I spent a lot of time on this for-sale ad and I had a few people who messaged me saying it was the best for-sale ad they’ve ever seen so I figured, instead of letting the Internet forget about it, I’ll put it on my blog where the ad can live forever. If some formatting is screwed up, it’s because I’m not going to spend an hour making it look beautiful in WordPress:
Original Link: https://advrider.com/f/threads/2016-beta-500-rr-s-nh-fully-farkled-for-tat-cdr-bdr.1483645/#post-41592806
..strap in boys, this is going to be a long one. When I sell bikes, I like to provide as much information & details as possible. Let’s bullet point the highlights for those in a hurry:
- Price: $7,000 firm, fully fueled and ready to ride. Needs nothing
- Hours: 140 (Odometer was not accurate for 2 seasons. it claims 2500 miles…I think it’s more like 3500. Speed sensor was replaced in 2020 and is now accurate)
- Year: 2016
- Ownership status? Title in Hand
- Location: Whitehall, NY
- Delivery: It’s at a dealer having some maintenance done, I can pick it up and deliver it to you in VT/NH on a trailer. The bike lives in Hanover, NH
- Shipping: Yes, I’m happy to work with the purchaser on shipping
- Available: February 1st (Can have it done sooner if someone comes along)
- Issues: Purchaser will have zero issues but I’ve detailed everything in the past in the ad below.
- Why the sale? This bike doesn’t fit my current style of riding and I have no room for it versus what I need at the moment. I love it but I need something slightly larger and more road-worthy
- How many owners? I am the 3rd owner purchased at 52 hours..at the time, the ODO read 1500 miles which is why I know the current todo is incorrect
- Street Legal? Yes, in all 50 states…yes even California but you probably have to put on the stock exhaust.
In July of 2018, I purchased this bike from an inmate. He had purchased it from a local rider who financed it and couldn’t make the payments. I have complete service history from Nault’s in Manchester & Barnstormers in Whitehall.
The day I purchased the bike, Rob mentioned a couple of things. First, the bike seemed to have surging / fueling issues at constant throttle around 40 miles an hour so if you’re on the road, resting on the throttle, it feels like the bike shudders a bit. Additionally, he lamented that the original owner cross-threaded the engine oil drain plug so it leaks very slightly when warmed up and he wasn’t confident it would hold torque so he never tightened it down too much.
The bike came to me with everything below installed by the dealer:
- Rekluse Core EXP auto-clutch
- 4-Gallon IMS Tank
- Tail Tider w/ LED turn signals & brake light
- Hondo Garage Perfect Squeeze mount
- Case Saver
- Fastway Heavy Duty Kickstand
- Hammerhead brake pedal
- Highway dirt bikes, guards, voyager mount, top clamp, risers
- Kriega Loops
- Wheel weights
I added the following:
- Larger front & rear springs (250 pound rider) (I have the original front & rear springs still)
- Heavier fork oil
- Full rear shock re-build of SACHs equipment, re-valve (performed by Plus One Performance)
- FMF Powerbomb
- FMF Exhaust
- FMF Mapping from Beta
- Seat Concepts Tall Deluxe seat
- Enduro Engineering rear brake guard
- Enduro Engineering front brake guard
- Enduro Engineering skid plate
- Enduro Engineering linkage guard
- Supersprox stainless / aluminum rear sprocket (48T)
- SS front sprocket (15T)
- Beta High flow race impeller for water pump
- Beta Steel Oil Gears
- MotoMinded Baja Squadron Pro LED Headlight w/ high/low dimmer
- front LED Turn signals from Baja Designs
- EK ZVX3 CHAIN 520X120
- TM Designs Chain Guard
- TM Designs Chain Slider
- Pivot Pegz
- Hammerhead shifter +10MM
- Billet Brake Clevis (really improved rear braking)
- Heavy Duty Battery Strap
- Larger rear brake pad from Hammerhead
- Acerbis Frame Guards
- ARC by Brembo Clutch & Brake shorty levers
- Highway Dirt Bikes fold in mirrros
- RAM Balls on mirror mounts
- G2 Throttle Tamer
- Pillow MX Grips
- Mosko Moto Heat Shield x2
- Mosko Moto Cleats for Reckless 40 x2
- Front & rear Goldentyre GT723 + Continental Tubes
- Twin Air Filter
- Kriega front fork grab strap for pulling out of the mud
- Beta Billet Oil Filter Cover (red)
- Beta Billet Oil filler cap (red)
- Beta Billet (trans filler cap (red)
- Beta Billet clutch & brake reservoir (red)
- Innteck 2.0 Radiator Cap
- Unabiker Radiator guards (with supports & cross sections)
- New Battery (YUSA brand)
- Beta Heavy Duty Oil Drain Plug (which includes re-tapping the drain to be larger with larger threads)
- Helicoil Trans Plug with heavy duty drain plug
- Doubletake Adventure Mirrors
- 4 Stroke Pipe Guard
- Wolfman Enduro Tank bag
- …probably 2-3 things I’m forgetting but it’s a LOT so I’m not surprised I am losing track.
