I have sold the Beta Xtrainer after four years.
This is its postmortem.
Why did I sell it?
There are a few reasons.
First, I am a hopeless mechanic.
I prefer to sell my enduro motorbikes before a lot of maintenance is needed.
Second?
Although I had no bad experiences with my
Xtrainer, I was increasingly disillusioned with Beta as a brand.
I have discussed this in other vids so I won't go over this issue again.
Third?
I thought it was time to get a full-sized enduro motorbike.
The Beta Xtrainer is smaller than your typical motorbike.
For many riders this is a great feature.
It's lighter, the seat is lower, it's cheaper.
It has less 'top end' power so the Xtrainer lacks the aggression of the mainstream 300s.
And it's very nimble in slow gnarly terrain.
Over the past 10 years we have seen quite a few
hybrid motorbikes which are a blend of trials and enduro.
Most did not become popular.
Only the Beta Xtrainer proved popular, and most of the other models no longer exist.
Many owners love the Beta Xtrainer.
And they should!
But it has to suit your riding style.
It is simply not designed for faster riding.
The moment you change into third gear, the Xtrainer becomes twitchy.
And it just gets worse the faster you go.
The steering geometry favours slow riding,
and the cheap suspension has less 'travel' and isn't set up for aggressive riding.
There are modifications that can help reduce this twitchiness.
I put a Goldentyre 'fatty' on the front wheel.
This high profile tyre provides a bit more stability.
I also had the suspension revalved.
This helps a lot,
but the Beta Xtrainer simply does not inspire confidence as the speed increases.
I have spent a year weighing the pros and cons of keeping the Beta Xtrainer.
It is brilliant in our hard enduro terrain.
But the moment we hit more open tracks, the shortcomings are revealed.
Whenever the guys hit the throttle on open trails,
I feel like I'm riding at my absolute limit if I try to keep up.
Then later the guys say they weren't even going that fast.
Sigh....
I recently bought the Sherco 300SE so that I felt a lot safer on our faster tracks.
Thankfully, it is also proving very capable in the hard enduro terrain as well.
Yes, I can feel the extra weight when I need to lift the motorbike out of tough sections.
But overall it has been a great change,
and suddenly it is easy to keep up with the other guys on our faster tracks.
A lot of riders buy a Beta Xtrainer because of the cheaper price,
but then they are disappointed when it doesn't perform like a full-sized enduro motorbike.
They spend money on suspension and engine mods
but then the discover it still does not perform well at speed.
It's important realise the Xtrainer is still a hybrid motorbike.
Sure, it's very close to a full enduro style.
But the design is geared toward lower speeds.
I created this graph a few years ago to illustrate this concept.
I hope this video helps you to make a decision iff you are interested in the Beta Xtrainer.
Ideally, a test ride will help you make the right decision too.
I certainly enjoyed the little Beta over the past years.