Trying To Make A Choice

[bikespace]

The Scorpa boys are gonna throw **** at me but I really don't see the attraction of the Scorpa unless perhaps you're a clubman who likes the feel of the bike and doesn't care too much about how it transforms your riding.

I don't see them as anywhere near as advanced as the other bikes.

From what I've seen, riders seem to get on them and think - oooh this feels nice - like I used to on my old mans 4 stroke in the 70's, but I couldn't get the same results as on my own bike.

People tend to try other peoples bikes so they don't try sections which test them too much. If you can go to a demo day where you can have a go at some testing sections on a variety of bikes, and you still feel the Scorpa will performa as well for you, then I'd concede that it might be for you.

Otherwise I'd edge my bets and go Beta.

[peterb]

I tend to agree with bikespace here.

I usually ride Gas Gas and have recently had 5 days of trials on a 2007 SY250 in the 5 Jour du Verdon, a sort of very warm and picturesque mini SSDT. The Scorpa did everything well but was noticebly lacking when getting into the more tricky stuff. I think it is a fine bike for clubmen and intermediate riders but not that well sorted for making things easy in the harder expert sections. I found the bike heavy and slow to react in rocky sections when compared to my usual bike. The motor has a reputation for reliability and has good performance for most riders, the first three gear ratios are fine for sections, the jump from 4th to fifth was not so bad I thought, inbetween sections. I have not owned a Beta but have had a few rides on a 2006 250 model, it seemed to ride well and had a very conrtrollable power delivery. Lads here speak well of the Betas. Things that I didn't like about the Scorpa were minor issues, airbox would leak in water though this is not new to any of the other bikes, sitting on the seat/mudguard area causes the mudguard to crease up around the airbox, definately need a silencer heat shield, carb is very time consuming to get to, rear shock is very close to the middle box and may overheat the shock creating damping problems and the footrests feel a long way back - though riders assure me this is something that you get used to. Flywheel feels a bit heavy as standard as the motor rolls on a bit too much for my liking, on a friends SY here, the weight is down to 2,650 gms and this feels ok. The cycle parts look very robust.

Again, it really boils down to what suits your riding style, either choice will go well though I feel the Beta would have the edge if you get into more serious sections.

Bye, PeterB.