2023 Beta Buyers guide -390RR -300RR -300 X-Trainer
Warren, Craig and Nick head out in the Kent woodlands to put the Beta 300’s through their paces. Is there is clear favourite for UK conditions?
STARK VARG – FIRST RIDE!
RUST attends the world launch of the Stark Varg – the 80hp electric motocrosser. And are we impressed…?!
MX vs ENDURO – which makes the best all-rounder? (revisited)
Oh gosh, that old nugget again – which is the best off-road racer, the enduro or the motocrosser? Actually, worth asking as we learned some stuff…
ON TEST – 2022 YAMAHA WR250F
Yamaha has tweaked the motor and the frame on the new WR250F – in line with their latest YZ-Fs – making the 2022 WR-F quite possibly their raciest yet…
2022 RIEJU ON TEST
Quite a few of us lamented the passing of Gas Gas as we knew them. For sure the name lives on, but the product is now very different. But all is not lost, those two-stroke enduro models we knew and loved do indeed live on. Now called Rieju (a rose by any other name?) they’re as good as ever. If not better!
KTM 350 EXC-F – THE BIKE THAT CHANGED ENDURO?
Ten years ago KTM blew the doors off enduro with their 350 EXC-F, a true one size fits all. And it blew Melber’s book of superlatives in one go, too! Ten years later we’ve got three of them in the garage (two coloured white) – yeah, KTM got it bang on.
TWO BY FOUR
Flashback to 2007: Melber and Barni were wrangling with that eternal question: two-stroke or four-stroke? (It never grows old)
WR400F vs WR450F
Flashback to 2010: TBM tested the new WR450F back-to-back with… a 1998 WR400F! There’d be an obvious winner, but the story wasn’t about that, to quote Strictly… ‘its about the journey’
2021 KTM EXC TEST
KTM’s 2020 EXCs got a rave review from our Warren M. So impressed was he by the updates, he went out and bought the 350EXC, which before Coronavirus he was planning to race through 2020 but now in 2021 instead. Now we have the 2021s, and they’re pretty much 2020s again, just with new livery. We’re guessing they’re going to satisfy too…
2021 HUSQVARNA FE350
At last! A chance to revisit Husqvarna’s latest FE enduros. Here at RUST we’ve not found a great deal of love for the new low-boy chassis. But with a new rider, on a new (2021) machine, could we get different results?
FANTIC’S NEW RACERS
Fantic is back in the world of serious off-road competition – and winning already! Here we check out the XE125, but there’s more to come…
KTM EXC250 TPI vs HUSQVARNA TE250I
RUST puts KTM’s 2020 250EXC TPI up against Husqvarna’s TE250i in an all-Mattighofen shootout. Same motor (near-enough) but quite different chassis packages – which will win?
2020 BETA RR200 TESTED
The 200cc two-stroke has for a long time been a clubman go-to machine. Even so, slowly it disappeared from the ranks. But Beta has resurrected the breed with their RR200. So, in this modern age, can a 200 still cut it?
ENDURO SUSPENSION SET-UP GUIDE PART 2
Proper bike set-up will transform your ride. You don’t need any fancy parts and very little technical knowledge. Just apply a little time and patience and work through a simple schedule of adjustments and you can create the most amazing improvements. Honestly, the difference can be mind-blowing…
Enduro Suspension Set-Up Guide
Proper bike set-up will transform your ride. You don’t need any fancy parts and very little technical knowledge. Just apply a little time and patience and work through a simple schedule of adjustments and you can create the most amazing improvements. Honestly, the difference can be mind-blowing… Here’s Part 1.
HONDA CRF250RX Long termer Part Three
RUST’s Honda CRF250RX has been out and about, putting in some training hours on the trails in Kent before having its neck rung (again) at the Ryedale Rally in Yorkshire. Ear plugs might be a good idea…
HONDA CRF250RX Long termer Part Two
RUST has a 2019 Honda CRF250RX on long-term test (oh yeah!). As replacement for the CRF250X it’s both long awaited and much anticipated. So how much is it race and how much trail?
HONDA CRF250RX LONG TERMER PART ONE
Honda enduro-ised their CRF250RX for Europe with lights, indicators etc. Closely based on the CRF250R ‘crosser it could be a weapon!
