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There’s nowt wrong with the Beta Alp’s old 350 Suzy lump, in fact it’s renowned amongst off-roaders as one of the toughest engines you can hammer through a swamp all day long. But the motor can be a bit buzzy above 60mph and there’s a fairly low top speed to be had, which makes you wonder why Beta didn’t get a deal sorted for the newer Suzuki DRZ400 motor instead.

You cannot fault the Beta Alp’s Suzuki engine – that will probably outlast the next ice age. There’s also something to be said for choosing a motorcycle built within the EU instead of one of the many low budget Chinese trail bikes which can be had for peanuts off the internet.

The Beta Alp 4.0 Trail looks pretty basic as you might expect and although there’s no mirrors on it, you do get a front mudguard, although what use that would be in a muddy stream is anyone’s guess. The Supermoto version has the same basic layout; no mirrors, dinky indicators and small headlight/nose fairing and both versions have a matt black exhaust which looks like it might suffer corrosion if not kept scrupulously clean.

The Beta Alp Supermoto has long travel suspension and you sit quite high up – it has an 870mm seat height by the way – which gives you confidence in urban traffic. You can hustle this motorcycle through jams Monday-Friday no problem and the Supermoto comes with some classy spoked alloy wheels too.

The Beta Alp is decently made, handles well and the Supermoto has a beefy front brake on it too. But this is a 350cc machine competing with a clutch of 400cc supermoto/trail bikes on the market at about four grand new. The Alp 200cc version costs around £3400.