Fresh off winning the FIM World Enduro Championship, we swung a leg over the 2024 Beta RR Enduro range that got the job done !
In years gone by, we’ve criticised Beta for being quirky, lacking in some areas like suspension and missing that finish some of the other manufacturers have been good at rounding out. For MY24, Beta have addressed a lot of those issues and managed to improve on an already impressive bundle of bikes with the 2024 Beta RR Enduro range. As the winner of our only Enduro Shootout last year (300cc two-stroke), I was unsure as to whether or not Beta could improve on an already winning formula but as I found out, they can.
The Range
Beta has one of the biggest ranges of enduro bikes on the market. Between their RR, XTrainer and Racing models they have an impressive 18 different bikes! One could argue they are the most diverse manufacturer and certainly the only manufacturer with a claim to producing a bike for everyone. This local launch focused on the 2024 Beta RR Enduro range and XTrainer range which consisted of 10 bikes.
All the bikes are significantly different so we’re going to report on each bike individually over the next few issues but I couldn’t piece together this launch report without telling you my favourite two-stroke and four-stroke.
The new stuff
Before I get to the standout machines from both strokes, I’d better let you know what’s changed from MY23 to MY24.
Beta worked in close collaboration with Freeman and Holcombe to develop a host of small improvements on both the powertrain, the frame and suspension for the 2024 Beta RR Enduro range. As always, the guiding philosophy of the engineers at Beta has been to not only increase the performance of the brand’s bikes, but to also make this performance even more accessible.
Rather than major changes, this model year has gained a series of upgrades. The entire range gets new graphics, seat, suspension settings, radiators and brakes while the two-strokes get new main bearings and the four-strokes now come standard with Traction Control and a new airbox design.
Have they worked?
One of the biggest improvements for the 2024 Beta RR Enduro range is the seat. It may not sound like much but after 15 minutes perched on a MY23 Beta you almost needed new arse padding the old seat was that hard. For MY24 the seat foam making up the seat has a different geometry and density which was much more comfortable. The greater support area and different composition of the materials now provides a much more comfortable point of contact meaning a full day hopping on and off different bikes wasn’t a painful one.
The tweaked ZF suspension was also a nice improvement. Not only have the settings and internals been tweaked but the MY24 RRs get lighter fork sheaths, particularly in the area of engagement of the fork rods. The different machining of the sheath is designed to provide controlled flexibility, with the result of smoother damping on rough terrain. I always thought the ZF suspension’s strong point was the smooth action anyway so this hasn’t been drastically improved but what was a little better was the forks ability to hold up under braking.
At 100kg with all my gear on, I’ve always found the Beta RR range to dive too much. While the suspension tweaks haven’t made it a bucking supercross bronco, they have firmed things up a little. I’d still like to see ZF go with a closed cartridge system for greater resistance under load but they’ve got the Racing version with its firm KYB suspension for that. The ZF suspension is excellent trailriding suspension with an incredibly plush feel over all the choppy stuff.
The diving of the fork in MY23 was also not helped by a front Nissin brake that was a little soft and spongey. For the 2024 Beta RR Enduro range the front braking system has received upgrades to the brake line. The line’s protective sheath is now fastened better with dual crimping (at the top and bottom, previously it was only crimped at the bottom), allowing the brake line protection to better withstand abuse. This didn’t improve the feel but it’s good to know it’s better protected.
I like a really sensitive and accurate front brake. I don’t like having to pull the lever halfway in to get it to activate but I was the lone wolf at the launch on front brake feel. The Beta RR has a more progressive feel which took a while to get used to for me. I would pull slightly on the front brake and not much would happen so I’d panic and pull harder which meant the brake all of a sudden came on stronger and would unsettle the front-end. Like I said, the majority of the riders preferred the front brake to feel like that but for me I prefer a really strong brake at the start of the lever pull.
I would also like to see Beta add on-the-fly adjustment to the brake lever. Getting tools out to adjust where the brake lever sits is a pain in the arse.
New radiators for all models is a welcomed relief. I’ve never boiled a Beta but with the explosion of the hard enduro scene, it’s good to know when the going gets hot there’s even greater cooling power. The new radiators are lighter and tougher, featuring shaped reservoirs in the upper section to allow the bike to achieve a greater steering angle. The new radiators also provide better coolant circulation for improved cooling and feature a greater number of reinforcements, and are also equipped with a new non-plastic cap which is tougher and less exposed to potential impacts.