2019 YAMAHA WR450F
Yamaha’s mighty WR450F has been that, mighty – like high and mighty – almost since its inception. Great for experts, only not so good for clubmen. But their 2019 WR450F could very well change all that…
Gas Gas EC Ranger
A quick review on Gas Gas’ enduro-lite Ranger, aimed at the rider that doesn’t want or need a full blown racing bike – and for shorter folk…
GAS and AIR – 2019 Gas Gas EC Enduros
Gas Gas has recently become part Austrian owned (KTM/Pierer Mobility AG) and already there’s talk of common-platform engineering solutions. Will future Gassers be rebadged KTMs? It’ll be interesting to see what comes. But should Gas Gas change what they make at all? Their latest machines have been very good indeed, as JB found out on a recent trip to Suffolk
2020 YAMAHA WR250F – FIRST RIDE
Yamaha has an all-new WR250F for 2020 – we got a first ride on it at the Yamaha Off Road Experience, together with some ‘guest reporters’!
2020 HUSQVARNA ENDUROS FIRST RIDE
Fresh from the world launch in Finland, Warren M. brings his first impressions on the new Husky enduros
words:Warren Malschinger images: Marco Campelli & Sebas Romero
2020 KTM EXC – TEST REPORT!
Here it is – our report from the world launch of the 2020 KTM EXCs. 60% changed – oodles better!
words: Warren M. images: KTM
Thursday 23rd May 2019
2020 KTM 450EXC-F – FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Warren’s still riding the new 2020 KTMs as we write this. He telephoned in the following first impressions on the 450EXC-F
Warren M. direct from the world launch
Tuesday 21st May 2019
2019 BETA ENDURO
Beta are winning – world championships and in the showrooms. And they’re keen to tell you this is not on the basis of their bikes being ‘ready to race’, but on their ride-ability, ‘friendly feeling’ as they put it. And now they’ve added an even friendlier machine to their range, the RR200. Come on, it’s time to cosy-up…
words: Jon Bentman images: Beta
BETA ENDURO 2019
Beta are winning – world championships and in the showrooms. And they’re keen to tell you this is not on the basis of their bikes being ‘ready to race’, but on their ride-ability, ‘friendly feeling’ as they put it. And now they’ve added an even friendlier machine to their range, the RR200. Come on, it’s time […]
’18 GAS GAS EC/XC300
Back in 2015 Gas Gas faced financial ruin. But with a new owner and a new enduro model for 2018, Gas Gas is back in the game. However, back stories mean nothing in this business, the question is: is it good enough? Let’s not beat around the bush, Gas Gas has purposely played centrefield with […]
ULTIMATE KTM 200EXC
2018 KTM TPI
2018 KTM TPI If anything could define the might, the muscle, of KTM, then bringing the first fuel-injected two-stroke enduro to the market is it. But does it need muscle to ride it? With the launch taking place at the infamous Erzberg iron mine you just might think so… THE KTM 300EXC TPI felt entirely […]
KTM FREERIDE 250F
It’s been nearly seven years since KTM first gave us the Freeride (in 2011 for the 2012 model year, if you’re struggling with the math!). That first Freeride borrowed its engine from the 350EXC-F, and two years later was followed by the Freeride 250R – a two-stroke (which in turn was borrowing and modifying the […]
2018 BETA RACING
Beta have released their Racing models for 2018. Sharp looking tackle, all… IT’S THAT time of year, when the enduro manufacturers release their hot-rodded production models. Beta look to be first out of the blocks this year with an array of ‘Racing’ models featuring upgrades and detailed aesthetic revisions. Racing versions are availiable as 250/300RR […]
2018 HUSQVARNA
IT’S FAIR to say that that Husqvarna have really pushed the boat out with the new 2018 models and to bring the press to one of the most stunning places in the world you could kind of guess this thing – fuel injection – must be good. Yeah, Husqvarna really wanted to concentrate on the […]
2017 SHERCO 300SEF-R
HECK, but the Sherco 300SEF-R is one handsome bike. Gotta love the restraint in the solid blue bodywork with just the gentlest of flouro-yellow highlights. You’ve got to love the sleek lines, too. Nothing pokes out (of place), every aspect looks like its been considered over and over by the designers. There again, this is […]
2017 KTM ENDURO ? Future Proof
