KTM to withdraw from DAKAR...

[Stumpalump]

Sure a 450 has plenty of power for this race but the book says rebuild at 90 hours. Does a 450 have plenty of power to hual you and your gilfreind from Texas to Moab and back? The interstates out west are 75MPH and traffic cruises at 82 mph. Vail pass is 10,000 feet and you will loose 30% power in the mountains. You need an adventure sport 650 pluss for that not a 450 MX based duel sport. I'm afraid Dakar will have put the nail in the coffen for the big adventure sport bikes. A 450 dirt bike all ready has a ton of R&D going into them but what will happen to the big bikes now? Consumers will loose in the long run.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

A 450 has more than enough power to haul you and your gear up any mountain pass. I've had my 250 up to 85mph, still pulling, just ran out of gear. Now, the question is, do you want to do that? Obviously not. You're not going to get a girl on the back of any race bike. These are totally different requirements.

KTM has a monopoly on the big race bike market because there really is only room for one manufacturer. For most people racing, a 450 is more than enough. The 500+ enduro bikes are for wide open spaces, and that market is very limited. The only guys I know up here with 500+ enduros have them just as a novelty, mostly because they couldn't decide between a real competition machine and a real adventure bike. So they get a race bike with a small tank and narrow seat so range is limited, big engine for more power in the wide open spaces, but is too heavy for serious single track use. You know, jack of all trades, master of none.

That market is very small. Most people are either going to race on MX tracks or small (10-100 acres) of forest which means 250's and 450's, or they want a bike they can ride 1000's of miles which means a real adventure bike. Not that many people in the world have access to 1000's of mile of desert to race in.

The Dakar needs more than one manufacturer to be a success.

Maybe what they should have done is made two classes, a 450 and unlimited. Stating both will share equal coverage, and it would have given the Japanese companies a place to race their smaller bikes that will have a return on investment (exposure).

 

[cruiseroutfit]

As an owner of a KTM 450 (6spd XCRW same setup as 450 EXC) I would want more for a street heavy dual sport or a long distance racing situation. While its entirely possible to hit 90+ mph speeds, even cruising on the highway at 70 mph is not at a comfortable RPM compared to that of the 650 by any stretch. Add to that the smaller chassis size I can see why the 650+ bikes are the clear choice for KTM's Dakar lineup. For shorter ranges (100 miles) and tight single track riding, the 450 has its clear advantages. Dakar isn't a short, tight race.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I agree. To clarify what I'm saying is... Lots of people have lots of places to race 250 and 450cc race bikes. Lots of people have lots of places to drive 1000's of miles of paved and gravel roads on 600+cc adventure bikes. Not a lot of people have places to RACE a 600+cc RACE bike. Race bikes have small tanks, razor blade seats, are noisy, buzzy and busy on the road and so not many people use them as true long distance runners. So the 600+cc *race* bike market is very small. KTM owns it. The Dakar organizers want to broaden the manufacturer support for the event. That leads to this conflict.

 

[goodtimes]

If you are selling a 650+cc bike as your flagship remote area, long distance, questionable terrain, product....isn't that what you should be entering into races that cross long distances in remote areas with questionable terrain? It doesn't make much sense to be racing 300cc 2 stroke dirt bikes while trying to sell 900cc, 4-stroke, water cooled adventure bikes.

You would get a lot more mileage out of your marketing dollar by racing what you are selling. Seeing KTM (or any other manufacturer) dominate a race on a 350cc two stroke won't do much for convincing me that their large adventure bikes are worth a crap.

In this light, I see the move by KTM (getting out of the Dakar rally) a good one. Last I checked, they are not marketing their small bikes to people who want to ride around the world.

As mentioned by some one earlier, a multi-class system could be beneficial for all parties involved. It would level the playing field, and keep things more competitive (and interesting).