bit of wind blast sitting atop this kind of
machine. Like I said earlier, a small screen
would be a very useful addition.
Handling on the road is very light feeling
and super nimble, but not so accurate.
The full knobbly tyres ‘walk’ quite a bit –
as expected – and add to the light, slightly
loose and not so planted feel on road. I
have no problem with this as a guy with
a dirt bike background, but in all honesty
a 50/50 tyre combination will be more
suitable for all-round work and could
possibly be an option from new – check
with your dealer to see what they can do.
But the upside is that when you reach the
dirt you have great rubber to cut loose
with, and get to appreciated the true
ability of a world championship winning
enduro bike.
ADVENTURE PREPPING
For trail riding the Beta comes wellprovisioned,
but adventure riding it could
do with a bit of accessorising. The eight
litre fuel tank is sufficient for enduro and
shorter trail rides, but if you wanted to
make the 480 into an adventure weapon
then the standard fuel tank doesn’t give a
heap of range. Beta can supply a 12.3 litre
tank to order, giving an extra 50% capacity
(4.3 litres) which should give a decent
range boost for more remote rides. Beta
can supply a cush-drive sprocket that’ll
make tar-seal riding more comfortable,
and spare the drive train some of the
shock loading associated with road riding.
They’ve also got a selection of protection
for the bike including covers for the
swingarm, engine cases and a sump plate.
48 KIWI RIDER