Total Noob With A First Bike Question

[GCecchetto]

Hello;

I'm 54 and a heavily addicted adventure rider. I own a couple of acres of redwood forest and have been thinking about getting a trials bike to put around on the property to work on balance and control. Full disclosure, I rode dirt bikes as a young man for a few years, but was never a really an accomplished rider. Raced mountain bikes very seriously for years after that, but hadn't had my leg over a motorcycle in 25 years when I bought my KTM 1190 Adv R in 2014. I have always had really good balance and could ride my mounting bike through very difficult terrain, but at the same time couldn't do a track stand. So, long story short, while I do a good amount of offroad ridding on my 1190, I'm not a super experienced rider.

I've started looking at trials bike and found for sale what is probably a unicorn, a 2001 Beta 270 Rev 3 that is essentially a new old stock motorcycle. Looks absolutely new, owner says it only has two hours on it and has never had a tire on dirt. A bike that has sat that long concerns me, but the owner says he started it regularly. It's a couple hour drive from me, so I haven't gone to look at it yet, and won't if the owner doesn't want to get motivated on the price as he is asking $4000 for it, which seems quite high based on others I've seen for sale, but of course they aren't in this condition. It does seem likely though that I'll have to spend some money addressing issues on a bike that has sat so long without any real use. So, my first concern is that a 270 could be too much bike for a noob. I have read a little about flywheel and throttle mods that could address this, but I don't know what cost and complexity is involved in those. Second concern is in any issues these bikes may be prone to. I've read about the water pump/side case cover corrosion issue, but that seems like it started a couple of years later when the switched from aluminum to magnesium, and some electrical issues that don't seem too overwhelming to deal with.

 

I know you are probably all sick of these noob questions, but I'm hoping you can grin and bear through one more. Thanks

[markparrish]

I'm sure you will hear all sorts of opinions! I have a Rev 3 270 and started out on it. It is a great bike but having recently upgraded to a slightly newer Evo 250 4T, I would strongly recommend thinking about a newer and "softer" bike. The 4T grips on slippy climbs really well and the engine is more forgiving than my 270. That said, the 270 is perfectly rideable and has loads of power for pulling in any gear - just that it will do things that a beginner might not wish to do if you are bit trigger happy! You'll no doubt be keen on the "new" bike you have been offered, but I guess for that money you might be able to get a decent bike more suited to a beginner at trials - it's worth driving a couple of hours to try but maybe try a few more local bikes first if you can so you know what to compare it with. Good luck!

[GCecchetto]

Thanks. I won't be interested in the Rev 3 unless the guy is willing to get way more motivated than he is. It seems like the right price is more like $2500, although the condition makes it tough to actually value. Anything else for sale currently in my area that is newer is 2 to 3 times that cost. I do understand that I have to factor in the additional money I'll likely spend dealing with issues with the older bike as well though.

[lineaway]

 There is nothing wrong with a Rev 3 for a first bike. But that is way too much money for a 20 year old bike. Tires and all the rubber and air filter will be needing to be replaced. A lot of parts are unobtainable now. It was a pretty blue color vs some of Beta`s choices through the years. 3 grand or buy a newer bike.

[GCecchetto]

Thanks. I'll probably offer him $2500 and see what happens.

[GCecchetto]

Thanks. He's not willing to go below $3200 so I've moved on. There are some very nice bikes for sale locally that are 1 to 2 yours old in the 6K range, so I'm contemplating spending  the money for something like that.