OEM Parts I still have:
- Front Springs
- Rear Springs
- Seat
- Fuel Tank
- Front Sprocket
- Chain
- Skid Plate
- Non-Billet bits like oil oil cap & oil filter cap
- Hand guards
- Mirrors
- handlebar clamp
- service DVD
- Original Exhaust Header + Muffler
- Foot Pegs
- Kickstand
- …it’s a box of stuff all take-off parts that buyer will receive
Issues and how I addressed them:
- Engine Stuttering: all work listed here was performed by dealers: I had 2 valve checks performed on this bike. both were in spec, I upgraded to a Twin air filter, G2 Throttle tamer, new throttle cable, flashed the software twice, upgraded exhaust and now I can happily say that this bike no longer has any weird fueling or surging. Something in here fixed it but I don’t know what. It’s very smooth on the road now versus the day I picked it up
- Leaking Drain plug (s):Beta sells a heavy duty drain plug with tap kit for $150 or so. I had a dealer perform this work and it’s been great. We did this to both the oil & transmission drain plugs and I haven’t had a leak since. I use a torque wrench every time I do an oil change.
- Starting Issue: The bike stranded me in October, it’s at the dealer now (since I told them no rush) and they’re likely going to be replacing the entire wiring harness. Betas in 2016-2019 have had various wiring / charging issues from the factory. I guess I’m no different. It basically is a short that slowly kills your battery then the bike won’t start again. I had no issues with this until October and I expect that bill to be something like $650 so the new owner will get a bike that starts & runs no problem likely with a brand new battery as well, new fuses, etc.
- Clutch Fade: This is not diagnosed yet but the dealer thinks it’s the master cylinder has a leak OR the hydraulic line is leaking. I couldn’t find any evidence of fluid leaks. I’d flush the fluid, seal it up and go out for a ride and 45 minutes later, my clutch lever was soft again. The purchaser will not have this issue. I’ll pay whatever it takes to make sure this is fixed for you.
- Every time I have an issue I know needs to be handled by a professional, I take it to a dealer & mechanic. All engine, electrical work has been performed by a technician. The shocks and springs as well. This being a high performance Enduro bike, farkles are one thing but suspension, motor, electrical I leave to the professionals.
Note, there are various Beta videos in a series of YOuTube videos. The playlist is here and you can watch them oldest to newest: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc-rhUVUGj8uRD1GWcGGvC1auhVSQfm2b
Here is a link to photos sorted by newest to oldest if you want to view them full-size: https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=44048128%40N00&view_all=1&text=beta&sort=date-posted-desc
The buyer will receive a 114 megabyte dropbox link with all maintenance history. Here’s a summary before my fingers give out.
Here’s the major service done I have receipts for:
- 11/02/2017 (PO): Valve Adjustment & Throttle Fix – $238
- 9/15/2018: Full service (oil, coolant, all fluids, valves, torque, drive check), Rekluse Adjust, Steel Oil Gears, High Flow Race impeller, LED Headlight, Heavy Duty Drain plug – $1501.22
- 8/9/2019: GoldenTyre front & rear, tubes, Motor oil, Trans Oil, Oil filter, metal screen for drain plug, Chain, new hall sensor for speedo pickup (which is my my ODO is off), Brake Clevis, new low fuel sensor (IMS sensor wasn’t working) new mudguard for rear tire, new side stand – $1056.13
- 4/22/2020: FMF PowerCore 4 Moto, FMF Powerbomb, Exhaust Flange, O-Ring, Trans Thread Repair (heli-coil) – $517.71
- Other repairs / farkles are all DIY and performed by me on or before required manual intervals
Here’s my maintenance Spreadsheet which the buyer will receive upon purchase:
I change oil after every hard weekend of riding (I don’t race, but talking about normal adventure riding off road) OR I change oil every 10-15 hours (manual requires every 30). I use Motul oil that is in the owners manual for every fluid including coolant.
