Mike Kay can't ride a Sherco 5.1 in Dakar Rally! http://www.racerxonline.com/article/ktm-withdraws-from-dakar-rally.aspx
He can't ride his Husky 510 rally bike, either... ASO really should have made this decision at least a full year before the start of the race. A lot of planning is coming to a screeching halt today, and a lot of blood, sweat, tears and money has gone down the drain...all for naught. WoodsChick
I really don't blame KTM for doing that and doing it quick. They have spent tons of money in designing bikes for that purpose. Kind of makes you wonder what were they thinking. At least give a year or two down the road will only be 450cc bikes.
I bet inside the "KTM Cave" they are really over the moon that they will be saving many Euros in this deal!
This is a crazy tangent, but last week I was on my TE. I was at a stop light and a guy on a KTM 690, clearly a 690 with the trellis frame and clutch side pipe was at the other side. He didn't even give me the nod. It's like he saw the H and felt ashamed and looked away.
Well, it's hard to be humble when you are sitting on something less than a Husqvarna and then you end up having to sit right in ones shadow.
Who can blame Orange? They proved their point over and over dominating this event for nearly a decade. It was good for them, but now its sort of ho humm. Plus it has cost them considerably in terms of human costs. To say nothing of the financial investments. They have been totally reamed 3 times now from ASO changing the game, or just not having the game at all, with little if any thoughts of the impacts to KTM. Its logical their 450's will still be raced, as kits from the likes of Meca Systems and others are readily available now. -------- What is of most interest to me is how this will play out in terms of the major and some minor teams, and what if any will happen from other manufacturers. From Sherco to BMW to Honda to Husky to Husaberg to the various large Chinese motorcycle manufacturers...surely there are many emails going back and forth and surely some old time Dakar hands are wondering 'what if we...' Time will tell. ---------- I will say this: The 450's need repeated engine changes along the way, and this is very costly. I think this makes the race more a rich mans game, and not less, and thats a bummer to my mind. There is another, emerging, race that has potential to be a paradigm shift away from the ASO event: Africarace.com.-- but for now they dont have the incredible press coverage that Dakar gets. No matter what it will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Surely the TE450 with its counterbalanced motor and SS valves and fuel injection is a good choice.
The BMW G450X survived this years Dakar with the SAME ENGINE and a couple of G450X's placed very well in the AfricaRace without any engine replacement,..........no real engine mods other then full disassembly, clean up/blue print and then reassembly. Of the 450's, the BMW is very reliable and a great platform for a rally conversion.
Heres a thought: With KTM pulling out of dakar and no more big bikes allowed--- How will this effect Husky's plans with the TE610? If i was in charge i would keep the current TE610 and market it as an upgrade to the DRz400 crowd. Thats a big crowd. I wouldnt come out with a new, and most importantly 'more expensive' TE650 type bike. I would keep it the way it is, charge around $7800 (thats right in between the DRz and the 690 KTM) and then promote the bike to the guys with the Zukes who want a bit more. Just a thought.
My Husky super market strategy is to strap no more than one bag's worth onto a Motosportz luggage rack.
Good Market strategy, but please don't let that mean that the new SM650 (don't quote that - but it's due for upgrade now) won't come out. I can't wait to see what the new bikes like. On a side note I test rode a TC450 out of Huskysport a couple of weeks ago whilst my SM was in service. Had an absolute blast and for someone who has no real off road experience and had never rode on propper knobblies before i had a right laugh and would happily ride through Africa on one in the Africa Race if someone was crazy and stupid enough to sponser me. My only notable entry on my cv would be that i used to courier in central london on an sm610 so saddletime is no probs and half of London's roads can be classed as off road at times anyways. Awesome fun. Just had a look at the Africa Race website for the first time and saw this at the top of the news: KTM ENTERS THE AFRICA ECO RACE 2010 The organisation of the AFRICA ECO RACE is pleased to announce the entry of KTM Customer Service on the 2010 edition. This decision will both satisfy those KTM competitors who have already entered the race, but also responds to the wishes of those who have approached the organisation for their assistance. Just in case no one else had seen it. _________________________________ SM 610 08' In London Town
