Image: MXN.

2016 Australian MX2 champion Jed Beaton is content in the early stages of making his switch to the Honda CRF250R as he prepares for his rookie season in the 2017 European Motocross Championship (EMX).

Beaton, who only took delivery of the Honda a month ago when he announced his 2017 plans, explained he is enjoying the new bike and will commence testing with the Carglass Honda Racing team when he head’s to Europe in the early months of next year.

“The Honda is good,” Beaton shared with MotoOnline.com.au. “It’s a whole different feeling, but I’m starting to get used to it now and I’m enjoying everyday of riding it. It’s pretty much stock – it is stock – except for the suspension which Kroozetune has done, but that’s about. I’m just getting used the whole bike feel before anything gets too serious.

“When I get over there we’ll start testing, but you can’t really change too much other than suspension and a few engine parts. Everyday I spend there will be with the team, so we’ve got a lot of time if I need to test some stuff. I actually booked my flights the other day, so I leave on 1 March. The first round of EMX isn’t until 16 April, so I still have fair bit of time over there before I start doing some serious racing.”

The Tasmanian stated he is back into the full swing of proper training in order be adequately prepared for next year, also revealing that he is remaining with his championship-winning program despite the differences of racing internationally.

“When I got the bike and my shoulder was still a bit sore I eased back into it, but I’ve had the bike for nearly a month and I’ve been back on my proper training program, so yeah, you could pretty much say it’s in full swing at the moment,” he continued.

“My training program is pretty similar [to this year], I just started a little bit earlier this year to get a good base fitness for when I go over – I’m going to be there for a long time and I don’t want to get sick or anything. It’s important to get a good base fitness and work on that from there.”