Beta2Stroke 2021 Beta 200rr review

[Singletrack_rider]

There's been plenty of ride reports and reviews for the 200rr but none from me. For those that don't know I have been on smaller cc bikes for the last 6 years. I Currently own a 2020 YZ125x and a 2018 150xcw. Had 125 and 150sx a 200xcw Also a 2009 Husky WR165 plus a 250xc and xcw all within the last 6 years. Plus a couple 4st too. I was on a quest to find the best bike for me. I was racing and thought the bike could make the difference. It really didn't. Now I'm trying to find the funnest bike for me. That brings us to the 200rr. After putting a 150 hours on the 150xcw and 80 on the 125x I was ready to play with something new.

Me I'm 5'10" and about 220lbs. I should be 200lbs so I need to take some weight off again. Skill level wise I would class myself as very fast B or mid PAC Senior A depending on the day. I ride about 200-250 hours a year mostly slow tight singletrack. 

Let's talk 200rr now. After adjusting everything to my liking and cutting the bars down to 30.5 inches it was ready for a proper ride. The first hour was spent around the house. One thing is I need is heavier springs. I'm not going to talk much about the suspention untill it's sprung.  

Jetting is really close. Just a little rich in the first 1/8 throttle. One step leaner needle will probably take care of it. Once above 1/8 throttle or under load the jetting seemed spot on. Motor pulls good and is fairly smooth. Vibration wise maybe a little more than the 150xcw. Power wise the extra cc shows. It has good torque and smooth delivery. I've been on a lot of bikes. This has to be one of the best motors I've ever used. For singletrack it's just about perfect. The transmission gears are exactly the same as the 150xcw. The only difference is the final drive 15-49 on the 200rr 13-50 for the 150. That's a 17% difference. So you can't compare the bikes gear to gear. 2nd on the 200 is almost the same as 3rd on the150. There is no point to argue the 200 kill the 150 power wise period. The 200 out pulls the 150 in 3rd gear. At 17% higher gearing the 200 just has more nut. The 200 can be a leave it in 3rd and ride bike. From what I remember about the KTM200xcw the Beta is smoother and a better power delivery. I think the KTM 200 was stronger off idle into the 1/4 throttle range but it fell off to quick. The motor on the Beta is very easy to use but is also fast. If your a old slow guy you will like it. If your a fast guy your going to like it. I think it works on a few different levels. The power gets put to the ground and that's what matters.

Ergos feel good and about the same as the ktm. 

Handling and cornering is spot on. The bike turns good. Once I got a feel for it the 200 did exactly what I wanted it to do with little effort. It tracked great and had a good planted feel. Very light feel that didn't take much effort. I would say it's just a tad bit slower handling than the 150xcw but it holds the trail better. I would say it's a wash. Considering the time I spent on the 150 the transition to the 200 was very natural. The 200 reminded me of the husky wr165 which is a good thing. 

Suspension the forks felt pretty good. I could imagine a lighter rider would find them stuff or maybe harsh. The one area they didn't feel good was slow multiple hits like you might find in a rock garden. The shock felt harsh. It's not the shock but the spring. I took the preload up to get the sag right. I've been through this before. Untill I get a stiffer spring it's not going to be good. I will probably go up one rate on the forks too.

Brakes were spot on and felt good.

The seat wasn't as bad from what I read. Its not great but I can live with it.

Overall I'm very happy with the bike. It's a really good package. Just a few more small tweeks and it's going to be golden. I would buy this bike over the 150xcw or YZ125x so that says all there is to know. It's not going to be perfect but nothing is. There is always going to be a compromise. I think the 200rr is a great compromise bike. 

One thing I'm going to get out of the way is the weight. 

The straps used to hang the bike were 3lbs so 236lbs. That's full gas full fluids factory delivered. My scale is accurate. We like to make a big deal of it. The bike feels lighter than the scale says. 

I will get some vids this weekend and post some follow ups. 

 

 

[firffighter]

Great initial reporting Don! 

Looking forward to the videos! 

[Drop-Bear]

First pic I've seen of a 2021 model. That thing looks fast sitting still. Very very nice ?

[wallybean]

Looks awesome!  They did say they improved the seat for '21.  Of course anything including a 2x4 would be an improvement over the '20 seat.

[Singletrack_rider]

1 hour ago, wallybean said:

Looks awesome!  They did say they improved the seat for '21.  Of course anything including a 2x4 would be an improvement over the '20 seat.

I haven't experienced a 2020 seat so I'm not sure of the improvement. I would say the it's a little small and hard compared to the  2019 Husky FE250 I have. I could see if you haven't been on a newer KTM/Husky it could seem horrible. 