It’s major overhaul time as KTM seek to keep their EXCs ahead of the competition and below the limits of the emissions regulators. Mission accomplished? KTM look to have hit all their targets, all our targets in fact. The totally revamped 2017 EXCs and EXC-Fs are lighter and more powerful – and so faster – […]
2016 Yamaha WR250
Yamaha – just quietly – have a new two-stroke enduro. You might recognize it. ‘Old dog new tricks’ comes to mind, but actually Yamaha have done a more through job on this bike than you might have imagined… OLD, NEW BORROWED & BLUE Yamaha sure are hitting a purple patch right now. Wrapping up the 2015 […]
2015 YAMAHA WR250F
When Yamaha launched the WR250F in 2001 they changed the face, the look, the sound, of enduro, probably forever. Now – after a 14 year wait – we have the first real renaissance of the model. And with the YZ’s reverso-motor, it looks like they’ve gone and done it again. The back-to-front-to-the-future begins right here… […]
2015 SHERCO LAUNCH
Sherco revealed all their 2015 models two and four-stroke models. RUST was invited to try them out for themselves… Sherco are learning fast. We know that much by the way their enduro range has evolved so rapidly from its humble one-bike origins in 2004. We also know that from the way this small firm based […]
2015 BETA LAUNCH
Rust Sports went to the 2015 Beta launch and found some significant upgrades and some pleasant surprises… For a long while now things in the dirt bike world have been tracking on a very straight path. Ever since the introduction of highly competitive four-strokes, innovations have been small and progressive for the best part of […]
2015 KTM LAUNCH
RUST heads to Romania for the launch of the 2015 KTM EXCs… Romania is a fascinating country, from historic myths of vampire rulers to more recent recounts of revolution. And the countryside can present a real culture shock; not only the way of life within the rural communities but the wildlife too – in the […]
2014 SHERCO 250SEF-R
It’s ten years since Sherco started building enduro bikes, and only now have they launched into the two-stroke arena with the 250SEF-R. Jon Bentman took a ride on their quarter-litre machine to see if the slow-burn approach has paid off… Compare, if you will, Sherco’s enduro development with that of the new Husqvarnas. Husky have […]
2014 250CC TWO-STROKE SHOOTOUT
Gas Gas EC250 v KTM 250EXC v Beta RR250 You guys love your 250 two-strokes. And we do too… What more excuse do we need for a RUST shootout? I’ve got a hundred reasons to like 250cc two-stroke enduros. Actually, according to the spec list I’ve got 101.9 reasons. That’s how many kilos KTM say […]
2014 KTM350EXC vs HUSQVARNA FE350
Linkage or PDS? That question used to put KTM in a love/hate position in the marketplace – not everyone liked the PDS. Then KTM started putting linkages on their SX and XC models. Now, as of the 2014 model year, we have two KTM-built enduro ranges, one with PDS, and one with linkage rear suspension… […]
2014 SHERCO 300SEF-R VS 2014 GAS GAS EC300F RACING
When a 250F is not enough and a 350 just a bit too much… Two manufacturers now make dedicated 300cc thumpers. Rust Sports put them head-to-head… We have before us the brand new-for-2014 Sherco 300SEF-R and sitting alongside it, Gas Gas’ new EC300F Racing. Two mid-size, four-stroke enduro bikes that aim to break down the […]
TOM SAGAR – 450 vs 350
Picking your next bike is never easy. What best suits your abilities, your local terrain? Even for BEC champ Tom Sagar it’s the same conundrum. So for Sagar, in mid-January 2014, it came down to this: 350EXC-F or 450EXC? It’s mid-January, the rain has stopped momentarily. Tom Sagar is riding through some Suffolk woods. Fast. […]
2014 YAMAHA (YZ)WR250F
Yamaha’s WR250F is long overdue a revamp. Anticipated for years – never arriving. But now there’s a revolutionary new YZ250F and we’re betting it will be the basis for the new WRF. A bike that has the potential to blow the doors off KTM’s 250EXC-F. We ride it… (This article was written in 2014 not […]
2014 BETA LAUNCH
2014: Beta had been around for over a century, but their latest venture into enduro was only just a decade old. ‘Just’ ten years maybe – but boy oh boy, had they got the game figured! Hot and exhausted, with minutes to go before hopping in the minibus to get back to Rome airport there […]
EWC ? THE CLASS OF 2013
