First ride on the 2020 Beta 390RR

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daveuprite
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First ride on the 2020 Beta 390RR

Post by daveuprite »

Yesterday I took Rita the Beta out for her first proper ride in the dirt.

I can only really compare with my old 2012 450RR, so that's what I'll do.

The 390 is more powerful throughout the rev range, much smoother and less crude in how it delivers the power. There's a very slight on/off feeling at very small throttle openings - from the fuel injection I guess - which could probably be dialled out with some dyno time but I'll just ride around it. It's no big deal.

The 390 lugs brilliantly. It pulls away in second gear with virtually no clutch needed and no fear of stalling - impressive. In fact I spent nearly all day in 2nd and 3rd gear, especially in the woods. You don't have to worry nearly as much about being in exactly the right gear when you face a slippery ascent. it just lugs up there and finds grip where the 450 would either flare out or just wheel-spin like a mad thing.

Because it's only 18 months old, everything works well - which is a treat after riding an older bike with a number of small niggly faults and worn parts. Gear change is slick and positive, clutch is light. The power mode button makes a difference - softer 'rain' setting for low speed stuff on rocky or slippery trails - hard-edged 'sun' setting for blasting out in the open. It's a fast bike. No need to buy the 480RR. That would have been a mistake for me i think. Got the right bike.

Handling is night and day different. The 390 is taught, responsive with no slop in the turn-in or flick. Very little deflection off baby's heads. But it's almost too good at transmitting every little bump and ripple through to the rider. I might have to soften it up a bit. The bars need to go forward one setting and up about 25mm with some bar-risers, which I'll be buying today. It's great sat down but I spend 90% of my time stood up and it needs adjustment for that.

Next step is to fit some protection. Case-savers, swing-arm guards, wrap-around hand-guards, beefier bash plate etc.

Meantime, I can thoroughly recommend. 6 hours of great riding yesterday with good lads. Thanks again to Steve for hosting, coffee, curry, beer etc. Fantastic.
johnnyboxer
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Re: First ride on the 2020 Beta 390RR

Post by johnnyboxer »

daveuprite wrote:Yesterday I took Rita the Beta out for her first proper ride in the dirt.

I can only really compare with my old 2012 450RR, so that's what I'll do.

The 390 is more powerful throughout the rev range, much smoother and less crude in how it delivers the power. There's a very slight on/off feeling at very small throttle openings - from the fuel injection I guess - which could probably be dialled out with some dyno time but I'll just ride around it. It's no big deal.

The 390 lugs brilliantly. It pulls away in second gear with virtually no clutch needed and no fear of stalling - impressive. In fact I spent nearly all day in 2nd and 3rd gear, especially in the woods. You don't have to worry nearly as much about being in exactly the right gear when you face a slippery ascent. it just lugs up there and finds grip where the 450 would either flare out or just wheel-spin like a mad thing.

Because it's only 18 months old, everything works well - which is a treat after riding an older bike with a number of small niggly faults and worn parts. Gear change is slick and positive, clutch is light. The power mode button makes a difference - softer 'rain' setting for low speed stuff on rocky or slippery trails - hard-edged 'sun' setting for blasting out in the open. It's a fast bike. No need to buy the 480RR. That would have been a mistake for me i think. Got the right bike.

Handling is night and day different. The 390 is taught, responsive with no slop in the turn-in or flick. Very little deflection off baby's heads. But it's almost too good at transmitting every little bump and ripple through to the rider. I might have to soften it up a bit. The bars need to go forward one setting and up about 25mm with some bar-risers, which I'll be buying today. It's great sat down but I spend 90% of my time stood up and it needs adjustment for that.

Next step is to fit some protection. Case-savers, swing-arm guards, wrap-around hand-guards, beefier bash plate etc.

Meantime, I can thoroughly recommend. 6 hours of great riding yesterday with good lads. Thanks again to Steve for hosting, coffee, curry, beer etc. Fantastic.
Thanks for that
Tempting for sure
Does yours have the KYB forks ?
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WillS
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Re: First ride on the 2020 Beta 390RR

Post by WillS »

Sounds like a great bike for you Dave.
No sweating trying to kick start for 10 mins like the 450 in Sort!! :lol:
Enjoy.
daveuprite
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Re: First ride on the 2020 Beta 390RR

Post by daveuprite »

johnnyboxer wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:59 am
daveuprite wrote:Yesterday I took Rita the Beta out for her first proper ride in the dirt.

