HUSQVARNA 501 S VS. BETA 500 RS
COMPARISON
P94
RIDING THE BETA 500 RS
The past 10 years have seen the Italian company
known as Beta prove their worth and solidly es-
tablish themselves in the off-road and dual-sport
world. Beta no longer gives anything up to the
Austrian built KTMs and Husqvarnas, providing off-
road riders another quality option when searching
for the perfect bike.
The 2016 500 RS engine is pure delight. We
are even more pleased that Beta nailed the map-
ping on the first year. For those intimidated by a
full fledged 500, Beta also offers a 430 RS, but
don't let the 500 RS scare you, it is a nice engine
that provides ultra smooth power. Sometimes EFI
creates light-switch-like power off idle, creating a
jerky response when navigating technical terrain.
The 2016 500 RS delivers power reminiscent of
a friendly, well-tuned carburetor off idle, which
means it's smooth and very controllable. Through
the mid and into the top is where the 500 RS
engine really shows off, pumping out big power
that pulls even the biggest riders up the biggest
of hills with ease.
We spent a lot of time with the 500 RS in a va-
riety or terrain, coming to appreciate the predict-
ability and overall stability. In classic Beta form,
the 500 RS feels like it has a long wheelbase
even though it measures the same as other bikes
in the class. The Sachs suspension improves
every year and 2016 is the best ever for the Ger-
man company. The Sachs fork stays up in the
stroke nicely, helping to keep the bike balanced
even under hard braking and big descents. Minor
initial-stroke harshness is noticeable but it is more
like a direct feel of the terrain and doesn't trans-
late into outright deflection. The 500 RS doesn't
