{"id":12902,"date":"2025-07-07T10:08:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T14:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/?p=12902"},"modified":"2025-07-07T10:08:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T14:08:20","slug":"back-to-beta-motorcycles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adamchandler.me\/blog\/2025\/07\/07\/back-to-beta-motorcycles\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to Beta (motorcycles)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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On July 14th, 2018 I purchased a used 2016 Beta Enduro motorcycles from a southern NH man named Rob. It was a 500 RR-S with a few thousand miles and well modified. He was the 2nd owner and the 1st owner had messed up many of the threads on maintenance parts which caused ongoing headaches for me to work through. I enjoyed the bike a lot for the 2 years I owned it and ended up selling it for what I paid during the pandemic on March 17th, 2021. It\u2019s funny how things change because Heather drove me down to pick up the bike. We didn\u2019t have a truck or trailer so I had to drive the bike back home in the dark with a tiny halogen headlight and doing my best to take backroads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sold it because we were preparing to move south to North Carolina or at least I knew that year we\u2019d be moving and I wanted to trim down the garage. I sold my Golf R, Hyundai Ioniq and Ford Escape the same year. I vowed to come back to Beta at some point because it\u2019s a good platform and I loved their support with an awesome online parts diagram and the bikes are a lot of fun to ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been back in New Hampshire for 6 months and as I explore off-road with the Husqvarna 701, I was missing a light weight enduro bike for bushwhacking, trails and single-track. Looking around, Betas are still in that $6-7K range but then one came up for sale in my area on Craigslist. I messaged them and it was my friend Harry who purchased my BMW K75 before we moved south and still rides it to and from work. He had purchased a new Beta and didn\u2019t need this one so had listed it for $4,000. He was the 2nd owner and the bike was well sorted but showing its age with many thousands of miles. It had leaking fork seals, a bent frame (rideable but would need attention) and all of the wear items were very worn. Plastics were cracked, seat cover was torn, the headlight cowl was held on by zip ties and the grips and hand guards were end of life. But it had been maintained and was not consuming oil. The motor was also very strong and it came with a few things I would have bought anyway like a 4 gallon tank, Trail Tech Voyager Pro, Rekluse, comfort tall Seat Concepts seat and more so, value wise, it was worth about $6K. I almost forgot to mention the original owner purchased it with the upgraded Beta Race suspension which was a Sachs fork tuned for fast enduro racing and an Ohlins TTX rear shock. New, I would spend $12K for the bike, $1800 for the suspension package, $500 for tank, $400 for seat, $700 for Voyager and I\u2019d still have to get the suspension valved and sprung for my weight and put on the tires I like (MotoZ Tractionator) for a total cost of $16K or so and that\u2019s before adding the Rekluse for $1500. Big spending for someone who just wants a weekend woods bike on Sunday morning while Matilda is getting her Sunday pancakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew it wasn\u2019t just going to be $4,000 to get this thing road ready but far cheaper assuming the motor didn\u2019t need anything. So I bought the bike!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harry was kind enough to bring it to my place along with a box of unused accessories he didn\u2019t ever install like the Rekluse auto-clutch. This being a 2018 Beta, it\u2019s nearly identical to my 2016 so I have complete comfort in doing all of the work myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tore the bike down and got to work on ordering everything I needed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n