FIRST RIDE
P92
2014 BETA 450 RR
The 450 RR is not yet fuelinjected but you wouldn't know
it. Throttle response is very
good right out of the box.
Throttle response is amazingly
crisp. One of our testers was surprised to learn that the 450 RR is
still carbureted after riding it the
first time – the RR's Keihin FCRMX 39mm carb works that good.
Still, we'd still like to see the 450
RR get fuel injection, especially
since many of our off-road riding
often includes significant elevation changes, but not on this day.
We love the Beta's hydraulically actuated clutch and its ultralight pull and decent feel. We
never experienced any fading but
didn't get the chance to really put
it to the test.
The Beta's six-speed transmission is mated well to the RR's
power delivery. Each gear serves
a real purpose and picks right up
where the last one left off. It also
changes gears eagerly without
much thought or effort by the rider.
Overall, the Beta is a pussycat
on the trail. It feels light and agile
(especially for a 450), and is just
plain easy to ride. Again, our tester who had never ridden the RR
before was impressed to say the
least. He said the bike felt very
nimble, and he also liked how
low and in control the bike felt between his legs. None of what he
said, however, was anything new
to our testers who were already
familiar with the 450 RR.
Like last year's bike, the 450
RR has a light-feeling front end. It
also steers quickly and responds
instantly to rider input, and once
you're settled into a sweeping
turn, the bike stays planted yet
will make quick changes if commanded to do so.
Suspension is sound. Both
the shock and fork soak up the
smaller stuff like they weren't
there while having enough left
over to absorb the big hits. When
speeds pick up, though, the suspension does feel a little on the
soft side and you'll use up all 11.4
inches of its travel, front and rear,
quickly. Still, the Beta feels wellbalanced on the trail.
Once again, there just isn't
much we don't like about the
