We take a closer look at Ruben Chadwick's 2023 Beta 300 Racing that he won the Australian Hard Enduro Champion to see what made it so good!
THE RIDER & BIKE: Ruben Chadwick’s 2023 Beta 300 Racing
How do you like your hard enduro bikes setup, and what do you look for when setting up a bike?
Being a heavier dude, I weigh 95kg, the stock setup is too soft. Even though you don’t want a super firm setup for hard enduro, I still want it to hold up a bit in the stroke. You don’t want it riding low in the stroke and deflecting off everything. I want the bike in the first part of the stroke for a lot of it.
I like the stock motor but I like the bike pretty aggressive still. A lot of the riders will tune them back but I run them strong. I like it torquey and I like it to be able to snap. I just leave it in the sun map the whole time.
I sort of try and stay a bit lighter on the bike unlike some of the other guys who just bash through everything. I like having instant power and use the clutch to modulate it. I can still crawl on it with that big hit in reserve. These Beta 300’s are so versatile they can do it all.
THE MECHANIC: Ash Martin
What parts and modifications have been made for Ruben to win the Grassroots Hard Enduro Championship?
We have bolted on plenty of parts to Ruben Chadwick’s Beta 300 Racing, mainly aimed at protection rather than performance enhancing. Starting from the front it has a Beta alloy disc guard, slipper clamps on the master cylinders on the handlebar, Ruben uses a soft half waffle grip and a Twinwall 996 handlebar. He used to run high bars but went back to the more regular bar. We run kinesiology tape on the levers for his fingers to grip better in the wet.
The perches are AS3 plus AS3 do our billet covers from the clutch to the water pump which makes them stronger. It has a P3 pipe guard and an AXP bashplate that doesn’t go down to the linkage. We actually cut the bashplate off near the linkage guard and put a ProPower linkage guard. It’s billet so it’s stronger. Having a look at it, it cops an absolute hammering.
We use a Guts seat cover and AXP radiator guards. We bolt a thermo fan on it and run the racing radiator hoses so we can remove the thermostat. The thermostat is extra weight you don’t need with those hoses. We have an extra volume water pump to help with cooling too. We use S3 footpegs and a Beta case saver and RK chain. We change the gearing on the rear to a 51-tooth sprocket and we bolt and AXP chain guide on it. We use Polisport plastics and a Polisport plastic swingarm protector. We also use Tugger grab handles. We also use the Plushie Nitro Mousse.
We lockwire the spokes but the wheels and hubs are standard. We use a wheel spacer for easy wheel changes and for protection in mud or when vines get wrapped around so they can’t get in the wheel bearing seal. It has a standard pipe and motor, we didn’t even touch the jetting on the Racing model.
Ruben runs the standard power valve spring. Ruben’s a big guy so we go a 54 rear spring and a 46 spring in the front. So we go up in springs but keep the valving soft. We do the suspension in house.