I inspect fluid levels, chain sag, suspension and such after every hard ride. Bike is only ridden when we’re doing off-road riding. As in, I do not ride this on the street unless I’m riding the 5-10 miles to dirt. This should mean you won’t have any issues with drive, counter balancer or such from road-riding. It’s treated like a dirt bike. However, I don’t ride single-track or do any ‘racing’ although I went to an open practice moto-cross track twice but those who know me know it wasn’t really a race..I don’t think I even got any air.
This bike has been dropped off-road only always at 0-5 MPH. the plastics are scratched but the bike does not live outside. it’s in a heated basement on a battery tender on a stand until it’s time to ride it. You may even find some bits of dirt stuck on when you yank off the skid plate. It’s washed after every off-road weekend but I don’t detail it. I wash it and it’s clean but you can find some dried on dirt in some harder to reach places like between skid plate & motor. I make sure the chain, moving parts and any rub areas are clean though before every ride.
Why am I selling it? There are a few key reasons:
- Maintenance, the maintenance intervals and seemingly always needing something…I’m at my wits end. I bought a race enduro bike and I’m tired of constantly working on it. I thought I’d add every modification and then just be able to go out and ride it but I feel like twice a year, I’m spending $500-$1000 on maintenance or fixing something broken and I’m over it. All of my riding friends say “that’s just dirt bikes” sure maybe? But I don’t want to deal with it anymore.
- My butt is WAY too big for this seat. This is the largest seat concepts seat, it’s tall, it’s wide and after 4 hours of-road, my butt is in serious pain like blistered pain like can’t sit in a chair pain. I’m a big corn-fed farm boy from Alabama and I think dirt bikes and me just aren’t compatible. there’s never been a dirt bike I sat on that fit me
- I want to do longer distance adventure touring but stay sub-350 lbs weight class so I’m looking at bikes that are lower maintenance, a little bit heavier with some options for wind protection (like a KTM 690 which will have a 3″ wider seat, longer range and I can put a windscreen on it.
- I don’t have space for it. This is the biggest reason for selling. The thing is, if I could buy a 690 Enduro or Tenere 700 and keep the Beta 500, I actually would. Despite my issues with it, it’s an amazing bike on the trails. It really is everything it should be, fast, agile, nimble. With the rekluse, you could be up to your knees in water & mud, point the tire in the direction you wanna go, give it throttle and it goes up every single hill, through any mud. It’s a bike that I will sorely miss. I honestly can’t believe I have to sell it but for all of the issues, high maintenance, small seat and costs, I will probably own a Beta 350 or 500 or X-trainer in 2-3 years. once I have more space, I’ll buy another one. I won’t put the 4 gallon tank on it and just ride it behind my house in the woods. This bike is AMAZING and you’ll never get suck at the bottom of a hill wishing you could be on top of it. If I had a garage instead of just a basement, I’d have this bike forever. We have maximum space for 4 motorcycles and to get a 5th, one has to go.
- The main reason I’m selling this bike is because to get a bigger bike, I have to sell this one…I just don’t have the space for it in my small basement.
This video, minus a couple of changes like the new rear mud guard is pretty much as the bike looks today: (NOTE: the Reckless 40 is sold and will not come on the bike but the Enduro tank bag will)
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=44048128%40N00&view_all=1&text=beta&sort=date-posted-desc
This is a 4 year old $11,000 motorcycle with $5-6 grand in service and modifications for $7,000 USD that’s fully fueled, all service up to date and ready to ride anywhere. The only thing you may have to change is the rear spring & seat as it’s setup for someone who is a taller & heavier rider. I have it perfect for me and you may have to spend the $250 for a shop to change the spring rate and another $150 for Seat Concepts to put a lower seat on the pan for you.
I’m fully confident you’ll love this bike…I’m going to miss it probably as much as you’re going to enjoy it.
Ready to purchase this? Send me a private message. I’ll receive and acknowledge your lower than asking offer but lower offers go to the bottom of the pile. I’m confident this bike’s asking price is accurate. If it’s not, I’ll start reaching out to those who offered a lower price but if someone offers $7,000, this bike is sold.