a fire-breathing motocross bike to a strong, torquey and reliable enduro or cross country bike. Throw an 18-inch rear wheel at it and the bigger tank off a Beta RR300 two-stroke, tune the power valve and you have the basics of a great enduro or cross country bike. That mere fact alone makes it a very versatile, and interesting, bike indeed. The bike itself created quite a stir in the off-road community when it was announced. We have the biggest capacity production two-stroke motorcycle being produced by a company that still embraces the beauty, and simplicity, of a carbureted two stroke. It’ s certainly not the norm in a world ruled by injection technology, in fact, it’ s an outlier for those who appreciate something special.
ITALIAN FLAIR, GREAT COMPONENTS Aesthetically, Beta makes great looking bikes, with sharp lines, great colours and some really rather lovely components. The RX350 comes with a Blackbird gripper seat cover, blue Excel rims, Brembo brakes, KYB suspenders, a V-Force reed block, a map switch and, of course, that lovingly sculpted thing of beauty nestled between the frame rails … the Keihin carburettor. It really is a beautiful piece of kit. The fly in the ointment for me, and this is a bug bear of mine, but shouldn’ t a premium bike have the best tyres? Maybe it’ s just me, but the stock Maxxis tyres just don’ t cut it. It could just be my local riding conditions, but I just didn’ t get on with them. Tim from XGrip NZ threw some tyres in my direction and they
KIWI RIDER 35