Trail Rider Magazine

26 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com I have found out the hard way that the settings I establish at Croom aren't necessarily going to be a perfect match for the Al- ligator Enduro. The Alligator is generally a little slower and more technical than Croom, as much of the 'Gator is lined with palmetto roots. The new venue is also less whooped out than the previous one in Daytona. Florida also had a very wet winter, so the pre-race chatter was about the standing water that was sure deteriorate into bike-swallowing mud. With that in mind, I softened up the suspension a bit and went in a turn on the power valve spring. Some guys seem to practice better than they race while others race better than they practice. I liken myself to the latter as im- mediately after the first section, I returned to the settings I rode at Croom. The forks were fine in the slower, muddy terrain and decent over the palmetto roots, but at race pace, they would blow through the travel in the chopped out meadows and brak- ing bumps. The shock by contrast was a little harsh over the palmetto roots but pretty good in the whoops and chop. Unsur- prisingly, the agile little Beta was fantastic through the tight stuff and in the corners. Through the mud the motor lugged down and through the flowing pines it was easy to carry an extra gear and just cruise. I'll never enjoy tight trees but the Beta makes them tolerable. What about any other snivels beyond the stock suspension? Honestly, there isn't much to complain about. The Beta is a sus- pension re-valve away from meeting all my needs. The motor is easily tuned up or down and the bike is super agile. We've only had a few opportunities to run it hard in 6th gear and didn't no- tice any significant wiggle at speed. By all accounts, the Beta is a well-rounded machine. We are six months in to our Beta test and will continue to keep you posted as to how things progress. B eta seems to be gaining some tracon here in the east. Having spent the past six months aboard one, it's easy to understand why. I took a walk through pits at the Rad Dad Naonal Enduro in Tennessee and found the Beta to be well represented. At the sharp end of the rope is factory Beta pilot Cory Burick. Aer two seasons recuperang from in- juries, Burick has signed with Beta and is steadily improving. His dad was kind enough to walk us through Cory's Factory bike. Here's what the factory Beta effort looks like. Keep in mind that Cory's dad does a lot of the work himself. The first thing they did was alter the ignion by using a lighter flywheel. They then installed a more aggressive, custom-built ignion box that performs similarly to the KTM SX 2-stroke. The CDI box is then stowed neatly in the air box, adjacent to the bat- tery. A lile (cylinder) "head work" changed the deck height, giving the motor more compression and grunt. The radiators are replaced with an oversized, custom-built fluidyne system by Mylers, which hold more fluid and are more durable. They then take off the starter motor. The gearing is changed to 13/51. Cory finds the transmission to be slightly wider than the close rao transmission found in the KTM XC, so the extra compression, aggressive ignion system and gearing change keeps the Beta crisp throughout the power band. An FMF Gnarly pipe coupled to the stock FMF Q Stealth exhaust (we are guessing that the spark arrestor had been re- moved) round out the engine modificaons. Marzocchi forks are fied to 22mm stock triple clamps and a Fox shock is fied to a linkage system that is protected by a Faastway linkage guard. Sllwell handles the suspension revalve and customizes the internals of the Fox shock to Cory's liking. Many of the bolts, including the motor mounts, are ta- nium and help keep the bike as light as possible. The carburetor is fied with a 6.5 slide. Jeng is always being changed in response to the terrain and temperature. For fuel they run race gas. The rear brake line is a Galfer and the rotors are made by Dirt Tricks. Enduro Engineering provides the skid plate and brush guards and the bars are by Odi. For the terrain in Tennessee, Cory ran the Dunlop MX 51's with Dunlop bib mousses. The pegs and levers are stock but Cory's dad shaves down the levers to Cory's preference. Story and photos by Kevin novello BUTTRICK's FACTORY BetA 300 rr

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