Edited September 1, 2020 by SDR_rider

[typeone]

great review  appreciate the comparisons, especially to the WR165. i'm reliving the magic of that bike with the 200RR, and that's a wonderful thing. very familiar feel, tad more 'heft' all around but so, so similar on trail.

what spring rate(s) are you bumping to?

[Singletrack_rider]

Just now, typeone said:

great review  appreciate the comparisons, especially to the WR165. i'm reliving the magic of that bike with the 200RR, and that's a wonderful thing. very familiar feel, tad more 'heft' all around but so, so similar on trail.

what spring rate(s) are you bumping to?

Going with 5.6 or 5.8 in the back and .44 up front. 

As for heft the 200rr is about 8lbs less than the Wr165 I had. 248lbs with a 3.1 gallon tank. Take 3lbs off for fuel and your at 245lb. Those older huskies were not light.

[typeone]

1 minute ago, SDR_rider said:

Going with 5.6 or 5.8 in the back and .44 up front. 

As for heft the 200rr is about 8lbs less than the Wr165 I had. 248lbs with a 3.1 gallon tank. Take 3lbs off for fuel and your at 245lb. Those older huskies were not light.

thanks on springs ? ... oh, i know those bikes weren't light by the numbers, i appreciated how stout they were, but still feel my WR carried weight a bit lower with standard tank and that teeny motor. slight difference, but that's been my take.

[Robsta]

4 hours ago, SDR_rider said:

Going with 5.6 or 5.8 in the back and .44 up front. 

As for heft the 200rr is about 8lbs less than the Wr165 I had. 248lbs with a 3.1 gallon tank. Take 3lbs off for fuel and your at 245lb. Those older huskies were not light.

How do you think your WR165 compared to the 04 Husky 125 chassis? Was the older style lighter? I'm on the lookout for an old one (01-05) to rebuild into a 165.

[Drop-Bear]

Are you looking at replacing the exhaust system with after market Don? Do they even make much for the 200RR in the way of aftermarket systems 
There'd have to be a weight advantage in that.

[Singletrack_rider]

20 minutes ago, Rob Jack said:

How do you think your WR165 compared to the 04 Husky 125 chassis? Was the older style lighter? I'm on the lookout for an old one (01-05) to rebuild into a 165.

The only WR husky I ride was my 09 so I can't compare to the older models. 

[Singletrack_rider]

14 minutes ago, Drop-Bear said:

Are you looking at replacing the exhaust system with after market Don? Do they even make much for the 200RR in the way of aftermarket systems 
There'd have to be a weight advantage in that.

Going to by a FMF Turbine core 2.1 when they are back in stock. May get a FMF Gnarly pipe at some point. Not sure if there would be any weight savings.

[hawaiidirtrider]

20 hours ago, SDR_rider said:

There's been plenty of ride reports and reviews for the 200rr but none from me. For those that don't know I have been on smaller cc bikes for the last 6 years. I Currently own a 2020 YZ125x and a 2018 150xcw. Had 125 and 150sx a 200xcw Also a 2009 Husky WR165 plus a 250xc and xcw all within the last 6 years. Plus a couple 4st too. I was on a quest to find the best bike for me. I was racing and thought the bike could make the difference. It really didn't. Now I'm trying to find the funnest bike for me. That brings us to the 200rr. After putting a 150 hours on the 150xcw and 80 on the 125x I was ready to play with something new.

Me I'm 5'10" and about 220lbs. I should be 200lbs so I need to take some weight off again. Skill level wise I would class myself as very fast B or mid PAC Senior A depending on the day. I ride about 200-250 hours a year mostly slow tight singletrack. 

Let's talk 200rr now. After adjusting everything to my liking and cutting the bars down to 30.5 inches it was ready for a proper ride. The first hour was spent around the house. One thing is I need is heavier springs. I'm not going to talk much about the suspention untill it's sprung.  

Jetting is really close. Just a little rich in the first 1/8 throttle. One step leaner needle will probably take care of it. Once above 1/8 throttle or under load the jetting seemed spot on. Motor pulls good and is fairly smooth. Vibration wise maybe a little more than the 150xcw. Power wise the extra cc shows. It has good torque and smooth delivery. I've been on a lot of bikes. This has to be one of the best motors I've ever used. For singletrack it's just about perfect. The transmission gears are exactly the same as the 150xcw. The only difference is the final drive 15-49 on the 200rr 13-50 for the 150. That's a 17% difference. So you can't compare the bikes gear to gear. 2nd on the 200 is almost the same as 3rd on the150. There is no point to argue the 200 kill the 150 power wise period. The 200 out pulls the 150 in 3rd gear. At 17% higher gearing the 200 just has more nut. The 200 can be a leave it in 3rd and ride bike. From what I remember about the KTM200xcw the Beta is smoother and a better power delivery. I think the KTM 200 was stronger off idle into the 1/4 throttle range but it fell off to quick. The motor on the Beta is very easy to use but is also fast. If your a old slow guy you will like it. If your a fast guy your going to like it. I think it works on a few different levels. The power gets put to the ground and that's what matters.