The narrower turning circle on the Beta is awesome. It already had one of the narrowest turning circles on the market and now it turns even sharper. It was great for spinning around on single track.
Pick of the bunch
The MY24 Betas are an improvement over the previous model and an even bigger improvement over the previous generation (MY21/MY22).
The biggest change in this model run for me is the width across the front. The MY24 Beta is the narrowest Beta I’ve ridden. The narrower feel through the tank and radiator area makes the Beta feel more agile and easier to throw around. The handling has vastly improved.
In making the bike narrower they’ve squeezed all that weight down lower making the bike less top-heavy. Slicing through single track is a breeze and changing direction at speed or by pivot wheelie is now even more comfortable.
The softer, more padded seat is also a fantastic addition. Beta have done it without adding to the seat height and it now means you can sit down all day if you want.
Picking my favourite capacity of the two-stroke and four-stroke range was easy as there were clear standouts. From the two-stroke range the RR 300 is the go for me. I’m a bigger lad and I just like to ride lazy and the RR 300 let me do that. It produces so much torque, especially when we wound the power valve screw out two turns (counter clockwise) to bring the power down in the rev range. And, if you’re riding slower, snottier stuff you can even run a taller rear sprocket for even more bottom-end grunt. The RR 300 can be a trailbike, enduro racer and a hard enduro bike by simply adjusting the power valve.
The RR 200 is the baby of the group but still blew me away with how grunty it was. In first or second gear it could still haul my lard arse up any steep hill but if I wanted to send it full noise with speed, it couldn’t do it in the same way the RR 300 can. That being said it’s more agile and easier to handle but I do like being lazy with my gear changes and just chugging up hills in third.
The RR 200 was almost like a less powerful version of the RR 300 the way it made power as opposed to the RR 250 which was like a little whippet. The RR 250 was more snappy and revvy than the RR 300 and even sounded different. It required a little more momentum when charging up hills, and in the top-end it didn’t quite have the same carry as the RR 300. But, if I was 15 kilograms lighter I don’t think I’d need any more power than the RR 250.
Not having to mix fuel thanks to the oil-injection system is one less thing to worry about when refuelling as well and of all my mates that have Betas, not one has removed the injection system.
In the four-stroke range, the standout is the RR 390. What a bike! I think the RR 390 was actually my favourite Beta, I loved it even more than the RR 300. It has such a user-friendly motor that’s perfect for trailriding because it produced so much torque. It feels like you’re riding a big-bore four-stroke motor in a more agile chassis. I’d go as far as to say, the RR 390 is the best trailbike on the market.
Where the RR 350 likes to be revved and kept in the top of the rev range, the RR 390 likes to lug. It builds power so smoothly but with so much torque through the mid-part of the rev range that you can be forgiven for not changing gears. The RR 390 also has more engine braking than the RR 350 which is great for trailbike riders who prefer the bike to do more of the brake work.
The RR 430 and RR 480 are absolute rockets. The way the Beta motors make power gives them a really luggy, strong feel, which I think is better again for MY24 thanks to the new airbox design. They aren’t super responsive, which is good for powerful four-strokes and they aren’t hard hitting. They just seem to lug, all of them. I tried out the traction control and it was great at just ensuring that the rear-end never did anything that caught me off guard.
Diversity is key
The most attractive thing about the Beta range isn’t their incredible reliability, easy-to-use motors, plush suspension or well-balanced narrow chassis, it is the diversity of their range that stands out the most. Beta make a RR 125 and RR 200 that’s perfect for smaller rippers jumping on a registered bike for the first time and a RR 250 and RR 300 that accommodates riders weighing between 75kg and 120kg who want to trailride and race. They’ve got a four-stroke for just about every application from racing your mates through singletrail on the RR 350 to spending days in the saddle on a multi-day ride with the RR 390 and it’s now more comfortable seat. Then there’s the RR 430 and RR 480 for riders who have more open terrain and who like to tear knobs off their tyres on the fire road.
While I personally would like a slightly firmer fork and a stronger front brake with lever adjustment, there’s always the option of a Racing version which rectifies both of those things and that just further emphasises the diversity the Beta brand brings to the table. There really is a bike for everyone.