Beta X-Trainer

[swazi_matt]

So this weekend we had a bunch of old bullets (some almost 70) down here for a riding weekend and in the mix was a beta dealer who brought a '16 Xtrainer and I could not turn down the opportunity to test it.

To give some background to what I ride it is a 2010 ec300 with SP/twowheels tuned kyb sss forks, Scott's damper (because I already had it) and racetech Sachs shock, PV spacer, NEDJ needle and tubliss all round - so it is set up nice and no reason to Change anything

The beta I believe was stock (dealers first ride)
Sitting on it,it felt similar to the GG although a bit lower at the back (poss too much sag) clutch pull is a bit harder than the ajp and no kick start

Riding it feels smaller/lighter than the GG like a heavy trials bike with a seat. The power is on par with the GG but much smoother (very linear), doesn't pull your arms when you accelerate and it has good legs (it will apparently keep up with a KTM 300 on a drag strip and I believe it - you can just keep twisting the throttle ). I rode it on some tight rocky single track paths and some more open jeep tracks and honestly i wouldn't have been any faster on my bike I also felt that the bike could still go faster (and I could go much longer without getting tired on the beta because of the smooth power)

The suspension was faultless with the only downside being the front end felt a bit loose/twitchy this could be because of my bike having a damper or the suspected too much sag - not scary twitchy though more light. And with the light weight of the bike it is slightly easier to throw around and the front end comes up much faster than I am used to. The forks felt fine with no diving or deflection

Bottom line I could switch to this bike in a heartbeat and feel comfortable on it (I usually take a while to adapt to different bikes) this is testament to how similar it is to my bike. A really nice bike a pity I could not ride the 300rr to compare that as well. But for the technical riding I do I could happily buy this bike