the link to read some of those tests ...). I picked the 430 up from the importer not long after NZTA changed the law regarding non- ABS Enduro bikes being able to be registered . It turned out there was a loop hole ( that some dealers know about and some don ’ t ) that still allows non-ABS enduro bikes to become road legal , and this Beta RR430 had the numberplate to prove it . Anyway , it didn ’ t last , we broke up . But , we got back in touch the other week ...

BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO So , the Beta RR430 and I spent a lot of time together , for the best part of a year . We did around 20 hours and just over 1000km together . We rode in a round of the National Enduro series at Moonshine ( well , attempted to anyway ). We also commuted and took long runs down the beach . When it came to the end of the test it went to the local Beta dealer in Wellington .

Truth be told , I missed ‘ us ’. My Tenere 700 is a lot of things , but a lean , lithe , sculpted Italian enduro machine it is not . I would have thought after I waxed lyrical about how awesome the 430 was , that someone would have seen it sitting in the dealer ’ s window , with very few kilometres on it ( and sporting a reduced price ) and snapped it up . But no , it sat there for 18 months . Then I saw it online ( TradeMe , not Tinder , in case you were wondering ). It ’ s funny how you can become attached to some motorcycles ( let ’ s not talk about the editor who ’ s attached to all of his motorcycles and refuses to let any go ). Sometimes you don ’ t even notice it at the time , but when you have spent some time with a motorcycle , you get to know things about it that your average joe wouldn ’ t have a clue about . There ’ s a bond . And you don ’ t know what you ’ ve got until it ’ s gone , right ? I knew , instantly , that the Beta RR430 I was looking at on TradeMe was ‘ my ’ Beta . Why ? Because they come from the factory with Maxxis

KIWI RIDER 57