After a few more laps on the 2025 Beta 450RX, I have come up with 5 Surprises about the brands 450 MX bike that I think make it stand out from the crowd.

1. The Bike Looks Fantastic

I guess this is more a perception thing, but I’m not the only one who’s commented on the looks of the 2025 Beta 450RX. Everyone I’ve talked to personally about it agrees that it’s a very good-looking bike. The colour is an interesting topic though. It’s not really a red, but also not really an orange either. It looks like a neo-ish mix between the two. It looks even better in the flesh too, so having one of these at your local MX track will certainly turn heads - guarantee.

2. What’s New for 2025

2024 saw the release of the 450RX and I had initially assumed that some Bold New graphics might be the extend of the updates for this year. So, I was surprised to see some (not a lot) changes to the Beta, that by all accounts from the world-wide media, have made improvements to the machine. The valving specs in the suspension have been updated, while the spring rates remain the same. There was a move to use rubber mounts for the handlebars, whereas previously these were not rubber mounter. The final change was to the battery, which helped the starting of the bike, and by my understanding, gave longer lasting power so you weren’t left pushing the bike back to the pits.

3. The Great Stable Handling

Right from the first lap, the bike showed me it had very comfortable settings and comfortable chassis. The straight-line stability of the motorcycle felt really good and confidence inspiring down rough straights. The bike it tall, and the seat is tall too, which for me at 190cm, I really liked. I could see a shorter rider having some troubles with initial pean into the corner with it being so tall, but I felt the bike cornered well enough that I had no issues. It is also a bike that likes to be pushed hard, and as that happens the bike rides and responds better than when you are just scouting the track or doing 75% warm up laps.

4. The Smooth Torquey Engine

This engine is a short shifter and had oodles of torque when in the meat of the power delivery. And when in that part of the power, the bike is very responsive and snappy. Not Yamaha level snappy – torque-snappy and very usable. It has a nice low RPM response which also makes this an engine that you don’t need to be afraid of if you are new to 450s. It doesn’t like to be revved out, which personally I am happy about – I don’t want to be ringing out my 450 like a 250 and the torque allowed for a very versatile 3rd gear. There was good transfer of power to the ground and with that awesome mid-range, the more I rode it the more I got used to this delivery style.

5. Serious Option when Stepping Up

If you’re stepping from a 250 into the 450 market, this bike would be a very easy transition into the big class. The engine isn’t going to rip your arms off, the power delivery is smooth and delivers great torque that gets good traction on track. The KYB suspension setup ticks the boxes for quality componentry, ease of adjustability and tuning, as well as knowing it will do a full moto and keep consistent. It’s very stable at high speeds, which you will be achieving on 450s, and it’s damn good on the eyes. So, unless you’re short, as this bike is quite tall, this would be a great alternative to stand out from the sea of Austrian and Japanese 450s out on track.

The only issue will be trying to get a test ride on one. Flick me an email if you’re keen and we’ll try work something out.