I can only really compare with my old 2012 450RR, so that's what I'll do.

The 390 is more powerful throughout the rev range, much smoother and less crude in how it delivers the power. There's a very slight on/off feeling at very small throttle openings - from the fuel injection I guess - which could probably be dialled out with some dyno time but I'll just ride around it. It's no big deal.

The 390 lugs brilliantly. It pulls away in second gear with virtually no clutch needed and no fear of stalling - impressive. In fact I spent nearly all day in 2nd and 3rd gear, especially in the woods. You don't have to worry nearly as much about being in exactly the right gear when you face a slippery ascent. it just lugs up there and finds grip where the 450 would either flare out or just wheel-spin like a mad thing.

Because it's only 18 months old, everything works well - which is a treat after riding an older bike with a number of small niggly faults and worn parts. Gear change is slick and positive, clutch is light. The power mode button makes a difference - softer 'rain' setting for low speed stuff on rocky or slippery trails - hard-edged 'sun' setting for blasting out in the open. It's a fast bike. No need to buy the 480RR. That would have been a mistake for me i think. Got the right bike.

Handling is night and day different. The 390 is taught, responsive with no slop in the turn-in or flick. Very little deflection off baby's heads. But it's almost too good at transmitting every little bump and ripple through to the rider. I might have to soften it up a bit. The bars need to go forward one setting and up about 25mm with some bar-risers, which I'll be buying today. It's great sat down but I spend 90% of my time stood up and it needs adjustment for that.

Next step is to fit some protection. Case-savers, swing-arm guards, wrap-around hand-guards, beefier bash plate etc.

Meantime, I can thoroughly recommend. 6 hours of great riding yesterday with good lads. Thanks again to Steve for hosting, coffee, curry, beer etc. Fantastic.
Thanks for that
Tempting for sure
Does yours have the KYB forks ?
No, they're Sachs Open Chamber ZF forks - the clever ones with compression/rebound adjustment functions on different forks. And the first owner had them re-valved and sprung for his weight (which is luckily only 4kgs less than me, so not much change). I haven't fiddled with them yet.
But they are more than I need. To be honest I'm not at the level where I would notice a really expensively set-up KYB front-end on a dirt bike. They're for people who race and who need the best. Obviously I notice any bottoming out, or tendency to wash out or deflect, and I don't like it. I want a really well-planted front end because I quite like moronic rear-end fish-tailing - it's all part of the fun of being off-tarmac for me.

Another thing I won't be changing is the exhaust. It's fairly loud and deep throated as a standard system. Beta exhausts are less restricted than other enduro makers because they're a small company and don't have the same homologation levels to meet. When you buy a WRF Yam the first thing you have to do is start pissing about with GYTR/pipe/mapping to get it to run right, and many say that KTM EXCFs don't run quite right from new until you've done some mods. Betas run strong right out the box. It feels like about 35-40bhp, which is plenty. In fact I wouldn't really want to spend money on a pipe and re-map etc because it has more than enough real world power in the mud already - you could screw it up. Anything I do to Rita now will be to protect her from my own incompetence.

Now I'm off out to give it a good wash. Can't have Rita staying filthy for too long...
Last edited by daveuprite on Mon Oct 25, 2021 11:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First ride on the 2020 Beta 390RR

Post by daveuprite »

WillS wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 9:14 am Sounds like a great bike for you Dave.
No sweating trying to kick start for 10 mins like the 450 in Sort!! :lol:
Enjoy.
Yeah, v happy Will. Funnily enough, the 390 is the other way round. As you say, the 450 used to drain its battery and leave me kicking. The 390 doesn't have a kickstart at all, but the lithium battery turns the motor over at such a rate of knots when you thumb the starter. It fires up instantly.
Lots of cranking amps I suppose.

You can 'retro fit' a kickstarter with a kit from the factory - for about 250 Euros. But on forums people are saying that there's not much point, because you often can't really generate enough power with a kick to fire up a modern FI bike with a dead battery anyway.
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Re: First ride on the 2020 Beta 390RR

Post by daveuprite »

Good review here if you're interested:

https://www.cyclenews.com/2020/08/artic ... -s-review/

After one good ride, I'd agree with all of that.
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chunky butt
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Re: First ride on the 2020 Beta 390RR

Post by chunky butt »

Ha ha, yep a great days play yesterday, blessed with lovely weather, but I must say that is the cleanest bike I've ever seen after a ride out, apparently you even went round the puddles Dave, not like you, suppose it's early days :lol: :lol: give it a couple of months eh ;)
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Re: First ride on the 2020 Beta 390RR

Post by johnnyboxer »

daveuprite wrote:
johnnyboxer wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:59 am
daveuprite wrote:Yesterday I took Rita the Beta out for her first proper ride in the dirt.

