2020 300RE REVIEW

[FORMA MOTO]

KYB SUSPENSION: (resprung, Enduro Spec / N2Dirt tuning)  -   A-

- firm, not harsh at all, does not blow through stroke, takes adjustments well, super low fatigue, zero bind feeling even on slap downs

SACHS REAR SHOCK : (resprung, Enduro Spec/ N2Dirt tuning, KYB piston conversion, Bladder system -    A-

- super responsive, takes adjustment well, super supple but does not blow through stroke

STOCK POWER/ CARB:  38/168/NEDW /  3rd / pv flush -    B-

- fantastic midrange, un-uneven power band, hard to dial out bog vs studder, difficult to modulate sometimes

STOCK POWER /  SC2 CARB / pv flush :  -  B

- flat power, slight studder at 1/16th throttle (which can be tuned out, in exchange for off idle bog), extremely easy to modulate, softer mid, more over-rev, slightly slower rpm build ?

HANDLING:  B +

- wheelbase feels short,  slight consistent understeer (even with 28/105 sag, forks up in the clamps a bunch) - probably because I am sitting farther back than most with my long legs

FIRST FEW RIDES PROBLEMS:

- kick stand bolt backed out (surprise....), 'check' (engine) wording in display  blocks the odometer (cause the TPS is gone: there is a solution I'm told), drive train is clunky-noisey like it has bad links, but there aren't any....  Seat is waaaaaaaaaaay to narrow and small; my temp seat as shown is just a 2005 CRF450R tall seat butchered to fit. More to come

OVERALL GRADE =  B++

* now I see why so many people say they sell their four strokes ! *

 

 

Edited April 21, 2020 by KRAYNIAL

[Hammy.]

@KRAYNIAL

regarding your understeer-

I know some guys move their forks up in the clamps- but have you tried adjusting your rebound?

Warren at Enduro Spec did my Lucky inserts, and we discussed sag numbers a bit, and his opinion was guys were running too much...he recommends 98mm. 

Which happens to be where Ive always ridden mine. Give or take.

Edited April 19, 2020 by Hammy.

[Ben500RR-S]

It is good to know that the 300cc 2S Beta version off roader is every big as good as all us Beta-lovers would hope it would be should we ever need to obtain a 300cc two stroke off road and snowbike weapon.  

My next bike might be a 300cc 2S Beta, especially if I were going to keep a dedicated snowbike as I know that a 300cc, light and ALL the power I to truly and really need.  

[shrubitup]

2 hours ago, KRAYNIAL said:

Seat is waaaaaaaaaaay to narrow and small; my temp seat as shown is just a 2005 CRF450R tall seat butchered to fit. More to come

6'2" and 250. Guts tall with soft foam. Ya baby. Posted pics before. Super comfortable. Every time I think of selling the Beta I wonder what seat will replace it once I get a different bike. I seriously like it that much that I consider it to be one of the reasons to keep the bike loooonnnnnnggggg term (there's many more).

[Sierra_rider]

2 hours ago, Hammy. said:

@KRAYNIAL

regarding your understeer-

I know some guys move their forks up in the clamps- but have you tried adjusting your rebound?

Warren at Enduro Spec did my Lucky inserts, and we discussed sag numbers a bit, and his opinion was guys were running too much...he recommends 98mm. 

Which happens to be where Ive always ridden mine. Give or take.

I'm no suspension expert, but I think a lot of it is just riding style. I've ran 105mm sag on all my Beta's and I think they've turn great despite the general consensus that <100mm works better on them. I came off a Yamaha before all the Beta's, so I know what crappy handling is...

In my case, my body position is definetly biased to the front...I've always preferred forks that are on the stiffer side and a shock that is on the softer side. I can see someone like Krannie, who is unable to ride with narrow knee angles, would have a weight bias towards the rear. I know if I just sit on the back of my seat, any of my bikes handle like poop.

 

[Hammy.]

9 minutes ago, Sierra_rider said:

I'm no suspension expert, but I think a lot of it is just riding style. I've ran 105mm sag on all my Beta's and I think they've turn great despite the general consensus that <100mm works better on them. I came off a Yamaha before all the Beta's, so I know what crappy handling is...

