RIDE REVIEW 2020 BETA 390 RR-S P96 VOLUME 57 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 11, 2020 P97
BY CYCLE NEWS STAFF I PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT PALMER IF 350cc IS TOO SMALL, BUT f you have noticed a lot more Beta motorcycles at your favor- RIGHT? JUST 500cc IS TOO BIG, IS 390cc JUST ite riding areas and race tracks these days, there is a very RIGHT? BETA JUST MIGHT I good reason for this. It’s because this relatively small Italian manufacturer in Florence is building downright impressive dirt HAVE THE ANSWER bikes these days. On top of that, the company has established The Beta 390 RR-S a solid distribution via Beta USA, located in Paso Robles, dual sport offers California, for several years. As a result, Beta has attracted just about the best loyal dealers and more and more Beta owners. And it certainly of everything—good snappy power, stout doesn’t hurt building what we feel is one of the best off-road- suspension and performing dual sport motorcycles on the trail right now in the agile handling. Beta 390 RR-S. Spending the day on this bike will make any performance-minded dual-sport rider an instant fan. RIDE REVIEW 2020 BETA 390 RR-S P98
UNLEASH THE POWER OF YOUR
All NEW Yamaha YZ 250F/FX Cams available now for 2019-2020 models!
Tech Talk All the 2020 Beta line got new frames, The 390 RR-S subframes and bodywork to make the weighs in at The 2020 Beta line of off-road motor- a respectable cycles saw a lot of significant updates, bike lighter and narrower while handling 264 pounds, including the 390 RR-S. Pretty much better. The frames are still made out of wet and ready Molybdenum steel arranged in a single to ride. everything is new—the motor, the frame, backbone and double-cradle design. The the suspension, the bodywork, and even updates also improved the tool-less ac- the larger fuel tank. So, essentially this is cess to the air filter and retained the slick a completely reworked motorcycle, and push-button seat removal system. Wider from what we can tell already, is a big step footpegs were also added for 2020. forward from an already good 2019 model. Beta has been using ZF Sachs The 2020 motor features new cases, suspension components on most of its Hot Cams introduces their new performance camshafts for the 2019-2020 Yamaha YZ cylinder head and clutch. The crankshaft $201.95 each bikes for several years now. The German 250F/FX. Using their improved throttle response (I.T.R.) lobe design gives riders a very is positioned closer to the swingarm company is not as well known as KYB, Stage 1 INTAKE HC00119 noticeable power gain in both Stage 1 and Stage 2 cams. Discover what your YZ 250F Stage 2 INTAKE HC00125 was born to do with a set of high performance camshafts from Hotcams. pivot for better handling, and the entire Stage 1&2 EXHAUST HC00122 Showa, and WP but still has a reputation Hotcamsinc.com engine is 2.2 pounds lighter. The cool- for making good products. For 2020, the ing system is new, too, and includes 48mm coil-spring fork was upgraded by a cooling fan, and there is an electric positioning the compression, rebound starter with the option to add a kickstart and spring preload adjusters to the backup. top of the forks. The compression and RIDE REVIEW 2020 BETA 390 RR-S P VOLUME 57 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 11, 2020 P101
preload are on the right fork leg while the Sachs ight not rebound adjuster is on the left fork leg. be a household na e when All of them can be adjusted without tools. it co es to The rear shock, which uses an aluminum suspension, but body, is lighter and said to be re-tuned for both the or and shoc per or improved small bump compliance. e tre ely well All Beta RR-S dual-sport bikes come on the 390. standard with a Trail Tech oyager GPS meter system, which is far superior to those found on most of Beta s off-road and dual-sport competitors. The oyager unit tracks engine hours, mileage and trip distances, and can also be used for GPS tracking and routes. You ll pay the after- markets 300 or more for a similar-type system, so it s nice that Beta includes the oyager unit with the 390 RR-S. The Beta RR-S line comes standard with a plastic skid plate and handguards. And unlike most other performance dual- sport bikes, the turn signals are reason- ably small and unobtrusive. The stock mirrors are also the best currently avail- able on a production dual sport because they can be folded down and out of your way for off-road sections. The 390 RR-S is The RR-S line comes fitted with T- ready for serious legal Michelin nduro tires, which are dual-sport riding right off the more off-road worthy than the standard showroom floor. tires on any other dual-sport bike. Just put gas in it As far as weight, on our scale, the 390 and go. RR-S weighed in at 2 4 pounds with a full tank 2.4 gallons ready to ride. By compar- ison, that s 11 pounds more than the 2020 KTM 3 0 that we recently tested. RIDE REVIEW 2020 BETA 390 RR-S P102
MOTORCYCLE PAINT OEM-MATCHED PAINT
