sump some years ago, much to the lament of riders, but it’ s still proved a rugged and reliable machine. The 15 hour service intervals don’ t thrill me, though. This is where Beta’ s RR480 caught my spec-sheet-scanning eye. With separate oil for the engine / crank and the transmission and 30 hour service intervals, making longer trips easier for oil changes part way through. To cut a long story short … that was a major factor for me buying the Beta. It also helped that our senior tester, Jock McLauchlan, rode a Beta 480 on a test down south some number of years ago and said it’ d make a perfect light adventure bike- and he’ s a man who knows his onions when it comes to enduro bikes. Oh, and the price, that helped- I’ ll come back to that later. So, I made the 10 hour round trip to buy a brand new, zero hour Beta RR480 X-Pro from James at Precision Motorbikes in Christchurch. There are two versions of each Beta enduro model. There’ s the X-Pro, which is the standard bike with Sachs open cartridge fork and rear suspension and Nissin brake calipers. Then there’ s the Racing model with Brembo calipers, KYB closed cartridge fork and rear shock, and some anodised performance parts like an axle puller etc. I’ m not racing and I’ m not fast, so the plushness of an open cartridge fork is fine for me, rather than the speed ability of the KYB. The 2027 X-Pro is $ 18,590 and the Race comes in at $ 19,490. To be honest, for only another $ 900, the Race offers superb value for money with the extra bits, KYB forks and Brembo calipers, but I just don’ t need that gear for the riding I do. And Beta has been offering the 2026 models on clearance for the last month or so … which sealed the deal for an X-Pro. I’ ll be fitting a fan kit, some Barkbusters, a bigger bashplate and maybe some better mirrors in prep for the upcoming season. I’ m looking forward to getting further into the backcountry, more easily, on the Beta this summer. I’ ll keep you updated on how it works out.
KIWI RIDER 105