In my case, my body position is definetly biased to the front...I've always preferred forks that are on the stiffer side and a shock that is on the softer side. I can see someone like Krannie, who is unable to ride with narrow knee angles, would have a weight bias towards the rear. I know if I just sit on the back of my seat, any of my bikes handle like poop.

 

Im no expert either....and totally agree. Body position is a crucial component of handling for sure. 

I believe its rare for someone experienced to change their riding style- more likely to adjust the bike...

Ive always ridden more of a firm setting for sag. Ive tried the "off road" settings like 105 before, even 110. Just to experiment and I eventually stuck to the firm setting. 

But at the end of the day, the numbers are arbitrary. The setting is either good or its not...and we know more sag can cause understeer, so I would play with those settings before altering stock geometry, which for me is a band-aid. 

Isn't that why we spend money on suspension? So the bike handles the way we want it to.

Edited April 20, 2020 by Hammy.

[firffighter]

13 minutes ago, Sierra_rider said:

I can see someone like Krannie, who is unable to ride with narrow knee angles, would have a weight bias towards the rear. I know if I just sit on the back of my seat, any of my bikes handle like poop.

Especially with the lighter 300. 

Going between my 390 to 300, you definitely notice a difference in the handling with the need to keep your head over the bars and weight forward on the 300 for best handling and stability. 

The 390 allows for a more centered weight distribution while maintaining effectiveness and handling is less impacted by a weight forward attack riding position

Edited April 20, 2020 by firffighter

[FORMA MOTO]

2 hours ago, Hammy. said:

@KRAYNIAL

regarding your understeer-

I know some guys move their forks up in the clamps- but have you tried adjusting your rebound?

Warren at Enduro Spec did my Lucky inserts, and we discussed sag numbers a bit, and his opinion was guys were running too much...he recommends 98mm. 

Which happens to be where Ive always ridden mine. Give or take.

Yes, I have tried less, but waiting for everything to settle before changing anything again

I let the ride break up and go on without me, as I wanted to take the war-torn fireroad back to staging. It's about 7 miles of rutted concrete like dirt and it allowed me to hold a constant speed more or less, and evaluate how the front/rear weight transfer was working, and I ended up adding more rear LS compression, less HS compression, and that kept the bike from dropping in the rear and momentarily changing steering geometry, which I had been fighting.....and it allowed me to go a few mph faster with no change in 'fear', and the exta speed now smoothed out the suspenson feel without increasing loss of control.   

Next is raise the bar height about 10mm, figure out a way to lower the brake pedal even more,  and finalize the seat. 

Edited April 20, 2020 by KRAYNIAL

[Sierra_rider]

2 hours ago, firffighter said:

Especially with the lighter 300. 

Going between my 390 to 300, you definitely notice a difference in the handling with the need to keep your head over the bars and weight forward on the 300 for best handling and stability. 

The 390 allows for a more centered weight distribution while maintaining effectiveness and handling is less impacted by a weight forward attack riding position

I don't know about the 2020's, but on the previous bikes, the 4 strokes and 2 strokes had different off-set triples.  It was to alter the weight balance on the front, as they obviously balance different.

I gotta say that my '20 300 makes it easier to be in the correct seating position than either my '15 300 or '18 350. If sitting on entry to a turn, I gotta be cognizant of where my weight is on the bike, or else they do have a slight tendency to knife the front. I can just go from standing down to seated and I'm always in the correct position on the '20. The new bikes just rail turns.

[firffighter]

35 minutes ago, Sierra_rider said:

I can just go from standing down to seated and I'm always in the correct position on the '20. The new bikes just rail turns.

That's awesome! 

I really want to try a 2020 350rr and 250re. 

A little quicker revving and combined with the KYB'S and that new chassis, a fantastic combination! 

[Sierra_rider]

17 minutes ago, firffighter said:

That's awesome! 

I really want to try a 2020 350rr and 250re. 

A little quicker revving and combined with the KYB'S and that new chassis, a fantastic combination! 

Don't, you'll want to buy one afterwards...

[dirtbird]

Many good opinions here. 

 Faster rebound may be your answer. 

