KTM withdraws from Dakar

[CrazyFrog]

Me too, mmmmm, cheap rally bikes.
I just hope some well heeled privateer sticks it to the organisers on a KTM450EXC Rally kitted bike and wins!

[Woodman]

Seems a bit silly really, why couldn't the other manufacturers build some decent big bores to compete instead of lobbying the aso to change the rules.
They won't be able to run full hp 450's so it will slow it down quite a bit. Maybe that is their hidden agenda. Safety first wankers.

Will have to stop prepping the klr now.

[Taz]

Why can't they run full HP 450's?

[Woodman]

Why can't they run full HP 450's?

just don't think they will be all that reliable really. isn't there a lot of constant throttle high speed work involved? and factoring in the extra load being carried etc its gonna be pretty hard on the motors if they gonna run mx type hp.

I could be wrong though and can be enlightened.

[.chris]

From what I read on advrider.com it is only the factory teams that have the 450 restriction.
So all the non factory teams with the 650's can still race in 2010.

[Padmei]

Safety first wankers.

.

I don't think the Dakar has been particularly safety first considering the no of lil african kids killed & watching charlie doing Race for the sky where his mate was jjst left in the desert after pulling out- they did make sure to take the gps thingy off his bike before saying goodbye.

[NordieBoy]

Lets hope KTM sticks it to them and creates a more exciting competition!

The Dakar is only 1 rally on the world circuit.

[Gremlin]

The Dakar is only 1 rally on the world circuit.

Ah well... I don't follow it too closely, but love the bits I have seen... does my noobness show?

[NordieBoy]

does my noobness show?

Some metal putty and a bit of duck tape will fix that.

[NordieBoy]

I think that in the long term it won't hurt the Dakar it's just the way they announced it without consultation with the factories/riders.

It's the ones who've already bought >450 bikes that will be spitting...

What about the Aprilia 450?

[NordieBoy]

Good points...

Anyway, the case for the 450 is simple.

Every manufacturer got one,
Lighter and slower bike, means safer.
Almost all tires issues disappear
Even playing field where the rider will make more of a difference not just the bike.
More riders will win stages and the race will be more open and more interesting.
Such riders will be heroes in their countries and it will create some dynamics in sponsorship hunts for a lot more people.
And a lot more money will be available for our sport, which means more coverage and more professionalism.

Bummer is for privateers and small rally service businesses who have invested in those bikes (I got two and half!)
But in the long run it will be better for the sport and people living from it.

KTM only really had 2 factory bikes at the Dakar anyway.

Apparently a month or so ago at one of the rallies a petition went around and most of the riders signed it asking for the 450cc limit.

[Peril]

"Following the decision for the deployment of 450cc motorcycles, which are unthinkably unsuitable for use in long distance rallies"

A bit shortsighted of KTM to make that statement when Fretigne has come close to winning the rally a couple of times,no? If not winning,then he's won his fair share of stages over the big bikes.
And why can't KTM shoehorn a 450 or sleeved down 530 engine into the 640/690 bikes they have now? They still have 6 months to develop that engine and make it last the distance.

[cooneyr]

This is seriously crap management by ASO let alone the other implications. Why give teams only 6 months notice and why take such a shot a a single manufacturer. Surely David Fretigne's efforts (3rd place) have indicated that going to a smaller bike woun't make that much difference to the overall pace? The net effect as I see it is two fold the cost of running a team significantly increases due to the increased costs of maintaining the 450's and KTM get seriously pissed and walks as they have done - fair enough too I recon.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the Prilla 450 twin to be banned.

From what I have learned the whole ethos of the ride was to challenge human and machine to the limit. If the machines cant handle the distance the race will eventually be shortened to less days and the human challenge will be lost. Then it is just another Pharaohs rally or the like with the 6 - 10 days. The length of the Dakar is what made it special.

Wonder how many marathon stages they will run now?

On the up side we might see some interesting 450's be developed and unless a privateer wins Yammy will still have the most wins (9 to date as opposed to KTM's 8). In some ways it would be cool for a privateer to stick it to ASO on a 450EXC.

Cheers R

[NordieBoy]

Rallys like in Sardinia are all enduro based smaller bikes 'cause it's too rough for the bigger bikes.
Next years Dakar looks really rough but with some really big sand sections where the lighter bikes will go well too.

[Eddieb]

No-one seems to have picked up on this bit.

Could be a lot of competitors affected.

We have the entire material for the 690 Rally motorcycles for our factory team as well as that for 50 customers’ motorcycles in our storage facility ready to be constructed in June.