Hello everybody,

My name is Kevin Howell and i live in Italy

I've been riding enduro for the last 4 years but i have decided to give trials a try.

Now to the important part, the bike. I was thinking of buying the Beta rev-3 270... What do you think???

Thanks a lot

Welcome to the world of trials Kevin.

I've never owned a Beta, but have considered it a few times and had a long hard look at them. Pretty solid machine, I'd say one of the easiest to maintain and keep running. When I think of Beta I think "sturdy". The one thing people will always point out is the slightly dodgy stator problem, but I wouldn't let it put you off. Quite a few of them do go, if the posts on here are anything to go by, but once replaced (if it does happen at all) you're unlikely to get hit a 2nd time I suppose. You may never see the problem, I don't know what the percentage of failures is, but it may be blown out of proportion like many of the common ills for any other machine.

I tried one when I was looking for a bike last time, and the only reason I didn't buy one at the time was it felt heavier on the front end than most of the others. Not particularly bad, but I was getting arm pump much quicker than I was used to on my Gasser at the time, and on the Sherco's I tried (and eventually bought). If you've come from enduro, you probably won't have to worry about it as much as I did. If I was fit, it wouldn't have been a consideration.

The only other thing I've seen which was poor was the way the chain cam was held in place. I've seen three break off - probably because the wheel nut hadn't been locked up quite enough, but it was always calling out for something more solid, like a welded lug on the swinging arm, or even moulded in to the design of the swinging arm - I don't know whether they've done that on later machines, but I'm sure the Beta runners on here will fill you in far better than I can on any potential problems.

Sounds like I'm picking at it, but I only have those points to make on the negative side - I would definitely consider a Beta next time I changed just because overall I rate them as one of the most solid of machines.

I'll shut up and let some of the Beta experts tell you what they're really like Enjoy yourself anyway mate.

I am onto my second Beta, came from a mid 90's Techno 250 to a Rev3 270 was a huge difference. I stuck with this brand for their solid build and reliability. I have never had the stator prob, but look out for the magnesium-alloy casing in the water pump for corrosion for models 03 onwards. I have gone through my second casing, and will replace it with and alloy one off an 02 model. (with a slight weight penalty).

The linkless rear suspension is a great achievement. The current model is even better as owners claim, I havent had a go on one yet to compair.

Thanks for the tips, I'm almost 100% sure of buying a new Beta.

As soon as i get it i will tell you my first impressions but i'll have to sell my enduro first