When your rebound is slow, the bike wants to go wider ie understeer as one not only the front end. Try first a slightly faster rebound on the shock. Also IMO rear sag less than 105mm doesn't work for off road. To determine which sag really works for you, set sag before a ride (eg 105) and then adjust accordingly during the ride but DON'T measure it. 

When you're back at base, then measure it. You may be surprised and you will have avoid any placebo effects. 

Also don't slide your triples way down. A 0.5-1 line difference from std is OK, more means that there are other parts that you have tune wrong. 

Finally, don't choose springs following blindly the spring/weight diagrams. In general, anything above 0.48-0.49 fork springs for off road is excessive no matter how heavy you are. To see if you agree, try 1 rate (or more) softer springs from what the diagrams suggesting. It's cheaper than consecutive revalving. 

What matters most is to keep the balance between front-rear springs. 

Edited April 20, 2020 by dirtbird

[Balkan boy]

Why is your Power-Valve set at 'flush'?
Factory setting is at 1.5 turns from flush.

 

[dirtbird]

43 minutes ago, Balkan boy said:

Why is your Power-Valve set at 'flush'?
Factory setting is at 1.5 turns from flush.

 

... and creating a 'hole' just after the hit? 

[Neomxdave]

12 hours ago, KRAYNIAL said:

Drive train is clunky-noisey like it has bad links, but there aren't any

Actually mine was making the same noise, more noticeable at low speeds around trees. I parked it on a hill with the wheel spinning and got off the bike and looked at the rear chain work, I am convinced its something to do with the chain or guides (Rear guide is worse for wear). I am going to go replace them all soon as all the rollers on the chain are well worn. 

Let me know if you find something different. 

I am loving my 300rr, really can't get over the torque and handling.  

Edited April 20, 2020 by Neomxdave

[WVU_Petro]

2 hours ago, Neomxdave said:

Actually mine was making the same noise, more noticeable at low speeds around trees. I parked it on a hill with the wheel spinning and got off the bike and looked at the rear chain work, I am convinced its something to do with the chain or guides (Rear guide is worse for wear). I am going to go replace them all soon as all the rollers on the chain are well worn. 

Let me know if you find something different. 

I am loving my 300rr, really can't get over the torque and handling.  

I noticed the same thing. Discovered mine, when I took one of the kids on the bike around the yard, minimal throttle in first or second gear. I am nearly positive it is coming from the chain area. The good thing is I hadn't noticed it when regularly riding.

[2milehighspike]

On 4/19/2020 at 6:14 PM, firffighter said:

Especially with the lighter 300. 

Going between my 390 to 300, you definitely notice a difference in the handling with the need to keep your head over the bars and weight forward on the 300 for best handling and stability. 

The 390 allows for a more centered weight distribution while maintaining effectiveness and handling is less impacted by a weight forward attack riding position

The 300 doesn’t allow much latitude when it comes to handling especially when fatigue sets in after a long ride. You need to be on your “game” at all times. 

Edited April 21, 2020 by 2milehighspike

[ervinrif]

I think you might try cutting down on the pre-load for the forks, if you are using pre-load. If you are not using pre load try a shorter fork spring. A little more slow speed rebound on the forks can also help with understeer.   

[Neomxdave]

On 4/20/2020 at 10:37 AM, Neomxdave said:

Actually mine was making the same noise, more noticeable at low speeds around trees. I parked it on a hill with the wheel spinning and got off the bike and looked at the rear chain work, I am convinced its something to do with the chain or guides (Rear guide is worse for wear). I am going to go replace them all soon as all the rollers on the chain are well worn. 

Let me know if you find something different. 

I am loving my 300rr, really can't get over the torque and handling.  

For what it is worth the rear steel sprocket was bent and causing the 'bad link' noise. 

New chain and sprockets and bike sounds super good again. 

[FORMA MOTO]

1 hour ago, Neomxdave said:

For what it is worth the rear steel sprocket was bent and causing the 'bad link' noise. 

New chain and sprockets and bike sounds super good again. 

Yes, and I can see mine is getting slightly 'wavey' in shape when looking at it spinning from behind.  

It's just a failure waiting to happen......