Ergos feel good and about the same as the ktm. 

Handling and cornering is spot on. The bike turns good. Once I got a feel for it the 200 did exactly what I wanted it to do with little effort. It tracked great and had a good planted feel. Very light feel that didn't take much effort. I would say it's just a tad bit slower handling than the 150xcw but it holds the trail better. I would say it's a wash. Considering the time I spent on the 150 the transition to the 200 was very natural. The 200 reminded me of the husky wr165 which is a good thing. 

Suspension the forks felt pretty good. I could imagine a lighter rider would find them stuff or maybe harsh. The one area they didn't feel good was slow multiple hits like you might find in a rock garden. The shock felt harsh. It's not the shock but the spring. I took the preload up to get the sag right. I've been through this before. Untill I get a stiffer spring it's not going to be good. I will probably go up one rate on the forks too.

Brakes were spot on and felt good.

The seat wasn't as bad from what I read. Its not great but I can live with it.

Overall I'm very happy with the bike. It's a really good package. Just a few more small tweeks and it's going to be golden. I would buy this bike over the 150xcw or YZ125x so that says all there is to know. It's not going to be perfect but nothing is. There is always going to be a compromise. I think the 200rr is a great compromise bike. 

One thing I'm going to get out of the way is the weight. 

The straps used to hang the bike were 3lbs so 236lbs. That's full gas full fluids factory delivered. My scale is accurate. We like to make a big deal of it. The bike feels lighter than the scale says. 

I will get some vids this weekend and post some follow ups. 

 

 

Nice review.. Are you going to yank the oi? You ought to save some weight there. 

[Singletrack_rider]

5 minutes ago, hawaiidirtrider said:

Nice review.. Are you going to yank the oi? You ought to save some weight there. 

Yep the oi is getting removed.

[hawaiidirtrider]

24 minutes ago, SDR_rider said:

Going to by a FMF Turbine core 2.1 when they are back in stock. May get a FMF Gnarly pipe at some point. Not sure if there would be any weight savings.

I don’t think they’ll be weight savings with the gnarly as it’s a thicker gauge metal but not too much difference anyway. I’m guessing you won’t be guarding up much if you are trying to keep weight down. Plus you aren’t mentioning hard enduro.

Edited September 1, 2020 by hawaiidirtrider

[EmpireofDerp]

4 minutes ago, SDR_rider said:

Yep the oi is getting removed.

But that's how it's engineered. Why would you do that? 

[EmpireofDerp]

55 minutes ago, SDR_rider said:

Going to by a FMF Turbine core 2.1 when they are back in stock. May get a FMF Gnarly pipe at some point. Not sure if there would be any weight savings.

I got one from Dan, price was cheaper than online. Not sure if he had another one but I wasn't gonna ride in the woods without a sparky. The instant gratification was awesome. 

[Singletrack_rider]

51 minutes ago, NoitatorYvaeh said:

But that's how it's engineered. Why would you do that? 

You want to trust something electrical that's critical on a Beta? That's like trusting a guy in a clown suit driving a windowless van to give your kids ride.

28 minutes ago, NoitatorYvaeh said:

I got one from Dan, price was cheaper than online. Not sure if he had another one but I wasn't gonna ride in the woods without a sparky. The instant gratification was awesome. 

You bought his last and only one.

[HSriderCRF250R]

Nice review a buddy of mine just sold his 2020 200 Beta as he is spending most of his time on his Husky TC125 which is now a 144. I rode that and it was a blast. Good to hear the new 2021 Beta handles like your 09 Husky 165 I loved the handling of my 13 WR165 Husky it was GREAT.  I rode my buddies 300rr Beta who knows might have to think about a 200 since you own most of the small bores I'm considering and rank the 200 as the best.

 

[EmpireofDerp]

2 hours ago, SDR_rider said:

You want to trust something electrical that's critical on a Beta? That's like trusting a guy in a clown suit driving a windowless van to give your kids ride.

You bought his last and only one.

I was being a little tongue in cheek about the oi.