2010 model year bike tested at the BVM day..
.. although I am a confirmed Beta lover, and owner, I try to be impartial when writing this. Many no doubt will disagree with my views but that is what they are... my views. I don't take advertising so I can at least say what I want, form your own opinions by riding the bikes for yourself!
| .. The BVM-Moto test day for the 2010 model machines had to be pushed back a few weeks this year so that the Sherco ST 290 could be in attendance. Sadly this made it a bit close to Christmas for many people to get the day off work so it was a little quieter than previous years. Also Scorpa and Montesa were a no-show, no ideas on the reasons but this left us with models from the three main players in the trials sales world, Beta, GasGas and the Sherco, to go play on. The format was the same as before, go to the hut and choose a bike to ride. Sign on the dotted line and come back for another choice after that ride. I got there early and managed to grab one of the first rides on the new Sherco. I am pleased to say it does look smaller in the flesh than I had thought. The bike had looked bigger and appeared very back heavy in the photos, what with the large alloy silencer and fuel tank being mounted side by side under the rear mudguard. But the hump that is now the airbox, where the fuel tank used to be, seems to sit up much more than the fuel tank ever did. This may be just be an illusion because of the smaller frame tubes... |  |
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... Now here comes the point where I may upset some people, after riding the bike for about 3 minutes i had to stop. My arms were killing me, I had cramp on my lower arm muscles. It was really weird, and to make matters worse the guy who was riding the other Sherco at the time rode over and asked if my arms hurt as his were killing him as well! He ended up cutting his ride short and returning it to the MRS stand. The bars are exactly the same as fitted to the Beta's so it wasn't the shape of them.. perhaps tipping them forward a bit may have helped but throughout the day I asked around and people almost all said the same thing happened to them. I was also disappointed with the engine, I expected something a bit more lively. A few other things as well, the rear plastic tank and silencer guard constantly caught into my jeans or into the top of my boots and when turning right on a downhill I got a warm feeling in my right thigh from the exhaust outlet!! I decided to try and ride the bike again later in the day after it had been run for several more hours and have a second opinion. |
| ... I then went onto the 300 GasGas. The Pro range has been around since 2002 I think and has been tweaked rather than any major changes each year since. Before I rode it I had a quick scan over it and I have to say the quality of finish looks much better than the earlier years. The bright red frame and tank is certainly eye catching and the standard equipment all looks good. I really liked this 300, it was easy to ride and the riding position was spot on. The engine wasn't the fire breather I had expected but was extremely smooth, with that obvious grunt waiting for when you needed it... Ben rode it also but commented that it was a bit of a handfull for him. I actually found it easier to ride than the 250, perhaps being a 300 meant I could be a bit lazy and allow the engine to do the work! I wasn't going to bother riding the Beta's as I have recently taken delivery of a 2010 290 but the little 200 had a spare slot on the time sheet so I went for a play on that. It is the bike that 95% should buy... it's won't leap out of your hands but it has plenty of power for just about any club event section. So easy to ride and of course I like the way the Evo's ride anyway, you get that really tight turning circle but now you also have a bike that hops around easy and has a better feel to the back end with the linkage suspension. The Beta's do look much better this year in the white colour scheme, I think it makes the bike look smaller. Squancey had a play on the 200 as well and thought it was a spot on clubmans bike, if you want it to shoot off just slip the clutch a little and it will fly.. otherwise just use the grip from the great little engine. |
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... so, back onto the Sherco. I had noticed the one i rode in the morning had a few marks on the lower fork, so I was able to grab the other one for another ride to make sure any issues were not just on one machine. As I blipped across the quarry it was apparent the 4 hours of running time had loosened the engine up a bit... but still this one didn't feel like a 290. It went up everything but just needed a bigger twist and a bit more notice than I am used too. But yet again after 5 minutes riding I couldn't hold onto the bars and had to stop... the cramp in my arms returned. I also tried a few rocky bits and the back end clunked it's way across the gaps. The intake noise is high, the airbox now being up high, which was a bit weird and I still got the exhaust blow on my right thigh.... I wonder how long the lycra trials jeans will put up with that. And i am not sure how long the plastic fuel tank cap will survive when slid down a tree or rock. Well, you get the idea. I didn't much enjoy the Sherco. Horses for courses and I am sure there are many that loved it but during the day I spoke to many people after they returned from a ride on the bike and had much the same views from almost all.. one guy is blue through and through, having had Sherco's for years and he just summed the bike up in two words, both of which I won't repeat here!!! So then... thumbs up from Dave, Ben and I for the Gassers and Beta but we all agreed that the Sherco was not for us. |
... During the course of the day we all watched in awe as Alexz Wigg, Ross Danby and Becky Cook showed us mere mortals how to ride a bike. Alexz had a bit of a moment on a huge step he was playing on and the works Beta went over his head and down to the quarry floor before revving it's nuts off. Alexz shot back down after it and to stop it he had to jam on the rear brake... this resulted in a sheared flywheel key which required a bit of time to fix so he popped back to the van and grabbed Julian's, Alexz's dad, Beta Evo 4t out of the van. Not only did he still get up all the huge rocky climbs and give us a back hop demonstration across the rocks, he did it all in a fetching shade of bright green!! We also witnessed Steve Saunders piloting the Beta sidecar outfit and attempting to drop whatever poor soul got into the chair out on their ear!! Becky Cook was having her first ride on the new Sherco and also teamed up with her minder for next years world and euro rounds, Craig Talbot. I got a bit cold towards the end and got my Meta cycle trials bike out of the car for a warming hop... feels really weird riding it with full moto trials kit on!! |
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