“Two wheels / one engine / tank / seat – let’s go!”
Beta motorcycles, built in Italy, can trace their origins to a bicycle maker founded well over a century ago in Florence. In the 1970s, the company began focusing on off-road motorcycles, gaining a reputation for their trials models. Then, about a decade ago, they launched their RR series of performance-minded enduro and motocross machines, utilizing their own power plants. The Beta 350 RR Factory Edition is their race-spec 350 enduro, a 231-lb machine developed with input from the official Beta factory teams — a true off-road weapon.
Enter Max Ingelrest, the founder of HIDE — a small workshop based in an old distillery outside Brussels, Belgium. Says Max of his work:
“The bike is for me the ultimate object in customization and passion.”
Amen, brother! Previously, we featured HIDE’s Honda Transalp tracker. Now Max is back with “The Meta” — a street-legal custom supermoto built from a 2013 Beta 350 RR Factory Edition, utilizing such wide-ranging components as a Yamaha XT tank and skateboard deck seat pan. Below, we get the full story on this enduro racer turned street weapon!
Beta 350 “Super Tracker”: Builder Interview
• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.
Created almost five years ago, HIDE is a small workshop located in Belgium, a few kilometers from Brussels. I came to bikes in search of rock & roll. The idea is to make a boring object a visually beautiful thing, with a patina and soul. The bike is for me the ultimate object in customization and passion.
• What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?
2013 Beta 350 Factory Edition – it was a motocross bike.
• Why was this bike built?
Customer project, and because these kinds of bikes are my fav! Two wheels / one engine / tank / seat – let’s go!
• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?
Wanted to build around the XT tank, knowing that I’ll work with a skateboard for the sub frame. Converted the bike for the road with beautiful parts for the rest.
• What custom work was done to the bike?
Found and fixed an old XT tank.
Lower the front fork 10,5 cm.
Custom cooling system.
Custom sub frame with skateboard deck.
Custom seat.
Front light plate in 0,4mm aluminum and LED technology.
LED custom tail light.
Powder-coated frame.
Special SM 17” wheels with Michelin Power RS.
Simplification of wiring and uncluttered electronics.
320mm Front brake disk.
3D printed logo.
K&N intake.
• Does the bike have a nickname?
I call it “The Meta.” Reason: its first name was Beta, and the new owner’s company is called MetaSystem.
• How would you classify this bike?
Hard to say. We could invent one! Why not Super Tracker?
• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?
I’m proud to see this babe alive and happy when I put my ass on it!
Seriously, I’m proud to have had the confidence of the owner to be able to do what I wanted and have the opportunity to work on a project that I loved to do and see evolve.
Follow the Builder
- IG: @Hide.Brussels
- FB: @Hide.Brussels
