BETA XTRAINER 300 TWO-STROKE: FULL TEST

There’s nothing like the Beta Xtrainer. It’s a weird, crazy bike that no one really understands until they ride one. All attempts at verbal description fall short. In broad terms, it’s a 300 two-stroke built to a specific price point. The MSRP is $8299. For comparison, the new KTM 300XC-W sells for $11,449, and even the Beta 300RR is $10,099. The presumption is that it uses less expensive parts, but that doesn’t really hold true. The hydraulic clutch is a Brembo, the brakes are Nissin, and the whole bike is manufactured just outside Florence, Italy, alongside all the other Beta models. The real point here is that the Xtrainer is made for a completely different rider and a completely different type of riding.

 

A SQUARE PEG
The world of 300cc two-strokes is actually quite crowded. Japanese manufacturers have opted out, but all the European makers have double and triple coverage. At last count, there were over a dozen offered in the U.S. Beta alone has four. There’s a motocross version (300RX), a standard off-road version (300RR) and an off-road Race Edition. Then there’s the Xtrainer, which by no means should have the word “race” associated with it. By the way, Beta officials want you to call it the “Crosstrainer.” They forget themselves and call it the “Ex-trainer” like everyone else.

Another attempt at classifying the Xtrainer puts it in the entry-level category. In that world, it’s actually an expensive bike, but otherwise it’s excellent. The reason that 300 twostrokes are so popular is because they excel in the worst conditions. They’re hard to stall, they have excellent low-rpm throttle response, they’re light and they’re simple. Some riders, however, aren’t interested in hunting out the “worst” conditions. For them, the Xtrainer actually intensified those traditional two-stroke strong points. It has even more torque than a typical 300 two-stroke. It’s even harder to stall, and that makes it even easier to ride. On top of that, it’s more compact than a typical bike and has a fairly low seat height. Even though it looks like the same motor as the other Beta two-strokes, it has a low-rpm, trials-like power delivery mostly due to different exhaust-pipe dimensions. Also, this was the first bike in the modern era to use oil injection. No mixing gas and oil here.

 

FINDING YOUR HAPPY PLACE
Someone, somewhere is going to take his brand-new Beta Xtrainer out on a motocross course and get the shock of his life. It absolutely doesn’t belong there. The power flattens out super early, the suspension will bottom, and you get the feeling that you are abusing the bike. When you turn it loose on slow, tight trails, the Xtrainer is in a much happier place. The power and throttle response are excellent at rpm so low that you wouldn’t even expect a 450 motocross bike to run. It revs smoothly and cleanly, and has an outrageously good response when you need to get over a surprise obstacle in a hurry. There are two maps available on a little switch in front of the fuel filler. The setting with the little sunshine emoji revs a little higher, but both settings produce very trials-like power delivery. That means it’s all bottom-end torque, which makes the bike a natural for the very tightest trails and most technical riding. You can spend an entire afternoon in the smallest canyon and be perfectly happy climbing over the same rock pile from different angles.

The low seat height is great in those settings as well. In other cases, a low stand-over height is accomplished with nothing more than a thin seat. That creates a cramped riding position for average-sized riders, as well as making for a hard, uncomfortable saddle. The Xtrainer stands about an inch lower than a standard RR, and that’s accomplished in equal proportions between the seat, the frame and the suspension. It’s not a cramped bike at all. In fact, you probably won’t even notice that it’s lower than normal until you have to put a foot down. Being able to make an occasional dab is a big confidence booster, even for average-sized riders. The bike also feels super light. It weighs 226 pounds without fuel on our scale. That’s certainly light, but you would swear it’s even lighter. That’s still more reason to find slow, super-technical trails.

A mainstream 300 two-stroke is pretty good in that type of setting, too, but the Xtrainer goes a step further. It doesn’t load up no matter how much time you spend at low rpm, and it never overheats. The Xtrainer comes stock with a radiator fan, which is yet another giveaway that it’s no budget bike. There are a few cost-cutting measures, though. The suspension components are from a company called Olle, which is better known for its products in the trials world. The fork has damping clickers and a limited range of preload adjustment, but it’s very simple in construction and function. The tires are Korean-made Shinkos, and it doesn’t have handguards.

 

THE REAL CHALLENGE
The biggest problem with the Xtrainer is that it doesn’t mix well with other off-road bikes. If you ride with your trials buddies, it will be entertaining for a short while, but they won’t be able to keep up on a long trail ride. If you join a group of conventional off-road bikes, the pace might be too high on more wide-open terrain. The Xtrainer is awkward at aggressive speed, and it doesn’t like whoops. If they stop to do some hillclimbing, it will be downright cruel for the Xtrainer pilot.

The solution: two Xtrainers. In fact, they should be sold in sets. On the surface, the Xtrainer seems to be a universal bike that anyone could ride and enjoy. It appeals to beginners as well as experts alike. Once you dig a little deeper, you understand that the bike is actually very specialized. There’s a certain type of terrain where it excels like no other bike made. For now, it remains the absolute life of that party. It’s just awaiting others to join in.