As the company isn’t just focused on full-on enduro riding we discounted any of the bikes more suited to that type of riding and felt thata lot of our customers would be more at ease on a more manageable machine. We didn’t want high-maintenance, highly-strung machines that would intimidate rather than cosset, or big heavy trail bikes that would scare rather than soothe, so there was really only one choice – the Honda CRF230F.

It’s a trail bike rather than an enduro bike which suits the type of riding our Scenic Tours are based on. Very comfortable whether seated or standing on the pegs and a low seat height of 34 inches means even the vertically-challenged can get a reassuring foot down, something which is very important when out on the rough stuff!

The engine is an unburstable air-cooled 223cc, SOHC 4-stroke which features an electric start for easy fire-ups whether cold or hot and a 6-speed gearbox with ratios suited to both on and off road.

It’s a lightweight at a claimed 108kg dry which is noticeable as soon as you climb aboard or even push it out of the garage and has a useful 8 litre fuel tank, enough to last a whole days’ riding without fuel stops.

Over 9 inches of suspension travel front and rear ensure that the terrain is soaked up and the disc brake front and drum rear are more than enough to tame any over-enthusiasm, without being so fierce that inexperienced hands lock the wheels unintentionally.

The bike has been very well received by the motorcycling world and has scored highly in customer satisfaction surveys. In a world where we’re told “faster and bigger is better”, the little Honda bucks that trend with its’ ability to punch above its’ weight whilst still being as easy-to-use as anyone could want.

All our bikes are 2006 models and are religiously maintained, so there should be no problems with reliability (it’s a Honda!!).

We’ve had a varying range of sizes of riders and they all found the CRF very manageable whilst still able to deliver serious thrills – if you’re not used to the power delivery and grip of an off-road bike then you will find the Honda is very user-friendly. You can just chug along in a high gear and it’ll pull from nothing or, once you’re more confident, use the gears to their potential and get used to the wheel finding grip, even at high revs, without the worry of the rear spinning uselessly or the front wheel looping right over you!

You have to really try to get one of these to misbehave which is a real bonus for the newcomers to trail riding – but rest assured, the more experienced riders will still find it a very capable machine and it’s well able to deal with any of the tracks and trails we use.

Our bikes are subject to change without prior notice as we are continually adding to our fleet to meet demand.

We have in our fleet the wonderful Beta RR 450 4-Stroke Enduro bike, which are more suitable for riders with previous experience of enduro bikes, although novice riders are very welcome to give them a try too if you want that extra adrenalin rush!

These competition-spec machines have a wealth of top quality components as standard, including Marzocchi Shiver USD forks and Sachs rear shock. It also features Nissin brakes with Braking Wavy discs, an Arrow exhaust and of course electric start! It’s powered by the amazing race-proven KTM 450 4-stroke engine. KTM owners will love this bike, as will anyone who has riden a competition endiro machine.

It’s very light for a 450cc bike, at just 117.5kg without filling the 8.5litre fuel tank.

It’s becoming a more common sight in enduro’s now that people are getting used to the name – many people think that Beta are a Spanish brand but in actual fact they’re Italian and as we all know Italian bikes tend to get the pulses racing ( think Ducati..)

T+MX (Trials and Motocross News)’s Simon Evans tested the Beta RR 450 last year (this year’s has even more tweaks!) and had this to say:

The bike is very manoeuvrable with the low seating position and is just the right width – not too slim or to wide. All the controls fall to hand comfortably and it has good ergonomics. The clean, contemporary styling is also bang up-to-date.

As for the running gear, the superb Nissin callipers and Braking Wavy discs offer faultless stopping power. The Beta’s suspension coped well with the mixed enduro terrain and I think the standard suspension set-up would be ideal for up to Expert level.

It’s a very forgiving machine despite it’s capacity and would make a perfect bike for every rider from clubman up to expert level.

Overall, it feels similar to the Yamaha WR450 but with a better seating position and suspension package and it easily matches up to the other 450cc enduro bikes on the market today.

Team GB ISDE 6 day event rider and UK top suspension specialist Chris Hockey used one of these machines when hosting our Off-Road School in January 2007 and stated that it was probably the best bike he had ever ridden straight out of the box - you can't say fairer than that can you!

The Beta RR450 also got rave reviews in Moto-X magazine claiming that it matched if not bettered the competition!

Don't settle for inferior bikes that some other operators supply - ride the ultimate enduro bike with Andalucian Trail Tours!