SO bloomin annoyed I couldn't make it to this excellent evening....the Dakar is an amazing race . Great to see the roadbook is still at the heart of the navigation. And two of the nicest guys in the sport! Cheers, Steve
Simon's done this 15 times? I just got done watching the Simon and Charlie Boorman Dakar series and I thought that was nuts! I wonder if asked, which race he thinks is harder, Dakar in Africa or the current one in South America?
Great overview of the bikes. I would just like to add that KTM, Husqvarna, Yamaha and Honda - they all produce limited number of factory rally racing ( or Dakar ) bikes available for public. That's a good news, the bad news is their price around 32 - 35 000 euro.
@barneys_lens Contrary to power figures the 450 factory bikes from KTM , Honda run lower compression than the MX bikes, bigger valves, different CAM shaft with noticeably higher duration, to pull nicely through the rpms, heavier flywheel, and pistons which have more than 1 ring. The oil cooler is an addition as the video mentions. They also have a cush hub that adds to the weight and some transmission loss at a cost and adds to reliability. these bikes are geared to hit 185 kmph and more.. so there is a conflict here between two understandable motivations always when the factory makes the bike.. the desire to make a high-performance vehicle last forever, and the wish to enjoy all the performance people can afford.. people must decide which is more important which is why they buy the factory rally replica from KTM at 30,000 €
A standard Husky 350 motocross engine makes almost 60hp out of the box and will do hundreds of hours with regular oil change.... 75 hp out of 450 is well achievable and is now reliable....... A single engine for the whole race rather than a half way engine change.....
Michael Caton unfortunately no 350 puts out the power figure you claim. blaisracingservices.com/competition-only-mild-conversion-kit-for-2017-2018-ktm-350/450/500-exc-2017-2018-husqvarna-fe-350/450/501-models-w/-jd-tuner.html
@@mohba01 Its incredible really the power these things put out and are so light and durable and then ride flat out 2 weeks!!!! That bike in the dyno videa was probably on dirt tyes also, so probabaly not that grippy on the dyno machine, I wonder if you loose one or two hp because of that?