500 rs power mods?

[Bryan Perkins]

Title says it all. I've been told the ktm 500excf can get close to 60hp with a few changes, I was wondering how much more If any we can get out of a 500rs. There are many factors on why I don't want to swap to a 500excf & if the 47hp is the max we can get out of it that's fine - I'm just curious there doesn't seem to be much documentation on upgrades other than a fmf muffler & weight saving mods 

[Johnny Depp]

13 hours ago, Bryan Perkins said:

Title says it all. I've been told the ktm 500excf can get close to 60hp with a few changes, I was wondering how much more If any we can get out of a 500rs. There are many factors on why I don't want to swap to a 500excf & if the 47hp is the max we can get out of it that's fine - I'm just curious there doesn't seem to be much documentation on upgrades other than a fmf muffler & weight saving mods 

 What riding are you planning? The Beta has no shortage of power compared to anything, including 450 mx models. Don't let the Dyno fool you.

 There is a thread here that goes into a lot of details on this subject. 

Depends on how far you want to go. Cheap starters is to remove the spark arrestor and then use the FMF map. The 2 stroke filter cage doesn't have the steel mesh backfire preventer, and drilling holes in the air box lid will help it breathe. The limiting factor will be the throttle body, which could be bored out. The 450 cam will pep it up. Air Force Velocity stacks offers several big bore setups and more. 

Edited December 4, 2024 by Johnny Depp

[Bryan Perkins]

Basically I need a bike that I can ride hard in the woods then get up to 70mph for 20-30 minutes to ride home on. It doesn't need to be a comfortable 20-30 minutes - it can even be unfun as long as it's ok for the bike. I was basically told the 500excf would get ruined doing that. So I'm fishing for info on the beta 500rs which seems to have less power but is more reliable. It seems to be a better product so together actually. 

 

Edited December 6, 2024 by Bryan Perkins

[Johnny Depp]

7 hours ago, Bryan Perkins said:

Basically I need a bike that I can ride hard in the woods then get up to 70mph for 20-30 minutes to ride home on. It doesn't need to be a comfortable 20-30 minutes - it can even be unfun as long as it's ok for the bike. I was basically told the 500excf would get ruined doing that. So I'm fishing for info on the beta 500rs which seems to have less power but is more reliable. It seems to be a better product so together actually. 

 

 You will have no problem doing that stock on any size Beta dual sport. You may want to balance your wheels for the high speed stuff. The only thing that will get ruined is the back tire.

Edited December 7, 2024 by Johnny Depp

[randysoo]

On 12/6/2024 at 1:02 PM, Bryan Perkins said:

then get up to 70mph for 20-30 minutes to ride home on. It doesn't need to be a comfortable 20-30 minutes - it can even be unfun as long as it's ok for the bike. I was basically told the 500excf would get ruined doing that.

who told you that? I do it all the time on my 450exc running 14/49 gearing. my bud has a 13 500exc he does the west coast BDR on. if anything, I wouldn't do it with a beta because the gearbox ratios are too close. I use my 390 for a ride across town to get to the trails. I use my 450exc for dualsports that have hiway stints

Edited December 8, 2024 by randysoo

[Bryan Perkins]

On 12/8/2024 at 6:10 PM, randysoo said:

who told you that? I do it all the time on my 450exc running 14/49 gearing. my bud has a 13 500exc he does the west coast BDR on. if anything, I wouldn't do it with a beta because the gearbox ratios are too close. I use my 390 for a ride across town to get to the trails. I use my 450exc for dualsports that have hiway stints

Basically I was told the 2024/25 500excf have terrible vibrations and are borderline unrideable without heavy mods over 50mph on the street & that the beta 500rs/rrs have a smoother engine out of the box. 

[randysoo]

12 hours ago, Bryan Perkins said:

Basically I was told the 2024/25 500excf have terrible vibrations and are borderline unrideable without heavy mods over 50mph on the street & that the beta 500rs/rrs have a smoother engine out of the box. 

I haven't ridden a beta 500 so I can't speak to that. but I can't imagine that the beta vibes any less than the ktm. the ktm 500 does vibrate more than my 450 but not terribly so. what kind of mod is available to reduce vibration that is actually effective? those triple clamp isolators don't help very much. I think balancing the wheels is the biggest help.

[Bryan Perkins]

On 12/14/2024 at 12:38 PM, randysoo said:

I haven't ridden a beta 500 so I can't speak to that. but I can't imagine that the beta vibes any less than the ktm. the ktm 500 does vibrate more than my 450 but not terribly so. what kind of mod is available to reduce vibration that is actually effective? those triple clamp isolators don't help very much. I think balancing the wheels is the biggest help.

I can't seem to find the post but they suggested a change in a counterweight to smooth things out. 

[slideleft]

On 12/13/2024 at 11:58 PM, Bryan Perkins said:

Basically I was told the 2024/25 500excf have terrible vibrations and are borderline unrideable without heavy mods over 50mph on the street & that the beta 500rs/rrs have a smoother engine out of the box. 

It is not vibration, they don't handle well on the street. Probably the worst tires I have used but you can charge them and either remove the rim lock or balance the tires. Factory gearing is pretty tall but they give you a small counter sprocket if you buy it new. 

15-13 so I went 14 but it was still lugging on the street so I used the 13 and I could add two teeth to the rear and still never over rev. 

