2022 Beta 390 & 500 (Demo Ride)

I got to rest ride the Beta 390 RR-S and 500 RR-S. Both are great bikes but the 500 has almost too much power for the trails! The 390 felt slightly more manageable when the trail got slimmer.

[@skrems]

Loved the side by side concept here. Like you said it would have been great to run a few more laps on each and grab the best of both. I have the 500 and love it.

[@OneOldManRiding]

An off road demo of their new bikes. Companies should offer that more often! The comparison view is awesome.

[@fynn8252]

Thanks! These events don’t come up often so I decided to take my chance. I think Triumph has a pretty similar event where you can ride all their models. Rumor has it, they might be making an enduro!

[@OneOldManRiding]

@@fynn8252 Oh I would drive a few hundred miles to ride that new Tiger!

[@louisdoucet1498]

Only the 390 has the long stroke not the 500.

[@fynn8252]

You are correct! I realized this about 1 month later. The 390 was my favorite of the bunch!

[@randomlyTrees]

Side by side is a cool perspective. Seemed neck and neck until you got out of the tight stuff. Beta makes some cool bikes!

[@fynn8252]

I think the 390 would be my choice. It felt easier to ride overall and still had respectable bottom end.

[@rockymountainlife]

@@fynn8252 Yep, the 390 seems to be the sweet spot. I love my 500, but if I were to start over knowing what I know now, I'd have gotten the 390. Great machine.

[@mikeisland7382]

Thanks for the rare Beta footage. Love these two bikes. I wonder how they do on the street from a dual sport perspective? Like an 500 EXC or more like a CRF450L vibration wise? Anyone tried them all?

[@fynn8252]

Thanks Mike! Unfortunately the lens on my camera was on a bad setting 😞 Looking on paper, the 500 & 430 have better internal gearing for the road. The 390 didn’t get the same gearbox for some odd reason. Beta kind of cheats on their final drive ratio because they use really tall gearing (15/48 last time I checked). This can easily be changed though.
Vibration wise, I think my Honda and Beta were pretty close. It was hard to tell a difference. My old KTM525 had more vibration. The WR250F is by far the smoothest dirt bike I’ve ever ridden.
I agree, if anyone has ridden all let us know!

[@apexedmedia]

You had the 390 in rain mode

[@fynn8252]

Great catch! I didn’t realize that. Wish I could rent all these bikes for a week! 😅 Would love another go at the 390 and 430.

[@apexedmedia]

@@fynn8252 one thing I have noticed is the 500 after about a hr of riding it is noticeable with the rotational weight compared to the 390! The 500 gets heavy in the single tracks!