VOL. 50 ISSUE 43 OCTOBER 29, 2013
P55
SPECIFICATIONS
The Beta's soft suspension
works well over the rocks.
get through a challenging section.
And when the trails do open up,
the Beta is also ready, willing and
able to perform - to a point. Like
we said, it's not a screamer on top
- it's a bottom-to-mid bike, not a
wide-open desert racer.
We loved the positive and light
feel of the hydraulic clutch. It
seems to handle a lot of abuse
well and pull is ultra light, so
much so that we could still get
by with just about an inch of lever
left after a fall. Despite having almost zero leverage, we could still
easily operate the clutch.
The Beta's six-speed transmission is well mated to the bike's
power delivery, and shifts are
always clean and precise. Vibration is there but it's not a game
changer, and the FMF muffler
does a fine job keeping the machine quiet. Unfortunately, large
two-stroke pipes are susceptible
to damage, the Beta's large pipe
is not an exception.
Suspension is soft, way soft.
But this works well for the roots,
rocks and ruts and when the going gets slow and tough. It's not
set up for moto, that's for sure,
or high-speed terrain. In general, the Beta's suspension works
very well for what it's intended
to do - to get you from one end
of a special test to the other as
comfortably and as straight and
quickly as possible.
The bike feels very light and
nimble, quite a bit more so than
the Beta 450 RR we recently
tested. The heavier four-stroke
did feel a bit more planted and
stable over the rocks than the
more agile 300, but we liked
the 300's quicker handling better overall. It steers through the
2014 Beta 300 RR
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:.......................... Italy
ENGINE:...........Liquid-cooled, two-stroke,
single
BORE x STROKE:............... 72mm x 72mm
DISPLACEMENT:............................ 293.1cc
COMPRESSION RATIO:......................12.0:1
EXHAUST VALVE:....................BPV System
STARTING SYSTEM:............. Electric/Kick
IGNITION:........................Kokusan AC-CDI
INDUCTION SYSTEM:. ase induction with
C
Tassinari reeds
FUEL SYSTEM:............ Keihin PXK 36mm
carburetor
CLUTCH:..............................Wet multi-disc
TRANSMISSION:............................6-speed
FRAME:...... Molybdenum steel w/double
cradle, split downtube
FRONT SUSPENSION:.......... Sachs 48mm
cartridge fork, fully adjustable
REAR SUSPENSION:.Sachs single shock,
linkage, fully adjustable
FRONT WHEEL TRAVEL:....................11.4 in
REAR WHEEL TRAVEL:......................11.4 in
FRONT BRAKE:...Wave disc, 260mm, w/
double-piston floating caliper
REAR BRAKE:.......Wave disc, 240mm w/
single-piston floating caliper
FRONT WHEEL/TIRE:............90/90-21 in.
Michelin Enduro
REAR WHEEL/TIRE:..............140/80-18 in.
Michelin Enduro
WHEELBASE:................................... 58.3 in
SEAT HEIGHT:................................. 36.6 in
GROUND CLEARANCE:..................... 12.5 in
CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT:................ 229 lbs.
FUEL CAPACITY:.............................2.5 gal.
MSRP:...............................................$7999
WEBSITE:.......... www.americanbeta.com
