Our Beta Xtrainer long-termer is coming along nicely and this month it took a big step forward with the addition of a tall seat, new rear tyre and linkage guard.
The Xtrainer’s seat height is a claimed 910mm, which is lower than the Beta RR range (930mm) but that’s the appeal of the Xtrainer and is why Beta can market it for both entry-level and vertically challenged riders.
Being vertically unchallenged, I don’t benefit from the low seat so I wanted to try a tall one to see what difference an extra 30mm of foam would make. We picked one up through Beta Australia’s online parts store.
The tall seat comes as a kit so you need to use the plastic base from the stock seat and fit it with the new foam and cover using a staple gun. As far as seatcovers go, the
Blackbird product that Beta uses is top quality. It was easy to fit and didn’t take 50 attempts to remove the ripples, it went straight on first go and took all of 15 minutes.
First ride impression with the tall seat was a big surprise. The difference between the stock seat and the tall one was a lot more noticeable than I expected it to be.
It’s rock hard and completely flat so, rather than sitting in the bike, you sit on top and it makes transitioning between sitting and standing easier. Having more foam makes it easier to grip the bike with my knees and I feel far less cramped sitting down.
A super-soft Golden Tyre is also new this month and, as I was told, it’s basically like cheating. It’s a GT216X and the level of grip it produces is ridiculous. However, being such a soft compound means it will wear out faster than a hard-compound tyre, but that’s the price you pay for good grip.
The compound is closer to that of a trials tyre and its success speaks for itself. At the ridiculous 2015 Erzberg Rodeo there were only five finishers from the 500 starters and the first four all used this tyre.
I’ve also fitted an X Link Shock Guard. It’s machined from billet 6061 T6 aluminium and replaces the stock linkage. It’s a straightforward swap, you just need a T-bar to loosen the nuts. The X Link guard protects the linkage and shock eye from logs and rocks by providing a smooth transition between the skidplate and linkage.
You can slide over obstacles without getting hung out so it’s a valuable part for a bike that’s designed for extreme enduro. Digital Editor Olly Malone
So Far
Hours: 20
Mods this month: Tall seat, Golden Tyre GT216X rear, linkage guard
Mods next month: None
This update of ADB’s Beta Xtrainer 300 long-term test bike as published in ADB issue #456 – September 2017.
