The Rev-3 was Beta’s two-stroke trials motorcycle of the 2000s, built from 1999 to 2008. It succeeded the Techno and was joined in 2007 by the four-stroke Rev-4, before the whole line became the Evo in 2009.
Beta Rev-3 at a glance
| Maker | Betamotor, Rignano sull’Arno, Florence |
|---|---|
| Production | 1999-2008 |
| Type | observed trials |
| Engine | single-cylinder two-stroke |
| Four-stroke sister | Rev-4, 2007-2008 |
| Predecessor | Beta Techno, 1994-1999 |
| Successor | Beta Evo, from 2009 |
| Frame | tubular steel |
| Use | club and world championship trials |
The Rev-3 appears in the trials-model list of the English Wikipedia article on Beta; the Italian article on its predecessor, the Techno, supplies the background. The model has no article of its own.
History of the Beta Rev-3
From Techno to Rev-3
Beta had been building trials bikes since 1980 and had taken its first trials world title between 1997 and 1999, the years in which the Rev-3 replaced the Techno. The Techno itself had run from 1994 to 1999 with a more compact, deeply shaped frame than the Synt it followed: wide at the front, cut away around the rider’s legs so that the front fairing could be reduced to a minimum, a smaller rear subframe, a lower seat and a smaller rectangular headlight, with a completely new engine and the same swingarm and forks. The Techno was offered in 50, 125, 250 and 270 cc and stayed in production far longer than the three-year Synt.
The two-stroke years
The Rev-3 carried the trials line through the 2000s as a two-stroke, the layout Beta had used since its first trials models and the one that made the company one of the leading trials manufacturers. Beta states that all its trials bikes use engines of its own design.
The four-stroke Rev-4
For 2007 and 2008 the range was joined by the Rev-4, a four-stroke trials bike built alongside the Rev-3. The two models shared the same period and the same role in the range, one with a two-stroke engine and one with a four-stroke.
Into the Evo
In 2009 the Rev line gave way to the Evo, which Beta still builds. The Rev-3 therefore closed a decade in which Beta’s trials riders included Jordi Tarrés and Dougie Lampkin, and in which the company’s tally of trials world titles, thirteen in all across outdoor and indoor competition, was built.
Design and features
- Two-stroke trials engine: the layout Beta had used in trials since the early 1980s.
- Purpose-built frame: a tubular steel chassis in the line that began with the compact Techno frame.
- Four-stroke alternative: the Rev-4 of 2007-2008 offered the same bike with a four-stroke engine.
- Competition pedigree: the years of the Rev-3 coincide with Beta’s first trials world title and its championship-winning period.
Beta Rev-3 versions
- Rev-3 (1999-2008): the standard two-stroke trials bike.
- Rev-4 (2007-2008): the four-stroke version sold alongside it.
The Rev-3 was replaced by the Beta Evo, and its ancestor the Techno grew out of the Beta TR line; the road side of the range is the Beta RR. More machines are in the Beta collection.
Sources
- Beta (motorcycle manufacturer), English Wikipedia: Rev-3 and Rev-4 dates
- Beta Techno, Italian Wikipedia: Techno design, displacements
- Beta Motor, Italian Wikipedia: trials history, world titles
