2026 Beta 250 RX

Most of the info on Facebook is promotional or people looking for parts or how to fix things.

There are not many reviews of the 2025 300 RX. There are more on the 2024 300 RX, but they are very different bikes. There were quite a few reviews on the 2026 350 RX simply because it was the biggest bore 2 stroke in a very long while, and I found that testers came away with very different views of the engine.. one major mag saying it had less low end than the 300 and was a mid and up powerband, while another major mag said it is a low to mid powerband (makes more sense). I look forward to trying one next spring when Beta has its demo events.

I saw that Beta didn't supply a bike for the Vital 450 shootout.

Since the chassis are identical across the 2025-2026 Beta 2 strokes, I thought I would give an update on how I have been making out with my new 2025 300 RX now that I have much more time on it.  I am an aging vet rider and getting slower every year with 57 years of riding mx.  I switch off the Beta with a CRF450 once in a while.. the 450 is certainly better for racing, but the Beta 2T is way more fun now that I got a few things worked out.  The first few weeks with the Beta 2T, I preferred riding the CRF450, now it is flip-flopping and I am starting to enjoy the Beta more for practice.

As I mentioned in another post, my first ride had me wondering if I should have gotten the YZ250 instead due to how harsh the suspension/ chassis was, but I am happy to report the bike is working much better now, and the power is a lot more fun than the YZ250. The YZ250 is a good engine, but personally not that exciting for me and not much low-end torque in stock form. After some minor carb work, the low to mid on the Beta is a ton of fun. The hit can be a bit much as wheeling from corner to corner isn't the fastest way around a track, but after you get tired of the kicks and giggles, since it is a 2 stroke, it is an indication that some power can be easily moved around a bit to provide a more linear powerband. I have it now where I can almost pull 3rd gear on most corners like my 450.  The Beta 300 doesn't pull as long on top as a YZ, but it is not as bad as I initially thought.  I just have to ride it more like my 450.  I have some new jetting specs to try out next Spring that should improve things even more. As a vet rider, the power suits me quite well, but I would have said the same 20 years ago compared to a YZ250 or RM250. Honestly, IMHO this is the first 2 stroke with power that I find exciting enough since my 2001 CR250 from low to mid powerband (the 2001 CR250 was an animal from mid to top, but with a few small mods had some low-end torque that the other 2T Japanese brands never had in the last 23 years).

I have run into an issue on the Beta with the engine cutting out with jumps that have a slap down flat landing into a corner with the brakes on hard. Happened to me 3 times and the engine cannot be bump-started by pulling in the clutch and letting it out again. Each time, I had to pullover and it started right up after I let it sit for a second. This is a carb/ float flooding issue on the Keihin carb. I do need to lean out the pilot jet a bit more and perhaps put a rubber cushion under the carb. It only happens in this type of situation, but it is definitely a quirk that needs to be addressed

As for the transmission, I had some shifting issues initially, but that has all gone away and it shifts great now. The hydraulic clutch works great, too, with a nice linear modulation feel.

I was super positive about the chassis handling and cornering from day one and even more convinced now.  Best cornering bike I have had (I have had many RMs) and noticeably easier to pick a rut than my last several bikes. Stability is great, too.

Replacing the seat foam and foot controls were an absolute must for me. Inexpensive, quick, and Beta has these parts for sale on their website. Once that is done, the ergonomics and comfort are now A1. Just be aware that Beta has put on taller bar mounts for us old vet riders who no longer like the jockey position. This will be a noticeable difference from a Japanese bike.

From day one, the biggest head scratcher on this bike has been the suspension.  Including my belly , I am 187 w/o gear and the bike was really harsh and suspension really stiff first ride. I had to back way off on the compression on both ends, and max out the shock rebound speed (I am out 24 clicks on the rebound!) to make the chassis work.  The fork really softened up a surprising amount that I am cranking back in compression now. Doesn't even seem like the same fork. I am fairly satisfied with the stock fork valving and spring rate at this point, but not sure why it took so much break in time. A new bike usually breaks in on the first ride for me. This bike took 6 or 7 rides.  The rear shock is working fair at this point, but it definitely needs a revalve. I shouldn't have to have the rebound clicker turned out all the way out to make the bike ride right. Anything near stock rebound and the shock will pack and is also hard to seat bounce, it is that slow. I haven't heard others report this same issue, but it is such a big issue for me that I wonder if we have the same valving as it is very noticeable.

On the shock, I ran out of time to test more settings, but I found that shock doesn't like more high-speed compression. It is working better for me at 1.75 turns out which is 1/4 turns softer than stock.  The low-speed compression circuit required me to soften it considerably to get enough comfort on chop, acceleration and braking bumps, but when I did that, although the bike is a lot more rideable, it is now a bit too soft on g-outs and wallows. It is a bigger compromise than should be necessary on a well-valved shock. I have it rideable now, but expect a bit more comfort from my rear suspension. I am anxious for my suspension guy to pull apart the shock and tell me if he thinks the valving is a bit unorthodox or not.  It is the only gripe I really have at this point, but it is a Kayaba shock and should be fixable.  This is the first steel framed bike I have owned since 1999 and some people had mentioned that these newer steel frames based on the KTM design are harsh until break-in. I really don't know about that, but I do wonder how much that might have contributed to the harness I felt on my first rides. It is certainly working world's better now.

