64 | SEPTEMBER 2017 http://www.adbmag.com.aucruise through this second-gear turn
in third and then power straight up.
As you’d expect, the 430 feels more
nimble than the 480. Although the 390
was my favourite 4T, the 430 was a
very close second.
RR480
The 480 is a smooth criminal and
despite its intimidating cubic capacity
is a very easy bike to ride. In true
Italian fashion its approach to work is
relaxed and if it could, it would run on
San Pellegrino. It mirrors the rest of
the range in the ergonomics
department. Like the entire 2018 RR
range there is plenty of room for all
195cm of me and an excellent riding
position that feels more aggressive
than the bike lets on.
Fire up the biggest bike from the
Tuscany-based manufacturer and you
instantly notice that first and second
gear are almost redundant.
I rode the 480 at the end of a six-
hour day and after knocking back
warm bottles of Italian sparkling water
in the 35 degree heat I wasn’t feeling
my best. However, I felt comfortable
lugging it around in second and third
gear. Beta Australia’s Gary Grealy
looked concerned when he saw me
mount the 480 for my last session of
the day. “Be careful out there on the
big girl, mate.”
He didn’t want to see me come a
cropper, or maybe he didn’t want to
deal with the Italian hospital system.
Despite his fears, I made it back to the
pits in one piece and smiling ear-to-
ear. It’s rideability makes it an easy
bike to ride at the end of the day.
The engine pulled strongly from
low in any gear without hesitation
and the stability and high grip levels
made it feel the fastest around the
slippery grasstrack.
However, get too comfortable and
generous with the throttle and the 480
can slap you down. In Oz, we love
large engines, so I can see the 480
being popular in Australia. You could
race flat track one week, desert the
next, then go deep into the gnarliest,
most technical singletrack the week
after and can come back smiling.WORLD LAUNCH I 2018 BETA ENDUROS
RR480
ENGINE
TYPE: DOHC, four-valve
DISPLACEMENT: 477.5cc
BORE/STROKE: 100 x 60.8
COOLING: Liquid
COMPRESSION: 11.86: 1
FUELLING: Synerject EFI
TANK CAPACITY: 8L
TRANSMISSION: Six-speed
CLUTCH: Wet multi-plate,
hydraulic actuation
DIMENSIONS
WHEELBASE: 1490mm
SEAT HEIGHT: 940mm
CLEARANCE: 320mm
WEIGHT: 110kg dry
SUSPENSION
FRONT: Sachs 48mm USD,
295mm travel
REAR: Sachs monoshock,
290mm travel
BRAKES
FRONT: Nissin, 260mm disc
REAR: Nissin, 240mm disc
RUNNING GEAR
FRONT TYRE: Michelin
Enduro Comp MS 90/90x21
REAR TYRE: Michelin
Enduro Comp VI 140/80x18
PRICE & CONTACTS
RRP: TBC
WEBSITE: betamotor.com.au
PHONE: (03) 5439 6333125 for
who?
A 125 two-stroke enduro will struggle to
be a best seller world-wide, especially in
Australia, but Beta had good reason to
dedicate the time and money necessary
to developing one, according to Beta
marketing manager, Giacomo Caliterna.
“Beta saw a gap from the RR50 to the
rest of the range. We’ve had a lot of
riders from when they were young, 14
years old, then we lost them because we
didn’t had a 125. For us it’s important to
have the complete range so a rider can
start with us at a young age and
continue with us through their career,
keep them in the Beta family.
“It’s been in development for many
years and we are confi dent it will be well
received, especially in Europe where
smaller capacity bikes are popular. We
expect the main market will be Italy,
France, Germany but why not other parts
of the world?
“At this stage it’s too early to say if
someone will race the RR125 in the
EnduroGP but the 125 is born for racing.
We don’t know if during the next season
it will be in the offi cial racing team but
that [racing] is the main characteristic
of the 125.”Remove bung to install kickstarterFour-strokes are 5.3kg lighter than last yearKick start
my heart
A kickstart can still be
fi tted and will be
available to buy if you
feel the need.