The bike is plenty fast enough but they sell better street bikes. Every review says the same thing. A KTM is a better choice for extended street use as the Beta is a plated off road motorcycle.

[eastreich]

The Beta 480/500 will easily do 70mph for extended periods for any length of time you want, stock.  Been there, done that.  Stone stock a 480 will clip 100mph on pavement or a smooth dirt road, gear the 500 RS down to 480 spec and it will do the same.  Stock the RS is geared even taller for noise compliance, and it doesn't have the power to pull top speed in 6th with that gearing, but gear it down to 13/49 and it will get to where you want to go.  I have run an indicated 105 on GPS with that gearing in the dirt crossing dry lake beds.

If you are going to do more riding at 70mph ish, a simple swap up to a 14/49 sprocket set makes 70mph a happy cruising speed, and can still trail ride it if you aren't doing hard enduro type stuff.  Wouldn't want to race in the trees with that gearing, but have done it a lot trail riding just because I didn't feel like changing sprockets.

It does vibrate a bit less than a 500 EXC-F, but it isn't a deal breaker either way.  Both vibrate WAY less than a Beta 450RX or the 450SXF/XCF.  The heavy flywheel and larger stator help a lot there.  I stuck the EXC-F stator/flywheel on my previous Husky FC450.  Huge difference.  I do balance my wheels as best as I can, and if using tubes I run dual rim locks in the rear.

Just like a KTM 500, you can get more power out of the Beta 480/500.  Takes almost the same things.  Just don't have to swap out quite as many parts on the KTM, but it is much more easily done than someone would think and it can be done using 98% OEM parts. Honestly, I bet it is about the same in cost when it is all added up (a Vortex ECU is more expensive than a 450RX ECU and wire harness).  If you want to run down almost any other dirt bike ahead of you, it can be done.

[Bryan Perkins]

On 12/17/2024 at 8:13 PM, eastreich said:

The Beta 480/500 will easily do 70mph for extended periods for any length of time you want, stock.  Been there, done that.  Stone stock a 480 will clip 100mph on pavement or a smooth dirt road, gear the 500 RS down to 480 spec and it will do the same.  Stock the RS is geared even taller for noise compliance, and it doesn't have the power to pull top speed in 6th with that gearing, but gear it down to 13/49 and it will get to where you want to go.  I have run an indicated 105 on GPS with that gearing in the dirt crossing dry lake beds.

If you are going to do more riding at 70mph ish, a simple swap up to a 14/49 sprocket set makes 70mph a happy cruising speed, and can still trail ride it if you aren't doing hard enduro type stuff.  Wouldn't want to race in the trees with that gearing, but have done it a lot trail riding just because I didn't feel like changing sprockets.

It does vibrate a bit less than a 500 EXC-F, but it isn't a deal breaker either way.  Both vibrate WAY less than a Beta 450RX or the 450SXF/XCF.  The heavy flywheel and larger stator help a lot there.  I stuck the EXC-F stator/flywheel on my previous Husky FC450.  Huge difference.  I do balance my wheels as best as I can, and if using tubes I run dual rim locks in the rear.

Just like a KTM 500, you can get more power out of the Beta 480/500.  Takes almost the same things.  Just don't have to swap out quite as many parts on the KTM, but it is much more easily done than someone would think and it can be done using 98% OEM parts. Honestly, I bet it is about the same in cost when it is all added up (a Vortex ECU is more expensive than a 450RX ECU and wire harness).  If you want to run down almost any other dirt bike ahead of you, it can be done.

Put money down on a 500rs last sat. It'll be in my garage this Saturday. Can't wait to put hours on it. 

Edited January 8 by Bryan Perkins

[FORMA MOTO]

Change to the OPEN map,  put on a two stroke air filter cage. 

Stock Beta power levels  are similar to the uncorked KTM's......but the power delivery is quite different. It's more gentile.  You can't 'stab' the throttle at lower rpms on the  Beta, not that you  really need to do that very often. 

[Bryan Perkins]

On 1/9/2025 at 3:13 PM, FORMA MOTO said:

Change to the OPEN map,  put on a two stroke air filter cage. 

Stock Beta power levels  are similar to the uncorked KTM's......but the power delivery is quite different. It's more gentile.  You can't 'stab' the throttle at lower rpms on the  Beta, not that you  really need to do that very often. 

Good to know!  Ty. I assume open map mode is in the user manual? Or is it tied to the air filter? Both airfliter cages use the same filters? Or will I need new foam filters too?

Edited January 12 by Bryan Perkins

[Doc Brown]

6 hours ago, Bryan Perkins said:

Both airfliter cages use the same filters? Or will I need new foam filters too?

Yes, no need for new filters, cages have the exact same shape.

Doc

[FORMA MOTO]

On 1/11/2025 at 5:46 PM, Bryan Perkins said:

Good to know!  Ty. I assume open map mode is in the user manual? Or is it tied to the air filter? Both airfliter cages use the same filters? Or will I need new foam filters too?

The OPEN map requires a dealer re-map

 

[Bryan Perkins]

21 hours ago, FORMA MOTO said:

The OPEN map requires a dealer re-map

 

Dang,  I wish I new that before I took ownership. I won't see them again till 90hours for the first big service. I'll have to keep that in mind for then.