Italian manufacturer Beta has announced several changes to their lineup for 2015, including their first machine with EFI.
Beta has a wide range of dirt bikes and dual sports, but until now, they’d relied on good old-fashioned carburetors. But now, they’ve just announced their 350 RR will have EFI, developed in conjunction with Synerject. The rest of their lineup seems to be keeping carburetors, but they’ve got other changes.
The 250 RR two-smoker (street-legal in most provinces) has upgrades carried over from the 300 RR, including an upgraded exhaust valve adjustment system and a new exhaust that’s supposed to improve throttle response and top-end revs. The end result is supposed to be a more usable powerband. The 300 RR has also been upgraded; now it has the motor that was standard in the 300 RR Race Edition last year, with new cylinder, combustion chamber and CDI.
The four-stroke lineup gets motor upgrades for 2014; along with the 350, they now have variants available in 390 cc, 430 cc and 480 cc. They replace the 400, 450 and 498 models, respectively; the motors are smaller, but Beta says engine re-designs (new camshafts, exhaust) mean the motors make the same absolute torque and horsepower as before. The motors have lighter components and re-designed cases to reduce rotating mass and improve handling.
The RS lineup (the dual-sport lineup sold in the US) has a few upgrades as well; they’re essentially identical to the RR lineup, but now they have cooling fans and Voyager GPS units as standard equipment.
Other changes to the lineup: Beta engineers worked with Sachs to upgrade the 48 mm fork they use, to be more smooth and handle rough jolts progressively. They’ve also upgraded the rear shock as well, and even made a few changes to make the seat more comfortable.How will it all work out? CMG has had a few days on the existing 498 RR model, and if the new machines are even further improved, the results should be very exciting.