I have ridden nothing but Japanese bikes for the last 50+ years, and this is my first Italian bike. At this point, I do not regret buying the Beta and there a lot of positives in spite of a few hiccups that have been easy to address. I am just an average 60+ vet rider, but I shared a lot of feedback above for anyone considering one of these new 2 strokes from Beta. Maybe a Japanese bike is set up more mainstream right out of the crate, but I think these Beta 2 strokes are more fun once set up. More fun than the well-respected YZ250, and the electric start on a big bore 2 stroke, as well as the push-button seat removal, bring a smile every time.  Beta has also been great with ordering parts, quick shipping and very customer focused if you need to talk to someone directly, which is a plus as the average Joe can't do that with the big Japan manufacturers. Hope this helps anyone considering a Beta RX 2T. Happy to share more as I experiment with more changes to the bike.

The valving and spring rates could be different for the 350 RX since Beta was initially suggesting it was set up for a wider range of use than just MX. I see Beta has not posted the spring rates for the 350 RX yet, but on the 300, there are .44 springs in the forks and the shock spring is 5.3kg which is fine for someone my weight for mx.

MXA will have a big write up on both the 350 RX and 250 RX in their January publication.

A few hours ago, DirtBike magazine just posted a 12 bike test of the 450s, including the Beta, TM, Suzuki and Kove..

2026 450 MOTOCROSS SHOOTOUT - 12 BIKES!

A big mistake in the MXA Beta test video is they are comparing bikes of different displacements based on peak HP only.  That is not a very insightful approach. If you are going to compare power across different displacements, it is better to focus on torque and at what RPM it is being made. It tells you much more about the engine.  The 350 may only have 8 more hp over the 250, but you know the gap in the torque is going to be much bigger. Drag racers know, that the more torque an engine has, the faster it will accelerate and the ET will be lower. On the other hand, the more horsepower an engine has (holding torque level constant), the higher will be the trap (top) speed.  We are talking about MX bikes so what we feel is torque, not hp.  The bike reviews would provide more info if they compared the torque numbers as the main focus. MXA suggested that the Beta 250 had about 40hp, the YZ250 made about 46hp and the Beta 350 made about 48hp. It doesn't give you any sense of reality.. ride the YZ250 and the 350 RX back to back and the 350 will yank your arms out and then when you jump on the YZ250, it will feel like a moped compared to the 350. The horsepower numbers don't relate the difference whatsoever.

Thanks for the detailed write up!.. I was surprised you put the 20.5mm clamps on the 2-stroke. That mod is usually reserved for the Beta 4-stroke. My Beta 300 RX really likes tight turns, but I couldn't imagine going any steeper on the steering angle for motocross.. I think it would cause the front to want to knife in. Our bikes have the same frame and geometry and I hadn't felt what you felt with regard to the front wheel feeling too far out. When I read your comment, I thought you must be a woods guy rather than motocross. Is that the case?

Yeah, I saw that!

If Beta is saying that all these RX 2T's are using the same valving in the suspension, I am a bit surprised when some magazines are saying it was a bit too stiff, while others are saying it is too soft. In my case, the rear was a bit too stiff at stock clicker settings, at least for the first few rides, but the biggest issue was the shock rebound was way too heavy. If I pushed down on the seat with my hand, it was so slow that you couldn't see it spring back like you normally would. If yours is similar, crank the rebound dampening off by about 20-24 clicks out. It made a huge difference on my bike.. it was barely rideable until I did that.  I will have my suspension guy take a close look at my rebound circuit.

The US mags are slow to do the interesting comparisons outside the standard 250F and 450F shootouts with incrementally improved/ changed bikes of the previous year.  There are more comparisons of non-mainstream bikes coming out of Europe/ UK and Australia.

This is an Italian YouTube video posted last week with an in-depth review of the Beta 350RX, like most they mentioned it was an interesting and fun bike, but were very critical of the powerband being all mid, but repeatedly stated that it was an amateur only bike which I doubt is the image that Beta wants to disseminate at this point. I think the jury is still out as the different test reviews have been all over the place with regard to impressions of the engine and suspension... some even seen contradictory.

Here is an auto-dubbed French review of the 2026 YZ250 vs Beta 250 RX vs KTM 250 SX and the Fantic 250. The 4 test riders did a pretty decent review;

Exclusive Mega Test: 250 2T 2026, turn up the volume! - YouTube

Best handling: Beta

Most powerful: Fantic (same engine as YZ with different ignition and pipe, but felt much stronger than the YZ)

Most fun: KTM and Beta tie

Most demanding: Fantic and YZ tie (Fantic was hardest to hold on to after several laps and some of the guys complained about stiff suspension on the YZ)