Trail Talk the hydraulically actuated clutch that Comparing the Beta RR-S line with any This is all original withstood a lot of abuse that we gave it equipment: while riding in tight terrain. alternative “performance” dual-sport tapered aluminum bikes (KTM’s EXC, Husqvarna’s FE S, handlebars, sturdy The bike comes standard with and Honda’s CRF450L for example), handguards, 15/48T sprockets and an optional folding mirrors, 13-tooth front sprocket for more hard- the first thing you will notice is that the quality grips Betas are more off-road oriented. The and the most core off-road use. We went with the engines are a little peppier and feel less functional meter 13-tooth option, which is ideal for restricted, and the suspension settings that you’ll find on technical off-road riding but not for the a production dual highway. The motor will not be happy are stiffer for more aggressive riding sport bike. in rough terrain. Not everybody will going anything over 60 mph. Some of prefer these more aggressive settings the other performance-oriented dual- because the tradeoff is less comfort for sport models we noted earlier have a all-day riding. bit wider range in their gearboxes, so Beta offers several RR-S models, keep that in mind if you like to ride fast but the 390 just might be the Goldi- on the roads. If you just use the roads locks when it comes to “just the right” casually to legally connect the good amount of power. It makes a lot of it trails, the off-road gearing is fine. but not too much if you know what we Like the motor, the suspension mean. The Beta 390 is so much fun to settings on the Beta RR-S dual-sport ride because it provides enough power bikes are aimed more towards ag- when needed while still feeling light and gressive off-road riding. It’s even stiff “revy.” And complimenting the motor is enough to race for most people. You WWW.COLORRITE.COM | 1-800-358-1882 RIDE REVIEW 2020 BETA 390 RR-S P10 VOLUME 57 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 11, 2020 P105 give up a little bit of comfort on the road bike meters. ur only complaint small stuff, but it sure makes it fun to would be that it is positioned a little ride aggressively and had us look- high and could be damaged in a ing for things to jump off of. The new crash. Still, kudos to Beta for includ- Beta chassis is a little more stable at ing this very cool unit, but it would be higher speeds, but it still corners well. nice to have it placed a little lower. The Nissin brakes with Galfer As for comfort, everything about rotors perform well with no issues the riding position felt good to all our to report after a lot of mileage and test riders. The only complaint would varying terrain. be the stock seat, which is okay for We averaged about 45 mpg, so aggressive riding when you don’t sit the .4-gallon tank will get you a little much, but a long day of riding, espe- over 100 miles. It has a fuel warning cially if it includes a lot of road miles, light that illuminates way too early will leave you walking funny after- and had us a little freaked out the first ward. An aftermarket Seat Concepts few times, only to find out we still had seat would be at the top of our list at least a third of a tank left That is of aftermarket upgrades for the 390 where the translucent tank is helpful, RR-S. as it was easy to see that we still had And the Michelin Enduro knobbies plenty of fuel left. We have noticed are not our favorite off-road tire, they that the Beta two-stroke models also have very stiff sidewalls that contrib- have a lot of fuel left when you need ute to a harsh ride, but at least you to switch to reserve as well, so it don’t need to replace them right away appears Beta does not want you left as you do with the other bikes. They stranded out on the trail. will last you a long time. As noted earlier, the Trail Tech Mechanically, we had no issue with oyager unit provides many more the 390, but one rear blinker lens did features than any other stock off- go MIA.
e lo e how light, ni ble and agile the 390 RR-S eels on the trail. RIDE REVIEW 2020 BETA 390 RR-S P106 VOLUME 57 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 11, 2020 P107 SPECIFICATIONS Back Home If you want the most off-roadworthy off-road bike with a license plate, the Beta RR-S line is an abso- lute must for consideration. Beta has four different displacement options: 350, 390, 430 and 500cc, and we fell in love with the sporty performance of the 390. The bike can tackle challenging trails right out of the box and includes all the features neces- 2020 BETA 390 RR-S ($10,699) sary to do some aggressive off-road riding and ENGINE TYPE: ....Liquid-cooled (w/fan), 4-stroke, casual dual-sport exploring. CN 4-valve (steel intake and exhaust), single BORE/STROKE: ...... 88 x 63.4mm Like any high- DISPLACEMENT: ...... 386cc performance dual sport COMPRESSION RATIO: ...... 12.5:1 motorcycle, the Beta IGNITION: ....DC-CDI with dual map selection, 390 RR-S isn’t exactly Kokusan, 200-watt output at 6000 RPM cheap at $10,699, but you’ll quickly forget SPARK PLUG: ...... NGK LKAR 8A-9 about that check you LUBRICATION: .....Twin oil pumps w/cartridge wrote the first time oil filter, separate oil for engine and clutch you ride it. FUEL SYSTEM: ...... 42mm Electronic Fuel Injection (twin injectors) CLUTCH: ...... Wet multi-disc TRANSMISSION: ...... 6-speed FINAL GEARING: ...15/48T (w/optional 13T front) Final Drive: ...... O-ring chain STARTING SYSTEM: ...... Electric w/optional backup kickstarter FRAME: ..... Molybdenum steel, double-cradle, w/quick air filter access. FRONT SUSPENSION: ...... 48mm Sachs USD fork, fully adjustable REAR SUSPENSION: ...... Single Sachs shock, fully adjustable, linkage FRONT-WHEEL TRAVEL: ...... 11.6 in. REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL: ...... 11.4 in. FRONT-WHEEL: ...... 21 in. REAR-WHEEL: ...... 18 in. TIRES: ...... Michelin Enduro (DOT-approved) FRONT BRAKE: ...... Disc, single 260mm rotor REAR BRAKE: ...... Disc, single 240mm rotor WHEELBASE: ...... 58.7 in. SEAT HEIGHT: ...... 37 in. GROUND CLEARANCE: ...... 12.6 in. FOOTREST HEIGHT: ...... 16.3 in. WEIGHT (WET, ACTUAL): ...... 264 lbs. FUEL CAPACITY: ...... 2.4 gal. METER: ...... Trail Tech Voyager GPS unit