Beta rev3 200

When i first jumped on the 200 and rode across the quarry I thought I was going to be disappointed with it. It felt so lacking in any low down power that I was going to make sure I weighed myself to see if I had put on more weight than I thought I had!! But it then dawned on me what I was comparing against... my 300 GasGas .. Doh!! As soon as you buzz it a bit more it goes a treat.. pop it in 2nd gear and it went up everything in the quarry that I wanted to try. Although it is the same size and I would think weight as the larger cc bikes it seemed to ride like a smaller machine. I am sure that this was because of the lack of outright power I was being more forcefull with it and started to chuck it at things.. it felt like a cycle trials bike to ride when you started to do this... great fun!! On the wooded section it trickled around the damp turns and climbs in 1st and 2nd very easily and grips a treat when you gently roll the throttle on. There is no doubt that many adults would learn to ride better on this machine as you had to be in the right place with the right throttle control for it to get up the steeper stuff with my 13 stone aboard... and there are some who would ride better simply because they wouldn't be afraid of it. It steers very well, at first it felt a little heavy on the front end but this was soon forgiven as it tracked across cambers and loose rocks so well and it left the ground very easily if you wanted to float around or across something but didn't try to push out when it landed. I understand from John Lampkin that they have changed the steering angle on the 2006 models to make it a little quicker but it is by no means twitchy... just right I would say.

As you can tell I thought this was a lovely bike, the build quality is nice, the new colours look lovely and the back suspension just follows the ground and seems to look for grip. As with all Beta's it has a left foot kickstart... something I have had in the past and have no troubles using, but it starts so easily that it will only take a couple of rides for those that haven't to get used to. The only point I can think of to bring up on a less than positive note is I am not sure what the rear mudguard will look like after several months use. It is a matt black finish that I suspect will pick up the scratches quicker than the smooth finish of previous years. .. and that is it!!

GasGas 280 Pro.

The first thing I notice about the Pro is, like last year, how low the bars are. They were tipped a fair way forward on this bike as well and I just didn't feel comfortable on it. In fact after 5 minutes of riding I had arm pump which I usually only get after 3 or 4 hours!! I am not tall, 5 foot 11, but they felt like I was stooping over the front all the time. Apart from that the bike was as I expected... very smooth but with loads of power. The front end steers better than my 2003 Pro, once again like the previous 3 models with these 'zocchi forks. It tracks across cambers very well and doesn't feel like it is trying to push out like my own bike does.

When riding across the rocks it popped across the points very well but if I dropped into the holes it didn't feel like it was climbing smoothly back over the rocks like the Beta's. And again if I rode up a step the back end kicked back rather than tracked the surface and climbed up... this may be a good thing for the bigger stuff and it certainly looks more impressive but it just didn't ride as smooth in my hands. The younger riders probably like this better as they hop across and up things but I haven't the ability to do it consistantly!!! ..