Action Photos: Erik Fleischhacker
We’ve always been enamored with 300cc two-strokes and have been fortunate to sample quite a few flavors during the past couple of seasons. Having personally owned and liked several KTM 300 XCs, we really had our eyes opened to some of the other current options last season when we spent a good part of the summer on the 2019 GasGas XC 300.
GasGas, in its pre-KTM incarnation, was a partner in our Border Battle XC series and through that connection and through well-respected Midwest off-road veteran Speedy Pete Laubmeier, we formed a relationship with GasGas dealer Jay’s Power Center in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Fast forward to 2020, Jay’s was left on the short end of the KTM/GasGas acquisition only to transition to another Euro brand in Beta. Beta has been making an impressive push on the U.S. off-road scene both out west with Max Gerston and on the national enduro and GNCC trail with Pro racers Cody Barnes, Thorn Devlin and others, along with their NEPG Beta Cup program for amateurs.
We met Jay’s owner Jay Mittelstaedt before the frost had even went out last spring and got right to work logging hours on the 300 RR Race Edition in stock form. From a visual standpoint, the bike is a work of art with a plethora of trick bolt-ons as well as very unique red and blue plastic and graphics package that is a real head-turner. The swing arm came stock with a powder coated finish, almost like Line-X or Rhino Liner for a tough look accented by the machined recess in the axle block area.
Right from the drop the motor was extremely impressive, firing off instantly every time, always feeling like it was at peak fuel mixture through its 36mm Keihen PXK carb. The engine is counter balanced and while some of our test riders felt the bike vibrated more than a comparable KTM, we didn’t think it was so obvious to merit a red check mark.
The Race Edition utilizes a dual map switch to maximize traction. We started riding in the “wet” mode as the “dry” mode felt a bit too aggressive on the first few rides. After messing with the power valve, at Speedy Pete’s recommendation, we ended up with a setup that slightly softened the hit and left the map in aggressive mode for the remainder of our time with the bike. This thing was such a pleasure to ride with a throttle that could quickly and smoothly be rolled into the sweet spot in the pipe in almost any gear or condition.
Suspension on this model is a combination of KYB spring fork and a red anodized aluminum body Sachs shock. We had heard nothing but great things about the suspension on the 2019 Beta models, but somebody in engineering must have had a bad day when the ’20 RR Race Edition was on the drawing board. The normally stellar KYBs felt like they were valved for Supercross and the shock, in combination with the Michelin Euro Cross tire, was nothing short of a handful.
Fortunately, the KYB is a relatively easy and inexpensive fork to tune and our friends at Checkpoint Off-Road in Scandia, Minnesota utilized their experience from setting up Speedy’s fork, to dial us right back in to where we needed to be. On the back side, we simply tested the Sachs shock into shape with the clickers, mostly by fine tuning the sag with our invaluable Slacker digital sag tool and dialing out most of the rebound.
Out of the box the bike turned well in the woods and at speed. However, once we turned the fork stop bolts all the way in and made the fork valving changes, it got even better. Maybe even as good as any 300 we’ve ever ridden.
The shrouds on this bike are a bit wide and the map switch sits right in front of your crotch off the front edge of the seat. A couple of our test riders found it to be a little on the bulky side but it never really stood out to us as a deal breaker.
At this point, the bike was really starting to impress us and begged to be the lead horse in the 365 stable.
With all systems go, we began bolting on the necessary protection to survive the abuse that two hour races in the rocks and roots of the Upper Midwest will throw at you. A new set of Hoosier tires and TUbliss system, front and rear, dramatically added to the refined suspension package, especially in the rear traction department. In addition, we utilized a full compliment of Enduro Engineering guards. EE is always ahead of the curve with product for new models and their fit and finish is second to none.
One final piece in the Alpha Beta build was a new seat cover from Guts. Amplifying the uber rigid suspension on this bike was a stock seat foam that felt like it came right out of the lumber isle at Home Depot. This was our first time trying a Guts foam/cover combo and it was a pure winner. In fact, this upgrade may have been as crucial as the fork rebuild. And, while we didn’t do the best job of mounting the cover as tight as it could have been, the craftsmanship on this cover was as good as any we’ve used with a nice elastic band around the front and rear portions of the seat that helped position it for install. At 6’3″ I generally prefer a tall foam upgrade and really liked the Guts version which was a little less tall than some others we’ve worked with.
Fasstco Flexx bars are another item that we can’t recommend highly enough. We ran the soft/soft elastomer combo which virtually eliminated excess engine vibration. Our setup is probably softer than what a younger, faster rider would opt for, but as an A level 50+ racer a little extra cush pays dividends late in the day.
By late spring we had spent a solid twenty hours on the bike and had it absolutely clicking. The final test was getting the bike on the line at a local Hare Scrambles to see how it really stacked up. On race day I ran my mouth about pulling off after the first turn if I didn’t get a holeshot, only because I was so confident with how the bike starts and screams. Sure enough as we crested the rising right hander at Spring Creek MX Park in Millville, Minnesota, I was part of a three bike sandwich that was close enough to call a win.
For the next lap and a half, I settled into what felt like a good ride and was having a great time knowing that I had to be near the front of my class. Then it happened. Nearing the end of lap two, roughly 20 miles in, the bike began to slow and sputter like it was hot. After babying it along through a few more turns, I had to pull off the trail in fear of it fully locking up. I wasn’t smelling anti-freeze and the temps weren’t that terrible, so I gave it a minute and fired it up again. The bike launched back into action and I was hoping all was good. A couple hundred yard later and I was a spectator once again.
Now I was doing the once over like something was magically going to fix itself. Which it did. I always run a carbureted bike in reserve mode since I generally have an idea how many laps I would go before pitting. In this case this case the bike was not in reserve as I had nearly run out earlier in the season and started making sure I always had a little on hand. Having forgot all about this, I realized the bike was out of gas. What? Not event two laps in?
Luckily, I was close enough to the pit lane on the start straight that I made it back and fueled up. Still not too far out of the mix I took off trying to push the pace figuring I could still get two more laps in before the two hour clock expired.
Wrong! With the finish in sight from my vantage point on the hillside trail just over three quarters of the way through the last lap, I ran out of fuel again. This time it was terminal, as the petcock was still in the reserve position and the tank was bone dry. If you’ve ever ridden a two hour race, you can imagine the frustration of not being able to finish with just minutes to go.
The point is, the Beta 300 RR Race Edition is pretty good out of the crate and can be made REALLY good with a few aftermarket improvements. In fact, we struggled with giving this bike back to Jay’s or just straight up buying it. It was that good. However, the thought of an off-road bike not being able to go 20 miles on a full tank, a 2.55 gallon tank at that, is inexcusable. Sure, we probably could have found a 3.0 gallon version somewhere on the internet, but that is no small expense and still wouldn’t get you that much further and all but eliminates a day trip in the mountains.
In case you were wondering we did go on to try some jetting variations but something about this motor just loves to suck fuel and make horsepower. We currently have a new KTM 300 XC TPI in the shop and as much as I do like that bike, I’m still missing the Beta.
