... This is how trials should be done. I drive there in my car armed only with boots, helmet and riding clothes and someone else brings the bike all ready to go and even better, takes it home and washes it for me!! Earlier in the week I had a call from Steve Saunders asking if I fancied riding his new 300 Beta Evo 4t in the Stroud Valley event I had entered as he was away doing a trial school. Took a nanosecond to reply!!... ohh yes.

 Those that ride with me know a couple of things about me that will make them surprised I even turned up for this event.. I hate muddy trials, my ability is low at the best of times but throw mud in and i am crap, and I am not someone who has much love for the recent trend of 4 stroke Trials bikes. I find it hard to justify the extra mechanical parts when trials was all about keeping it simple, and the extra cost of the machines in my eyes just wasn't worth it... more of these thoughts later!
  So there it was, a shiney new, virtually straight out of the box Evo 300 4t. And i have to say the look is really growing on me. The 4t engine fills some of the gaps that can be seen around the 2t version nicely and makes the bike look better in my opinion. Steve had added the airbox vent graphics to stop water and mud ingress and also a nifty radiator cap cover (see 2nd image) that not only protects but just makes that area look so much neater. I believe all of these parts are, or will shortly be, available from SXS.
  Time for the off. No choke and no throttle and two kicks later it was purring away... like a little sewing machine. The last time I rode a 4t in a trial was in 1986 on my Honda RTL250 and this sounded the same!! So quiet, but unlike the Montesa 4rt it doesn't get that much louder even on full chat. No warming up needed it was clean running from almost the moment it started, unlike the ground conditions that still had a few inches of snow on in many places!! The footrests on the Evo's have been lowered a bit and I think are also moved rearward a cm or two, and it does feel low when you first stand on them... but I didn't have any ground clearence issues and I think the incredibly slim frame just makes the bike look very small when you look down to the ground. I still have that strange feeling of being on a Montesa 315 when I look down at the seat area, the bright red mudguard is so much wider than the Alloy frame that it just looks huge! Everything else looks spot on, apart from that CDI unit. On the 2t it is mounted fairly close up to the rear of the cylinder but the 4t doesn't have a gap for it. And it does look a bit too vulnerable. Ryan Pekala and I were trying to think of a way around it and we came up with the idea of making an extension cable and routing that up with the throttle cable and mounting the CDI unit behind the number board... just a thought!

The first section of the trial was a slippery, root covered wiggle down into a rocky stream and then up a few steps and a final double step to exit, now what the hell gear do i use!! Being new to this 4t lark I had no idea... as it turns out 2nd was good but I was caught out by the engine braking as I went over the roots. I rolled off the throttle and the forward weight shift pushed the front over the roots and down the hill the wrong way, a quick dab was needed and then into the rocky water. Remembering to keep with a little throttle this time it run straight up the two smaller steps no worries and then I gave it a bit more to go up the double end bit... bloody hell it has some grunt!! It shot off up in the air and again I rolled the throttle off too quick and had a quick dab to make sure I arrived at the top safely... lesson learnt, let it run on the throttle a little unless you want to stop quick! The next few sections were in the very slippery wooded area with a few steep climbs and nasty cambers and my brain was starting to get the hang of it. Out went my 270 Rev3 give it a handfull method and some, alien to me, throttle control appeared as if by magic... and something happened to my face that has never happened in a muddy trial, I was smilling!! People kept asking how I was getting on and it was summed up in a few words... I bloody love it!
  Now here comes the statement that will have the other r2w riders taking the piss, after everything I have said about 4 strokes.... I want this bike!! I will freely admit that I would have lost twice the marks or more in the trial on my own Rev 3 270. Although it is the 300 model I found the bike very easy to ride, but you definately have the grunt there should you give it a hand full. After the trial I had a quick go on the section with the three muddy steps that was used in the Southern Experts... first gear and it pissed up it!! So I stopped between two of the steps on the mud covered stones and again it just went up from a standing start now worries.
 

 What niggles did I have... the suspension on the rear was very slow but I didn't adjust anything and obviously this bike only came out of the crate a few days ago so I expect it to free up. John Luff noted the same thing about his at the end of the trial. And I am not convinced about the longevity of the front mudguard, it just looks weak around the fork brace area and a few people have mentioned seeing them break on the Evo 2t's.There were two times in the trial where I had trouble kicking it over, but both times I selected neutral and it only needed the one more kick.. I never needed to use the hot start or choke knob all day.
  It does feel a little heavier than the 2t's but I believe it weighs the same as my 2008 Rev3... ohh, and the other thing. The kickstarts on the wrong side..!!! I am so used to a left footer that I kept trying to flick the lever out with my left hand!! Along with the CDI unit sticking out like a sore thumb the right hand side does look a bit untidy with the fuel valve and throttle pulley visible but with a bike this thin there isn't anywhere to hide it all.

Well, to sum it up... I loved the bike. It has grunt aplenty, is easy to ride and grips like nothing I have ever ridden. It flattered my riding ability and I reckon I could have knocked another 15 marks off my score if I had ridden it like a 4 stroke to start with. There was never any hesitation and nor did I ever get that 4 stroke cough just when you want to pop up and over something.. something I remember from my RTL. I even managed to convince my brain to leave the clutch alone on some slippery descents and use the engine braking, and it didn't load up and cough when i wanted to get going at the bottom.

A huge thanks to Steve and also to the guys at BVM's for bringing it along for me, and taking it home to wash!! The only down side for me is that there is no way I could afford one of these bikes... anyone want a straight swap for a blinged up Rev3?... !!

A few Pictures...