I appreciate there will be Scorpa fans and there will be Beta fans. But I'm completely new to trials and therefore ignorant about the different makes or models - this makes me uneasy. Any information about the bikes - bike parts, engine, gearbox, ease of use, reliability, finish, availability and cost of spares, common faults, ability to survive crashes - would help me get more comfortable.

Thank you in advance.

Steve

I appreciate there will be Scorpa fans and there will be Beta fans. But I'm completely new to trials and therefore ignorant about the different makes or models - this makes me uneasy. Any information about the bikes - bike parts, engine, gearbox, ease of use, reliability, finish, availability and cost of spares, common faults, ability to survive crashes - would help me get more comfortable.

Thank you in advance.

Steve

I take it you are looking at mid/late 90's models. Both the Scorpa and the Beta are likely to be very well used, you realy do need to buy by condition. One could be so much better/worse than the other as to cancel out any advice given.

A really tidy Techno would be a good buy, but a rough one could be a money pit. And vice-versa.

Which one is in the best condtion?

Hi, I have had a scorpa and rate it very highly the yam engine is bulletproof, smooth with lots of useable torque. The build quality is awesome. The only downside is the yam engine is a tad heavy so most of the weight of the bike is at the front, this is not a problem for 95% of riders and is a good bike for clubmen as it's great on hills with the front weight and very planted in turns.

The techno is not a bad bike but a early rev 3 is a better bet for a little more dough and the build and reliability (apart from stators) is as good as the scorpa.

If you are a novice I would reccomend the scorpa very slightly more over the beta, they hold their money well and are a better bike to develop your skills on. The beta is easier to hop around but the scorpa almost rides itself so lets you concentrate more on the section in hand.

Hope this helps and good luck finding a bike.

If it is an SY(yam engine) take it every time!

i've run an old techno for some time now, only real big issue has been the stator issue (see the beta forum), but i'm sure the scorpa has its issues.

as above any old bike that has been little used can often be better than a newer bike that had been thrashed and crashed.

If it is an SY(yam engine) take it every time!

I agree, providing the two bikes are in comparable conditions.

I was just saying, at that age you really do need to take a good look at the bike and not just go for one or the other because they were a better model.

Pete