Thinking of city traffic these days, who doesn’t dream of a light, agile but exciting bike that also possibly consumes less? Finding itself in the position of maestro of this kind of transport, here is Beta’s idea: take an offroad, maybe a trial, and adapt it to urban conditions. “Yes but what does one do with a trial in the middle of the city?” we asked ourselves before seeing the photos of the new Beta.

We decided then to try out the new Beta Urban 200 pre-series, although it’s not yet available through dealers. The first impression was one of finding ourselves on a decidedly different vehicle. It’s almost a trial, as we said, but with all the accessories you would expect from a road bike. There’s electric ignition but for hard-core fans the pedal start is also available. A dash with an electric speedometer and a mass of lights that include warnings on a lowered trestle, make up something you would expect on a scooter. Easy and intuitive controls means there’s not much to learn – you get on, turn it on and you’re off.

The first few metres take a bit to get used to the drive settings. But even here Beta has done everything to leave behind off-road roots in favour of a more road style. You can sit comfortably enough and even taller guys don’t need to go around with their knees around their ear lobes. The four-stroke one-cylinder makes itself heard and reminds us of little escapades on moutain paths. The city traffic however, brings us back to everyday reality with side-swiping scooters who sneer and overtake to arrive first at the traffic light.

The surprising lighter weight of the Urban at only 110kg, and its manoeuvrability, help us out: in a few moves we’re up front at the red light too. At the green we put the bike to the test. Acceleration seems good at first and progressing allows us to leave behind the scooters who had shot us a glance at the beginning. Road handling is good and there were no cornering problems for city streets. Moving around Milan and racking up only a few kilometres it feels as if we’ve been driving the Urban for a lifetime.

The 200cc allows us to change scene and head towards ring roads and highways. While the Urban is not designed for long road trips, shorter legs are doable as long as you don’t travel at more than 100 or 110km/h – you can feel that the engine doesn’t enjoy this kind of travel and the rider doesn’t help either. Whoever is patient though, and is not afraid of the right-hand lane can have a go at this less conventional move. Stopping at the Autogrill with the classic leg and arm vibration from the trip, we take a coffee and close the city chapter.

We decide to head country to try out the Urban on unsealed surfaces, while realising that although this is originally an off-road bike, it is still an “urban”. There is a 19-inch front wheel and the rear is 16-inches with street-enduro tyres (80/100-19 – 120/90-16). We hold back our instincts a little and give it a try in the Padana countryside. Driving here is also relatively simple as long as you don’t try to sit down too much. Here the seat doesn’t help at all and the bumps are felt one after the other. We are on a pre-series version so we don’t go too hard on the suspension and head straight. The pebbles and unsealed road can be seen as an excellent “driving school” with the Urban whereby you can learn riding styles different from usual city use. Braking is good and thanks to the front pads and rear floating discs we avoided the classic potholing hidden on these mule tracks.

Coming back to the city we look for some fun to put our Urban to the test. Prepare yourselves pavements, for when the Urban arrives. We don’t tire of going up and down steps and pavements without any effort. As can be imagined the lighter weight and handling is the real bread and butter of this Urban. Steps, stairs and obstacles: there is no limit to the imagination apart from road rules and the presence of others. After trying everything on the flat plains of Lombardy, we decide to head towards one of Italy’s many hill-top towns where driving will be more satisfying.

As we said at the beginning, you don’t need to be an off-road expert to enjoy a nice trip on the Urban. In fact, the Urban can be considered one of those “motorini” of the seventies and eighties that gave an all-round instruction, introducing motorcycling to whole generation of young people. Whoever is tired of the classic one-gear scooter can enjoy riding a real bike – light-weight, unencumbered and easy to drive. The reduced road height makes it comfortable for both guys and girls and it doesn’t have the classic weight and dimension problems of other bikes. Consumption, calculated by Beta at only 4lt/100km, makes for an economic vehicle. The only glitch, as already stated, is in the seat. Given city use and a female clientele (why not?), the final version will need to include a more comfortable option.

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