I can only really compare with my old 2012 450RR, so that's what I'll do.

The 390 is more powerful throughout the rev range, much smoother and less crude in how it delivers the power. There's a very slight on/off feeling at very small throttle openings - from the fuel injection I guess - which could probably be dialled out with some dyno time but I'll just ride around it. It's no big deal.

The 390 lugs brilliantly. It pulls away in second gear with virtually no clutch needed and no fear of stalling - impressive. In fact I spent nearly all day in 2nd and 3rd gear, especially in the woods. You don't have to worry nearly as much about being in exactly the right gear when you face a slippery ascent. it just lugs up there and finds grip where the 450 would either flare out or just wheel-spin like a mad thing.

Because it's only 18 months old, everything works well - which is a treat after riding an older bike with a number of small niggly faults and worn parts. Gear change is slick and positive, clutch is light. The power mode button makes a difference - softer 'rain' setting for low speed stuff on rocky or slippery trails - hard-edged 'sun' setting for blasting out in the open. It's a fast bike. No need to buy the 480RR. That would have been a mistake for me i think. Got the right bike.

Handling is night and day different. The 390 is taught, responsive with no slop in the turn-in or flick. Very little deflection off baby's heads. But it's almost too good at transmitting every little bump and ripple through to the rider. I might have to soften it up a bit. The bars need to go forward one setting and up about 25mm with some bar-risers, which I'll be buying today. It's great sat down but I spend 90% of my time stood up and it needs adjustment for that.

Next step is to fit some protection. Case-savers, swing-arm guards, wrap-around hand-guards, beefier bash plate etc.

Meantime, I can thoroughly recommend. 6 hours of great riding yesterday with good lads. Thanks again to Steve for hosting, coffee, curry, beer etc. Fantastic.
Thanks for that
Tempting for sure
Does yours have the KYB forks ?
No, they're Sachs Open Chamber ZF forks - the clever ones with compression/rebound adjustment functions on different forks. And the first owner had them re-valved and sprung for his weight (which is luckily only 4kgs less than me, so not much change). I haven't fiddled with them yet.
But they are more than I need. To be honest I'm not at the level where I would notice a really expensively set-up KYB front-end on a dirt bike. They're for people who race and who need the best. Obviously I notice any bottoming out, or tendency to wash out or deflect, and I don't like it. I want a really well-planted front end because I quite like moronic rear-end fish-tailing - it's all part of the fun of being off-tarmac for me.

Another thing I won't be changing is the exhaust. It's fairly loud and deep throated as a standard system. Beta exhausts are less restricted than other enduro makers because they're a small company and don't have the same homologation levels to meet. When you buy a WRF Yam the first thing you have to do is start pissing about with GYTR/pipe/mapping to get it to run right, and many say that KTM EXCFs don't run quite right from new until you've done some mods. Betas run strong right out the box. It feels like about 35-40bhp, which is plenty. In fact I wouldn't really want to spend money on a pipe and re-map etc because it has more than enough real world power in the mud already - you could screw it up. Anything I do to Rita now will be to protect her from my own incompetence.

Now I'm off out to give it a good wash. Can't have Rita staying filthy for too long...
Sounds fab
Steve Plain said the ZF forks were a really good fork and once dialled in were as any others
I do fancy a 390
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daveuprite
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Re: First ride on the 2020 Beta 390RR

Post by daveuprite »

chunky butt wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 11:41 am Ha ha, yep a great days play yesterday, blessed with lovely weather, but I must say that is the cleanest bike I've ever seen after a ride out, apparently you even went round the puddles Dave, not like you, suppose it's early days :lol: :lol: give it a couple of months eh ;)
I went around ONE puddle Steve. But of course bloody Ross had to be right behind me at the time and now he's spreading the ugly rumour that I'm a puddle dodger. Which tarnishes my hard-won reputation as Head Splasher. It'll never happen again I promise...
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Re: First ride on the 2020 Beta 390RR

Post by daveuprite »

Rita is now bathed in coconut milk, rubbed down by comely maidens with a hide from the fluffiest chamois I could catch, polished by a troupe of especially soft koala bears and put to bed in her man-cave until next time.

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