B
ballisticexchris
Guest
While the KTM's are nice, both 2T and 4T's are huge money pits when raced or ridden hard. I raced and rode the piss out of my 300 for over 10 years. Not reliable at all unless you like wrenching. Power valve gear pin needs to be welded, upper shock bolt comes loose, numerous countershaft seal failures, top ends are only good for a season etc. Stock PDS suspension is very ill handling without major suspension re-valve and tuning.
The 4 strokes are worse. Top ends are good for around 400 hrs and full motor rebuilds (big end bearings) are required at around the 600hr mark. When I owned my 300 it was a love hate relationship. My XR650R was reliable but a very heavy beast for single track.
My Beta has been the most versatile rock solid reliable bike ever. Everything from a Iron Butt to 800 mile Death valley tour to super nasty rock crawling. It does it all!! If you want reliable, and easy to ride, then Beta is a great choice!! The only major issues on my Beta was having to replace the clutch basket at around the 300hr mark. One valve adjustment at 150 hrs and upgraded to a new auto decompression device under warranty.
I will tell you that any single cylinder plated dirt bike is only good for around 300-400 miles of "tolerated" comfort on a day ride. Anything over that is torture. At almost 60 years old, I got sick of pissing blood after long days in the saddle on my Beta. With the Super Tenere it begs to peel off the miles in total comfort!!
BTW, Don't do what I did and ride with SPOT mounted on the bike. I had it mounted just so I could mark off sections that were challenging on this fairly easy double black diamond trail. Not the smartest thing but my wife and I have a "check in system" when I don't have the spot attached to my body.
The 4 strokes are worse. Top ends are good for around 400 hrs and full motor rebuilds (big end bearings) are required at around the 600hr mark. When I owned my 300 it was a love hate relationship. My XR650R was reliable but a very heavy beast for single track.
My Beta has been the most versatile rock solid reliable bike ever. Everything from a Iron Butt to 800 mile Death valley tour to super nasty rock crawling. It does it all!! If you want reliable, and easy to ride, then Beta is a great choice!! The only major issues on my Beta was having to replace the clutch basket at around the 300hr mark. One valve adjustment at 150 hrs and upgraded to a new auto decompression device under warranty.
I will tell you that any single cylinder plated dirt bike is only good for around 300-400 miles of "tolerated" comfort on a day ride. Anything over that is torture. At almost 60 years old, I got sick of pissing blood after long days in the saddle on my Beta. With the Super Tenere it begs to peel off the miles in total comfort!!
BTW, Don't do what I did and ride with SPOT mounted on the bike. I had it mounted just so I could mark off sections that were challenging on this fairly easy double black diamond trail. Not the smartest thing but my wife and I have a "check in system" when I don't have the spot attached to my body.
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