2014 Open-Class Dual-Sport Smackdown: Beta 520 RS vs. KTM 500 EXC

The KTM makes more torque and horsepower than the Beta on the dyno, but it sure doesn’t feel like it on the trail. Despite the fact that the factory exhibited a little gamesmanship by lowering the KTM’s final gearing, its lack of low-end grunt still required that our test crew keep a ready clutch hand in case we needed to loft the front wheel at slower speeds.