the RS models). We highlight
each of those and our solutions:
Tires: In our 390 RS review,
Palmer noted, "I want to say I
don't like the new eco-friendly
DOT Mitas Enduro Trail XT+
tires, but they are an improve-
ment on pavement and better in
the dirt than I expected (though
not great)." We stuck with Mitas
and used the Terra Force-EF Su-
per version (yellow stripe) front
and rear for good performance
and longevity. For size, we used
a 90/90-21 front and 140/80-18
rear. These were a big improve-
ment over the ADV-type stock
tires, which were mostly used to
meet the ride-by sound test and
be 50-state street legal. These
tires are DOT-legal but perform
very well off-road. They also
proved to be very durable.
Seat: Palmer said, "It's also on
the pavement where you re-
ally notice the Beta's hard-as-a-
board seat; you don't notice that
as much on the dirt, where you
spend a lot of your time stand-
ing on the pegs, but you will on
the street." We chose to use a
Seat Concepts Comfort seat.
This is a smart upgrade on just
about any off-road, dual sport or
ADV bike and cured the com-
plaints for long highway miles.
You will have a lot more enjoy-
able rides with this option.
Mirrors: Palmer said, "The
fold-down mirrors don't hold
their position very well at speed,
move around a lot and seem a
bit flimsy, but they do fold down
out of the way, so I'll give Beta
a pass on them." Even though
the Beta mirrors are better than
most stock dual sport mir-
rors, we went with the proven
Doubletake Dual Sport Mirrors.
They are virtually indestructible,
infinitely adjustable, and can be
truly folded out of the way very
easily.
Tail Section & Blinkers: In
our 390 RS review, Palmer had
one rear blinker and the entire
taillight/license plate assembly
break off after just a few rides,
but with no crashes. Ray and
I got creative with this fix. We
(Left) The 3.5-gallon IMS fuel
tank adds about 50 miles of range
without interfering with the rider
cockpit. It is also an easy install.
(Right) After the tail section and
license plate broke off our 390 RS
test bike, we took action on the
430. We used the stock tail section
with a taillight from a Beta RR
X-Pro off-road model.
VOLUME ISSUE OCTOBER , P99