2013: Season finale in Mende, France and the teams rolled out their championship machinery for a neat little photoshoot in the town square. No story – just beautiful machines JUHA SALMINEN’S HUSQVARNA TE250R ANTOINE MEO’S KTM 250EXC-F DANNY McCANNEY’S GAS GAS EC300 PELA RENET’S HUSABERG FE450
2013 GAS GAS EC250F RACING
If bikes were judged on sound alone then the 2013 Gas Gas EC250F Racing would win every single shootout… Right, I’m going to be totally honest about this from the outset, I wasn’t really looking forward to riding the 2013 Gas Gas EC250F Racing. In fact I considered that I might enjoy it even less […]
2013 HUSQVARNA NEW MODEL LAUNCH
For 2013 the Husqvarna technicians have given their 250 and 310 enduro thumpers more power. How? By putting their heads together… If there were a checklist of things that you want from a small-bore four-stroke racer, then Husky’s ‘X-Lite’ TE250 seemed to leave one box unticked. It had the diminutive twin-cam engine. It had the […]
2009-2012 HUSABERG 4T BUYER’S GUIDE
Here at RUST we tend to gravitate towards machines which were different for different’s sake, but Husaberg’s 70-degree four-stroke is one innovative design that really did work. And here’s why you should buy one and what you need to know if you do… It caused a sensation when it was launched, and that feeling continued […]
2013 HUSABERG MODEL LAUNCH
For 2013 Husaberg have abandoned their radical high-crank, 70-degree engines and instead, fitted their bikes with the very latest KTM motors. Is this just a case of badge-engineering or are there deeper forces at work here? Rust Sports went to Spain for the 2013 model launch to ride the bikes and find out… Ever since […]
2013 BETA RR300 FIRST UK TEST
RUST headed to Wales for the scoop first UK test of the all-new 2013 Beta RR300 two-stroke… It’s easy to understand why the two-stroke has seen a resurgence in recent years. First off, the cost and complexity of rebuilding a high-revving competition four-stroke is quite at odds with the ‘home-spannered’ ethos of enduro. Though I […]
2012 HUSKY TXC250 VS YAMAHA WR250F
The 250 thumper class has been dominated by KTM in recent years, but what else is out there to choose from? Husky’s TXC 250 and Yamaha’s WR250F are two alternatives to ‘Orange Source’… You could be forgiven for thinking that the ONLY manufacturer building enduro bikes at the moment is KTM. Their bikes are everywhere […]
450 SHOOTOUT – PART 1 – THE SOHC BIKES
We all know 300s are bought for trailriding on, not racing. Well not unless your name’s Nambotin or Knight. But rumour has it that the 2013 Gas Gas EC300 is not only well built, it’s also one of the easiest 300s to ride and race. RUST couldn’t resist a challenge… The surprise announcement last month […]
2013 GAS GAS EC300
We all know 300s are bought for trailriding on, not racing. Well not unless your name’s Nambotin or Knight. But rumour has it that the 2013 Gas Gas EC300 is not only well built, it’s also one of the easiest 300s to ride and race. RUST couldn’t resist a challenge… The surprise announcement last month […]
2012 HUSABERG LAUNCH
Husaberg’s 2012 line-up now includes a new two-stroke, as Justin ‘Forest Chump’ Kingwell reports… Husaberg launched their 2012 range last week in Sweden at Loka Brunn. In the heart of the forest and only a short distance from where the company still keeps its R&D facility and factory race team headquarters. KTM now manufacture the […]
BUDGET DIRTBIKING
Whilst time has moved on and RUST’s 2012 pick of the best bargain dirt bikes available for £3000 or less is a little dated. For those on a tight budget, there may still be some mileage in some of the bikes listed here… What constitutes budget biking? Well that depends upon your viewpoint and spending […]
450 SHOOTOUT – PART 2 – THE DOHC BIKES
In the first part the single-cam 450s did battle in the Rust Sports Shootout, this time it’s the turn of the 2011MY 450cc twin-cammers to go head-to-head… There’s no doubt that if you want to extract high performance from a four-stroke engine, a twin-cam design is the way to go. Twin-cam engines produce fast-building power […]
2012 KTM 350/400EXC-F AT ‘THE GRAPPE’
What do you do when KTM stop making your favourite model? Clive Hoy from Tri-County Bike Shop built his own of course… Taking a 350EXC-F, giving it a dollop of extra torque and turning it into a 400EXC-F! They say that perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there […]
